A high-octane Detroit Lions offense doesn’t need to resort to trickery to put points on the board.
But it sure is fun when it does.
The Lions pulled off one of the best trick plays of the season for a touchdown pass on Sunday in a 34-17 win over the Chicago Bears. It featured some strong acting by quarterback Jared Goff and running back Jahmyr Gibbs, and support from the offensive line to sell it.
Goff appeared to stumble after taking a snap from under center on first-and-10 at the Chicago 21-yard line. As he feigned falling to the ground, so did Gibbs on what the Lions sold as a botched handoff. Fox microphones picked up players yelling “ball, ball” and “fumble, fumble” as Gibbs fell to the turf.
But Goff maintained possession of the ball, which he hid tucked to his body as he remained upright. Chicago defenders, meanwhile, bit on the fake fumble as Lions linemen blocked to their left as if it were a run play.
By the time Bears defenders realized what happened, tight end Sam LaPorta had broken free over the top of the secondary. Goff uncorked a pass from the 30-yard line and found LaPorta wide open in the end zone for a touchdown.
Another look from behind the line of scrimmage shows just how orchestrated the effort was. Gibbs rolled as he fell to the turf and immediately popped back up to block as Goff turned completely around and looked directly in LaPorta’s direction.
“Our coaches do a great job seeing tendencies,” La Porta told reporters postgame about the trick play. “I believe a couple of weeks ago they noticed on film that the defense reacted very heavily to a fumble by the offense, so we kind of used that to our advantage.”
Coordinator Ben Johnson and his offense had clearly practiced the play to perfection.
The score extended Detroit’s lead to 34-14 to help ice the Lions’ win early in the third quarter. With the victory, the Lions bounced back from their second loss of the season last week against the Bills.
They improved to 13-2 to maintain no worse than a first-place tie in the NFC in the race with the Eagles and Vikings for the No. 1 seed and first-round bye in the playoffs. The Eagles lost to the Commanders on Sunday to drop to 12-3 as quarterback Jalen Hurts was sidelined with a concussion. The Vikings improved to 13-2 after defeating the Seahawks on the road.
Their 13th win of the season is a franchise record for the Lions. Chicago’s ninth consecutive loss dropped the Bears to 4-11.
The trick play was the highlight of another 30-plus point effort from a Lions offense that leads the NFL in scoring. Goff had another stellar day while completing 23 of 32 passes for 336 yards with three touchdowns and no turnovers. He posted another highlight with an 82-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams in the second quarter.
Williams finished with five catches for a game-high 143 receiving yards and a touchdown.
A Lions team adjusting to playing without injured running back David Montgomery piled up 474 yards of total offense. Gibbs thrived in the No. 1 role with 154 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.
A Lions defense down multiple starters including Pro Bowl pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson and cornerbacks Khalil Dorsey and Carlton Davis III allowed 382 yards of offense to the Bears. Caleb Williams had one of the better games of his rookie season, completing 26 of 40 passes for 334 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Detroit’s defense remains a concern with two games remaining until the start of the postseason. But, as it’s done for most of the season, the Lions’ offense produced more than enough on Sunday to secure the win.