Just when the Detroit Lions appeared dead and buried, they rallied back from a 16-point halftime deficit to stun the Houston Texans. Jake Bates hit the game-winning 52-yard field goal with no time left to give the Lions a thrilling 26-23 victory, barely making the kick inside the left upright to complete the shocking comeback.
This game was one of the weirdest of the NFL season. Jared Goff and the Lions (8-1) rallied from a 23-7 halftime deficit, despite Goff throwing a career-high five interceptions (two of which came in the second half). C.J. Stroud threw a pair of interceptions of his own in a bizarre game that saw seven turnovers combined from both teams.
Bates hit a 58-yard kick to tie the game at 23-23 with 5:01 left, the first time the Lions were all square with the Texans since midway through the first quarter. Goff had two interceptions in the second half, yet led Detroit on two touchdown drives and four scoring drives to lead Detroit to victory.
The Texans (6-4) had a chance to respond, but Ka'imi Fairbairn missed a 58-yard field goal with 1:56 left as a result of a bad snap. Houston was shut out in the second half, being outscored 19-0 by Detroit. The Texans had seven possessions in the second half, punting three times, turning the ball over twice, and the missed field goal.
Takeaways are coming from this surprising result, with a recap of this game in the live blog below.
Despite the five interception game by Jared Goff, the Lions were able to overcome a 16-point deficit in the second half. Trailing 23-13 in the fourth quarter, the Lions scored on all three fourth quarter possessions to complete the comeback. Jake Bates hit two field goals (a 58-yard kick barely inside the right upright and a 52-yard winner barely inside the left upright) and Jared Goff went 6 of 8 for 79 yards and a touchdown in the final quarter (145.3 rating).
The Lions made clutch plays and took advantage of the Texans mistakes. The 16-point comeback wasn't an accident.
After dominating the first half, the Texans just did not continue that momentum in the second half against the Lions. C.J. Stroud threw an interception on the first play of the second half and it snowballed from there, as the Texans went scoreless on seven second-half possessions.
This all came down to the play of Stroud, who went 5 of 13 for 68 yards with no touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 16.3 passer rating in the second half. Of course, Stroud did not have Stefon Diggs (out for season) and Nico Collins (game-day inactive with hamstring again), but the Texans just didn't close it out with a 23-7 halftime lead.
The Texans, despite blowing a 16-point lead in the second half, still had an opportunity to make sure they came away with the victory. On first-and-10 from the Lions' 46-yard line, the Texans called back-to-back runs from Joe Mixon that went a total of six yards. That set up a third-and-4 from the 40, in which C.J. Stroud threw an incomplete pass intended for Xavier Hutchinson which was broken up by Terrion Arnold (no defensive pass interference was called).
Instead of going for it with 1:56 left, head coach DeMeco Ryans called for the Ka'imi Fairbairn 58-yard field goal to take the lead. Fairbairn missed the kick and the Lions got the ball at their own 48-yard line. The missed kick was bad and the no-call was worse.
There were a lot of crucial errors by Ryans and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik on that sequence that cost the Lions.
The Lions faced a third-and-6 from the Texans' 48-yard line with 1:40 left. Jared Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown on a curl route that went for 11 yards and a first down to the Texans' 37-yard line -- giving Detroit an opportunity to run down the clock to the final seconds and kick the game winner. An excellent route run by St. Brown.
The Texans had to burn their final timeout before the Lions had a few running plays to set up Jake Bates. The kicker barely made the game-winning 52-yard field goal, but he converted the kick and completed the comeback.
Goff threw five interceptions in the game, but the pass to St. Brown was the one he needed to complete. Like many good quarterbacks, Goff did just that.
"I put them too close for comfort, but they went in." — Jake Bates to NBC's Melissa Stark on his game-tying and game-winning field goals in the fourth quarter.
The Lions (8-1) host the Jaguars next Sunday while the Texans (6-4) travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys next Monday on the Week 11 slate.
Bates made two field goals totaling 120 yards in the last few minutes of the game, and he snuck them both inside the upright by a matter of inches. Enormous comeback win for the Lions, who overcame FIVE Jared Goff interceptions. 26-23 Detroit is your final.
Terrion Arnold got away with a pass interference on that third down. The Texans settled for a 58-yard field goal attempt, but Fairbairn hooked it wide to the left after a high snap. Detroit only needs 20 yards or so to get into field goal range now.
Stroud came away with a huge third-down conversion with a throw to John Metchie to extend this late-game drive, and he just hit another one to Tank Dell to get the Texans to the very edge of Fairbairn's field goal range. Gonna be quite interesting down the stretch here.
After a few big runs from Jahmyr Gibbs, the Texans finally stopped him cold in the backfield and thus stopped the Lions' drive in its tracks. What looked like a potential touchdown drive to take the lead instead turned into a long Jake Bates field goal, and we're now all tied at 23 with just over 5 minutes left. C.J. Stroud and Co. will have a chance to go and salvage a win after holding a two-possession lead for much of the night.
FYI: The last quarterback to win a game despite throwing five interceptions was Matt Ryan in 2012. The last quarterback to win a road game despite throwing five interceptions was Tony Romo in 2007.
After a huge third-down conversion by Jameson Williams (his third of the night) and a screen pass to David Montgomery, the Lions were finally able to find the end zone again. This time it was Amon-Ra St. Brown on a smoke screen, scampering into the end zone behind a block from Penei Sewell. It's down to a 3-point Texans lead.
The Lions really needed this big play from Jahmyr Gibbs, who took off up the right sideline on a beautifully-designed swing screen from OC Ben Johnson. Alas, they ended up punting a few plays later. Still, cool highlight.
Stop me if you've heard this before: Jared Goff has been intercepted. Again. Calen Bullock this time.
Carlton Davis comes up with his second interception of the night. After Stroud looked so good early on, he's made a pair of brutal decisions with the ball early in the third quarter. He didn't spot his man open down the field until too late, and then he lofted the throw and gave Davis a chance to get in position for the pick.
After the Texans went three-and-out from their only goal line, it took Detroit just three plays to go down the field and into the end zone. Jared Goff hit a big play down the field to Sam LaPorta (again) on an over route and then David Montgomery punched it into the end zone. The two-point conversion failed, though, so it remains a 10-point lead for the Texans.
Jared Goff has now been intercepted FOUR times tonight. He came into this game having been intercepted four times all year. Instead of capitalizing on the Davis pick, the Lions instead turn it over themselves. Kamari Lassiter got Goff on this one, his second pick of the night after also intercepting the Hail Mary at the end of the first half.
C.J. Stroud had played a pretty flawless game in the first half. But he started the second half with a really bad decision and throw. Just as Dan Campbell was doing his halftime interview talking about how his defense needed to create a couple takeaways, Carlton Davis did just that, intercepting Stroud by undercutting a quick out.
What a drive for Houston down the stretch of this first half. And what a dot from Stroud on third-and-long. And what a job by Metchie to hang onto the ball while being hit. Texans up two scores at the break.
C.J. Stroud is dropping some DIMES right now.
Somehow, Detroit's late-half drive was perhaps even worse than Houston's. A pair of 1-yard runs for Jahmyr Gibbs and then an incomplete pass, and the Texans didn't even have to use all their timeouts ahead of the one-minute drill.
Pretty disastrous late-half drive for the Texans, with a sack, a run dropped for a loss and then a screen pass that went backwards. The Lions will get the ball back with all three of their timeouts and a chance to drive to make this a one-score game before the half.
Second turnover of the game for the Lions. Call this one an interception or a fumble, whatever you want. It's the Texans hitting Goff in the backfield and ending up with the ball and a chance to extend their lead on a short field. (Which they then did with yet another Ka'imi Fairbairn field goal.)
After a pass interference penalty on a deep ball got them into Lions territory, the Texans went backward and ended up settling for another Fairbairn kick. This one was from 56 yards out -- his 11th (!!!) 50-plus-yard field goal of the season.
After a heavy dose of Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs, it's tight end Sam LaPorta who gets into the end zone. Really nicely-designed play with Goff faking the shotgun hand-off to Gibbs and then rolling out to his right to hit LaPorta over the top coming across the field. It's a 10-7 ballgame.
Jamo was very heavily involved early in the season, with 20 combined targets and 200 receiving yards in the first two weeks of the season. But he had just 10 total targets and 161 yards since then -- before tonight. He has two huge third-down conversions on this drive, helping get Detroit into scoring position. (In his first game back from a two-game PED suspension.)
After Mixon got the Texans to the goal line, Houston's drive stalled out. A holding penalty on first down set things back, and then the Lions stuffed a run at the line and pressured Stroud into an incomplete pass and a sack. Ka'imi Fairbairn tacked on a field goal to make it 10-0.
You don't often see a guy run from one side of the field all the way across to the other, on a swing screen, but that's what Joe Mixon did on this latest big gain for the Texans. It's a 36-yarder and they're set up deep inside the red zone now. Houston's offense came to play, too.
A pair of uncharacteristic scoreless drives for the Lions to open this game, and the Texans now have a chance to take a two-score lead despite not starting the game with the ball. Houston's defense came to play tonight. Coverage has been very sticky so far.
After Stroud got them into the red zone, Joe Mixon crossed the goal line from 8 yards out. Texans took advantage of the Lions turnover on the opening drive to stake themselves to an early 7-0 lead. That's huge against a Lions team that can grind opponents to dust in the run game once it gets ahead.
On their first drive, the Texans have already converted on both third-and-10 and third-and-16. The run game is not getting anything going on early downs but C.J. Stroud has bailed them out a couple times already.
The Lions opened the game with an incomplete pass, which has become increasingly rare for them. After picking up a first down a few snaps later, they did something even more rare: Jared Goff threw an interception. Texans safety Jalen Pitre got his hands on Goff's throw to Jahmyr Gibbs in the flat and batted it up in the air, and Jimmie Ward was there to haul it in.
Here's a breakdown of Detroit's run game, ahead of a matchup with one of the NFL's best run defenses.
Since the league expanded to 32 teams back in 2002, there have been 736 team-seasons. This Lions team ranks THIRD among that group of 736 in rushing EPA per play on hand-offs to running backs. The only teams ahead of them are the 2006 Chargers (a.k.a. LaDainian Tomlinson's record-setting touchdown season) and 2002 Vikings (honestly I've got no explanation for this one; it was just a perfectly average Michael Bennett season where No. 2 running back Moe Williams also popped off for 11 touchdowns).
Detroit's 5.3 yards per carry average is tied for seventh-best among that same group of teams. Indicating the profound strength of its offensive line, the unit's 1.97 yards per carry before contact average is 10th-best since 2017, which is the farthest back for which that data exists. The Lions also have the 10th-lowest share of negative runs (13.5%) during that time and the seventh-highest share of runs that gained five or more yards (40.8%). The lanes that the group up front clear for David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are just massive. They have so much room to run.
And the Lions don't just run it one way. They somehow manage to major in every run concept. According to Tru Media, they rank second in yards per carry on zone runs (5.7), sixth in yards per carry on "man" runs (4.8) and second in yards per carry on misdirection runs (6.0). That makes no sense. You aren't supposed to be able to do that. But the Lions, thanks to the combination of their line, their backs and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson's play designs, actually do.
Still no Nico Collins for Houston despite his being taken off IR, and Will Anderson is out as well.
No Taylor Decker at LT for the Lions tonight, and trade acquisition Za'Darius Smith is not ready yet, either.
