The Detroit Lions demolished the Tennessee Titans today by a score of 52-14. Given Detroit’s recent offensive performances, the result may not have been shocking at first glance, but it was far from a normal path to that scoreline.
Lions Keep Rolling With 52-14 Win
Scoring 50-plus in an NFL game, even with today’s new rule, is no easy feat, but how the Lions reached their score is far from ordinary and highlights numerous ways that Dan Campbell’s team can earn victories.
Detroit currently has 52 points, and 55 net passing yards.
The last team to put up 50+ points with less than 100 passing yards was the Bears….in 1955.
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) October 27, 2024
Kollman’s tweet came before the game officially wrapped up, and Detroit finished with 61 net passing yards. Even so, the stat rings true from any angle: Detroit ended up with 52 points, and Goff only had 85 passing yards.
Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that the Lions scored more points than total offensive plays. They snapped the ball just 47 times and still scored 52 total points. By contrast, the Titans ran 71 plays to score 14 points.
Lions Find Different Ways to Dismantle Titans
So where did the Lions get these points, if not by traditional means? Their first touchdown came via a two-play, 23-yard drive after an interception set up a short field. Later on, Jahmyr Gibbs kept another scoring drive quickly by taking the first snap for a 70-yard touchdown.
After the Titans pulled the game into a 14-14 tie, a big kick return gave the Lions another short field, leading to a three-play, 25-yard touchdown drive. Still in the first half, another Mason Rudolph interception set up a four-play, 12-yard scoring drive. For the last touchdown of the first half, the Lions used a big punt return to start their drive on the Tennessee 22-yard line and scored in seven plays.
Incredibly enough, the Lions scored 52 points without putting up any in the fourth quarter. They started the third off with a bang as Kalif Raymond ran back a punt for a 70-yard touchdown. A Calvin Ridley fumble led to another short field and a three-play, 26-yard touchdown drive before finally, a more-regular drive ended in a field goal, Detroit’s last score of the game.
With the NFC looking absolutely wide open, the Lions look to be in a great position to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. Let’s see what some of the voices around the league have to say about their recent performances.
NFL Pundits Take to Social After Detroit’s Demolition of Titans
It did not take long for NFL analysts and former players to weigh in on the Lions’ dominant and different performance. Several took note of a team that looks poised to be the class of the NFC.
The @Lions aren’t just trying to win football games. They are trying to EMBARRASS YOU. +73 point differential the last 3 weeks. 40 points + in 3 of last 4 games. MY GAWD.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) October 27, 2024
RGIII hit the nail on the head with this one — the Lions aren’t content with winning. They need to run away with games to be satisfied.
The Lions have now won five games in a row since suffering their lone defeat of the season to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 15. The winning run started with a relatively tight win over the Arizona Cardinals, but the remaining four games have all been wins in which the team put up 30+ points, with most of those totals going over 40.
The offense isn’t the only unit showing out, as the defense has also done enough to keep games uncompetitive, even with star EDGE Aidan Hutchinson out.
Jahmyr Gibbs, are you kidding me?! See ya 💨💨pic.twitter.com/8HDp8wRTBm
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 27, 2024
The Lions didn’t have a big day through the air, so how exactly did they score so many points? Trick plays, special teams dominance, and turnovers on defense are part of the story. Of course, someone had to move the ball downfield on offense. That mostly meant halfback Jahmyr Gibbs, who ran for 127 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, highlighted by this 70-yard scamper to the end zone.
Jared Goff: 28 pass yards
Lions offense: 35 points in the first half
This team is incredible. pic.twitter.com/esRb34Z0hE
— Evan Fox (@evanfoxy) October 27, 2024
Rather than disparaging Goff, this tweet reminds us that football is a team sport, and the Lions’ ability to produce without leaning heavily on the air game is an indication of their overall strength.
Not many teams can throw eight passes and score this many points, even if three-quarters of those throws are completed with two getting past the goal line.
Jared Goff’s Efficient Day
While Goff didn’t have the most prolific day of his career, it’s hard to argue that he played poorly. He did everything that was asked of him, there just wasn’t too much asked. Goff only threw 15 passes, and he completed 12 of them for a modest total of 85 yards. However, three of those completions went for touchdowns, giving him a QB passer rating of 129.9 for the day.
By our Pro Football Network QB+ metric, Goff earned a score of 53.9, the 16th-best of the 18 performances of this week thus far. In terms of a letter grade, that converts to a C, which is hard to argue with. Goff did nothing wrong but didn’t exactly do anything to impress anyone. He earns a passing grade, nothing more and certainly nothing less.
