🏈 Good morning to everyone but especially …
THE DETROIT LIONS
Exactly one player on the Lions’ active roster — long snapper Jake McQuaide — was alive for the franchise’s last playoff win before Sunday. Head coach Dan Campbell, the singular, unstoppable force who has become the heart and soul of not just the team but of Detroit as a whole, was 15. The NFC North was still called the NFC Central division.
The battle of quarterbacks facing their former team did not disappoint. Matthew Stafford was magnificent with 367 yards and a pair of scores, with record-setting rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua (181 yards, one touchdown) leading the way. But it was Jared Goff (277 yards, one touchdown) who made the game-sealing first-down throw to Amon-Ra St. Brown (110 yards) to win it.
The story of the game was the red zone — The Lions got there three times and scored three touchdowns (on their first three drives, no less). The Rams also got there three times … but scored zero touchdowns.
It’s a new day, and it’s a damn good one in The Motor City. The Lions jumped ahead early and held on late, beating the Rams, 24-23, for their first postseason win since the 1991 season. They had lost nine straight postseason games in the time since.
The quintessential moment to me is the Lions facing second-and-9 with two minutes remaining and the Rams having one timeout. So many teams would just run the ball there (and maybe again on third down). Instead, the Lions decided to erase all doubt, with Goff dropping back and finding St. Brown. These Lions — the league’s most aggressive team — don’t wait for things to come to them. They go and get it. As a result, they got their first playoff win in over three decades. Party on, Detroit
