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    • The Detroit Lions just don't panic when everything goes wrong
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    The Detroit Lions just don't panic when everything goes wrong

    Kathleen William Posted on

    MINNEAPOLIS – The Detroit Lions aren’t freaking out – are you?

    Were you worried Sunday afternoon when the Vikings took a 10-0 lead?

    Okay, be honest. On a scale of: I wonder what's on Netflix … To… Hey, let's go apple picking… How close were you to giving up on this game?

    After the Lions' slow start, early penalties and failed fake punt, did you think: Oh man, will this be worse than the Week 7 debacle in Baltimore in 2023?

    And then? Ugh, it got worse.

    THE GAME: Jake Bates leads the Lions past the Vikings in a 31:29 victory and into first place in the NFC North

    Did you have a terrible feeling of despair when running back David Montgomery was helped off the field? Spoiler alert, he came back.

    Well, here's the thing.

    The Lions didn't freak out.

    “We found a way back,” head coach Dan Campbell told Fox at halftime. “We were patient on offense. Our pieces came to us.”

    Oh, they ever did.

    They fought back, took the lead and then – ugh. A fumble, scoop and score and not again.

    The Lions faced even more adversity.

    Did you freak out in the fourth quarter?

    These Lions certainly didn't do that.

    The defense got a huge stop and the offense moved the ball and Jake Bates, the rookie kicker, hit a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds left, giving the Lions a thrilling 31-29 victory and this wild roller coaster ride ended a game

    It was a victory that came from patience and perseverance and maintaining composure in adversity.

    A terrible beginning

    Of course, this misfortune is largely due to the Lions' own fault.

    Because things couldn't have started much worse for the Lions.

    The Vikings' complicated, ever-changing defensive line confused the Lions early in the game.

    The Lions had to hold on for half of the first six offensive games.

    And then a fake punt failed miserably.

    This gave the Viikings incredible field position.

    Two plays later, Aaron Jones started up the middle, sucked up rookie corner Terrion Arnold and opened up the outside for an easy, untouched 34-yard TD – the longest against the Lions this season.

    The Hutch Factor

    After Aidan Hutchinson dropped out, Campbell appeared to say: We have to surpass them.

    So he decided on an early fake punt, which failed.

    And late in the first quarter, when the Lions were down 10-0, they rallied to take the win on their own 40 minutes.

    But suddenly the Vikings' defensive line moved, causing the Lions to flinch – and Campbell sent the punt team.

    Oh, what a blessing in disguise.

    The comeback

    Even though it was a tough start for the Lions, it felt like they had overcome disaster – what felt like a 100-0 deficit was actually just 10-0.

    “We just have to settle in,” Minnesota coach Kevin O'Connell told Fox during a break. “It will be a challenge. The defense is playing great.”

    And then it wasn't.

    Jahmyr Gibbs ran away from the tackle, juked – leaving Camryn Bynum in the dust – and sprinted 45 yards for a touchdown.

    That single run seemed to breathe life back into the Lions.

    Big day for Branch

    Here’s a word about Brian Branch.

    The Lions selected him 45th overall in the 2023 draft, and in hindsight it seems like a steal.

    Because he had a fantastic day.

    He showed off his coverage skills by knocking down a ball intended for Jalen Nailor, preventing a first down and ending a Vikings drive.

    And he had a good defensive performance late in the second quarter.

    In fact, he jumped the overage so quickly that he almost ran over the interception and had to jump up and grab the ball.

    The trust factor

    This was a game about trust.

    Given the Vikings' exotic blitz attack, quarterback Jared Goff had to make quick reads and often threw before a receiver made a cut.

    He trusted that they were in the right place, and they were.

    Of his first 20 passes, he completed all but one – a ball intended for Sam LaPorta that was deflected at the line.

    One of these passes was a beauty in every way.

    At one point, the Vikings had seven defenders lined up at the line of scrimmage and left one in coverage.

    How could the Lions fend off the onslaught?

    Penei Sewell actually blocked two different players, and Tim Patrick actually stayed in to block – a fantastic wrinkle.

    That gave Goff time to hit Amon-Ra St. Brown wide open in the middle of the field for a 35-yard touchdown.

    And the Lions already had a lead of 14:10.

    The fiddly bumblebee

    The Lions had a 28-23 lead with less than 6 minutes to play.

    But Montgomery fumbled the ball when fifth-year pro Josh Metellus from Michigan knocked the ball away and Ivan Pace scooped it up for the touchdown.

    But the 2-point conversion failed as the Vikings led 29-28.

    And that failed conversion was a big difference in this game.

    Contact Jeff Seidel: [email protected]. Follow him on X @seideljeff. To read his latest columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

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    Kathleen William
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