The Detroit Lions apparently have no interest in making Sundays relaxing.
After another game that went down to the final minute, Dan Campbell had a message for anyone hoping to beat traffic out of Ford Field this season.
Don’t bother.
Detroit survived the New York Jets 31-24 on Sunday, improving to 2-1 after a game that looked comfortable for a while and then became anything but. The Lions led 24-10 in the fourth quarter before New York rallied to tie it at 24.
Jahmyr Gibbs answered with an 11-yard touchdown reception from Jared Goff with 2:25 remaining, and Detroit’s defense finally ended things when Chuck Clark strip-sacked Geno Smith and Jack Campbell recovered the fumble. The turnover allowed Detroit to kneel out a victory that was considerably more stressful than it appeared headed into the fourth quarter.
Dan Campbell Has a Message for Lions Fans
Afterward, Campbell was asked about a strange early-season trend. The Lions have scored exactly 31 points in each of their first three games.
His response quickly turned into a warning for anyone planning an early exit.
“I tell you what, you’re coming to our games, you’re loving this now. I mean, these are exciting games. These are exciting. Come down to the wire. Nobody’s leaving early, you know, and that was the point. We’re not going to let anybody leave early this year.”
Campbell laughed off the coincidence of Detroit landing on 31 points again, but he was not wrong about the entertainment value.
The Lions opened the season with a 31-30 overtime win over the New Orleans Saints, then lost 41-31 in Buffalo. Sunday brought another 31-point performance and another finish that remained undecided until the closing seconds.
Detroit’s offense has now scored 31 points in all three games, and Sunday required contributions from everywhere. Gibbs finished with 164 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns, while Goff completed 25 of 32 passes for 269 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Gibbs also made NFL history with his start to the season.
Lions Keep Finding Ways to Make It Interesting
Campbell also gave credit to the Jets defense and former Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, whose group kept New York within striking distance.
“That’s a good defense, to be able to put up some points and move it up and down the field when we had to have it. We weren’t perfect, but AG’s done a damn good job with that defense. He’s got kind of the personnel the way he wants it, the style, and they mixed up a couple little things.
“It was a good job of adjusting and getting our guys going.”
Detroit needed those adjustments.
The Jets erased a two-touchdown fourth-quarter deficit before Gibbs delivered the go-ahead score. Then, with New York at the Lions’ 28-yard line in the final minute, defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard sent Clark on a safety blitz. Clark arrived untouched, knocked the ball loose from Smith and effectively ended the game. The Lions credited Sheppard’s pressure call with producing the decisive play.
For Lions fans, Campbell’s advice is probably worth following.
Stay in your seat.
Three games into the season, Detroit has made one thing remarkably consistent: 31 points and very little peace and quiet.
