What a performance from the Detroit Lions against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football. A 38-30 win that featured some classic moments, and the Lions also got their revenge from 2013.
Jared Goff played an outstanding game in this one. He completed 71.4% of his passes for 202 yards and a touchdown. The big one was the fourt-an-2 pass that we'll talk about later. Goff continues to just shatter the idea that he can't succeed without Ben Johnson and Sean McVay.
The Lions had 30 total pressures in this game. You read that right. 30! Couple that with seven sacks, and it's time for people to stop asking me about Trey Hendrickson. What a night.
If you were super concerned that Ben Johnson's leaving meant the Lions wouldn't be creative on offense anymore, that was a bit of an overreaction, wasn't it? John Morton drew up some super fun plays, including a little flea-flicker type move where Goff handed the ball off and then ran to the side and got it thrown to him before he hit Amon-Ra St. Brown with a first down pass. Then there was this beauty:
Step 1: Hand it to Amon-Ra ✅
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 23, 2025
Step 2: Pitch it to Jah ✅
Step 3: Hit the TD celly ✅ pic.twitter.com/GlZiAL13zy
I'm not going to dog pile on the guy like others have. It is concerning that he's been targeted almost exclusively this season, and teams keep making it work. For the most part, he's been in a position to make a play after the catch, and in other situations, he's been in a position to get a pick, and it just hasn't happened yet. That's not even the big complaint I have.
The big complaint is that he keeps getting flagged at the worst possible time. Last week, he turned a Bears third-and-15 into a first down with a DPI. They would score a few plays later. Against the Ravens, a DPI on a pretty uncatchable ball put the Ravens on the goal line, and then they scored. It just has to stop.
Is there anything worse than watching one of the best defensive players in the game drop an easy interception? Yes, watching another really good player drop one on the same drive just a few plays later. Brian Branch and D.J. Reed both dropped what should have been sure picks during the Ravens' opening drive of the third quarter, and it resulted in the Ravens taking the lead in the game. Just horrible stuff to see.
If you saw Sam LaPorta on Monday night, he was either blocking like an insane person or catching passes on third down. The blocking was really nice. It wasn't just pass blocking either; LaPorta shone in run blocking. Something that hasn't really been his strongest suit in the past.
What a game from Al-Quadin Muhammad. With Marcus Davenport going down with a chest injury, Muhammad got the chance to have an expanded role against the Ravens, and he made the most of it with two and a half second-half sacks and seven pressures. At this point, if he keeps playing like this, he's going to steal Marcus Davenport's starting job.
On that fourth-and-2 in the fourth quarter, you knew Campbell was going for it. You wouldn't have it any other way, would you? But still, admit you were scared. We were all scared. What was expected was a David Montgomery run up the middle; what we got was maybe one of the best throws of Jared Goff's career. Just what a moment.
Dan Campbell GOES FOR IT on 4th down
— John Frascella (Football) (@NFLFrascella) September 23, 2025
Jared Goff DIME
Amon Ra absolute machine
pic.twitter.com/PWI9UW77QV
The Lions need to get this fixed going forward. Against the Bears, they left 14 points off the board, and then did it again against the Ravens. They forced a turnover on downs, punted, and then forced a fumble and settled for a field goal. This has to be a focus for the Lions going forward.
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