The Detroit Lions had a feeling their play call on 4th-and-1 late in the game against the Jets could be quite successful.
"I knew someone was going to be wide open. I wasn’t sure exactly who that would be, and I didn’t know that it was going to be a touchdown. I thought it was going to be an explosive though," said offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. "I thought it was going to be big, and that’s kind of -- every week, we kind of have the gameplan set up where, ‘Shoot man, I really hope we can get these, I don’t know, call it five to 10 plays off the sheet.’ But situation really dictates that, so it kind of depends. Kind of depends on whether we can get to it or not, but that’s every week we feel really good about certain plays, and you can’t just call them out of the blue and hope they work. We would just try to set them up in the right spots.”
The Lions have been the talk of the NFL the past few weeks, as winning six of the past seven games has put the roster and their coaching staff in the national spotlight.
Former NFL defensive back Ryan Clark said this week, "Whether it's the late throw to Penei Sewell (last week), or if it's the 'Y-High' (the play call for Brock Wright's on fourth-down), if it's coming up with a defensive stop and turnovers in the red zone against Green Bay. They are a team now that has come together and learned how to play complementary football."
Here is the conversation that Wright had with All Lions following practice, discussing his touchdown and the Lions playoff push.
*Questions and responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
Q: You had the game-winning 51-yard touchdown against the New York Jets last week. Take us inside the play.
A: It felt great. I mean, it's a rush of adrenaline there, but just more excited to get the win at the end of the game. So, for me, my objective on that play is to really to sell like I'm getting in there and blocking and then to sneak out to the flat. And so first, I just tried to sell it and then luckily, they took the bait. And then when I snuck out there, got the ball and turned up and had wide open field to run.
Q: Was that the most wide-open field you have ever seen?
A: Yeah, I think it had to be for sure.
Q: What was your thought process when you see all that open space?
A: Just run as fast as I can and try to get in the end zone.
Q: When Justin Jackson ran up to you, gave you an embrace and said, 'We believe in you,' what did that mean to you?
A: It means everything. I mean, that's what it's all about. Playing for your teammates, and we battled back there and came out with the win. Like I said, that's the most important thing and so being able to celebrate with everyone after that, it's pretty special.
Q: What’s your overall view of the season for yourself?
A: Yeah, it's been a great year. Obviously, we had a rocky start. But then, you know, going 6-1 the last seven games has been a tremendous turnaround for us. And I'm just excited to finish the year off strong.
Q: Dan Campbell has talked about the one-game season mindset. How do you as a player keep that mindset and not get caught up in everything else going on around the league? Because as the season goes on, the pressure starts to rise.
A: I mean, Coach Duce Staley told us, I think it was three, four weeks ago, “Hey, we’re playing playoff football already.” It's a one week season every week now. So that's kind of been the mentality, just focus on this week, focus on the now and everything will take care of itself.
Q: Jared Goff has been playing exceptionally well as of late. What does he mean to this offense?
A: Yeah, like I said the other day to someone, we go as Jared goes. He's been tremendous this year, he’s been lights out and a great leader for our offense. And so we run through him, obviously, and it's fun to be a part of and to watch him ball out like he is.
Q: Ben Johnson was the tight ends coach before taking over as offensive coordinator. What is your relationship like with him given that background?
A: It's great. I mean, I loved having him as a tight end coach and love that I’m having him as an offensive coordinator. He loves tight ends. What's funny about him is he'll say that he was a former quarterback but he loves the run game more than anybody. So his detail in that, he’s just as detailed as that is in the pass game. And so it's just all around football knowledge. Great to learn from a guy like that.
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