Jared Goff and the Lions lose a game they were expected to lose, but still played well, 5 other takeaways

My eyes hurt from rolling them so hard after Dean Blandino got on the broadcast and said that not only did the NFL rule it both a catch and a touchdown, but also that it was a catch in which the player apparently lost control and then magically regained it just as he crossed the plane.

Just embarrassing stuff from the league.

The Lions' defense did a lot of things right, until fourth down

This was actually a fairly good showing from the Lions' defense for most of the day, believe it or not. It managed to take this explosive Rams offense and force them into multiple fourth-down attempts.

At one point, the Rams were 0-6 on third down and didn't convert one until the end of the third quarter. The problem is that the Rams were perfect on fourth down. The Lions' defense just couldn't get off the field in some big moments, and it hurt in the end.

Still, it made the most of the effort, and with a beaten-down secondary, the Lions forced some punts and kept the Rams out of the end zone at key moments. That's all you can really expect from a secondary full of backups.

Lions' offense got neutered in the second half

The Lions were balling in the first half, and Goff was having one heck of a game. We thought Amon-Ra St. Brown might go for 200 yards receiving. Then, in the third quarter, it all went away.

In its place came a run game that wasn't going anywhere, bad blocking that got Goff sacked, and receivers who just stopped getting open. The Rams' touchdown from the officials was bad enough, but the Lions' three-and-out on the next drive only made it worse.

What a sequence

The beginning of this game had a little bit of everything. First, you have Dan Campbell getting conservative and not going for it on fourth down in the red zone. Then you have Jake Bates missing a kick. Then the Rams came out and had a big pass play to Davante Adams.

Then Matthew Stafford throws a pick to Aidan Hutchinson, who has a 56-yard return. Then Goff hits St. Brown in the end zone for a touchdown. This all happened in what felt like two minutes.

Superman vs. The Flash

Everyone has always wanted to know who would win in a race between Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs, and on Sunday, we found that it was Williams. Granted, nobody was going full speed.

This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Dec 15, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.