Deadline Detroit | That Was Close! Detroit Lions Win in OT 26-20. Dan Campbell Says ‘We Got to Get Better.’

It was a classic nail-biter.

The Detroit Lions on Sunday night didn’t always look like a Super Bowl-bound team, but they certainly did in the final drive in overtime at Ford Field when they came from behind to beat Matt Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams 26-20, thanks in part to the mighty power of running back David Montgomery, who was a brute on the field, rushing for 91 yards during the game, and scoring the winning touchdown from the one-yard line.

Jameson Williams had a career-high 121 receiving yards. Jared Goff had an acceptable game, but not outstanding. And the Rams managed to contain two of the Lions’ weapons, Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta. Combined they had seven catches totalling 58 yards.

However close, the Lions are 1-0, tied for first place with the Vikings and the Bears. The Packers lost.

They looked a bit rusty at times, perhaps because the starters didn’t play in the pre-season. 

Detroit Lions Coach Dan Campbell acknowledged the team’s shortcomings after the game.

“We got to get better and whether we won or lost today, we got to get better, and we we won. We still have to get better and we’ll clean all this up and then and we got to play better against Tampa next week.”

Here’s what some of the sports writers had to say:

Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press:

I’d like to say huge, considering all the raw emotion coursing through Ford Field. But honestly it felt more like the Lions survived after they blew a double-digit lead (for the second game in a row) and let the short-handed Rams back in the game. Of course, season openers can be crazy affairs that ultimately don’t tell us much. Right, 2023 Kansas City Chiefs? This was always going to be a tough draw for the Lions because that old saying — it’s hard to beat a team twice — is cited so often. And that’s what this game was: a rematch of two teams that essentially just played each other. The Lions won this game, ultimately, with their run game, salting it away with David Montgomery’s hard-nosed running in overtime. Expect both these teams to make the playoffs and, with any luck, face off in yet another rematch in January.

Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times

A remade Rams defense played the Detroit Lions tough through four quarters on Sunday night.

But they could not stop the Lions in overtime. Jared Goff drove his team 70 yards in eight plays and David Montgomery scored on a one-yard touchdown to send the Rams to a 26-20 defeat before 66,530 at Ford Field…

It was another heartbreaking loss for the Rams and Stafford, who lost here, 24-23, last January in an NFC wild-card game.

Bob Wojnowski, Detroit News

The Lions and their fans enjoyed themselves so much last year, hey, might as well keep the ride rolling. It returned on opening night, picking up where it left off, right down to the final sweaty second.

If the Lions are required to prove themselves all over again, same path, same goal, same opponents, it was a helluva start, occasionally sloppy, relentlessly riveting. The stakes weren’t the same as their playoff thriller against the Rams in January, but it still felt like it. Matthew Stafford was back again, slinging missiles and misery at the Lions, and they dodged it again, just barely.

Colton Pouncy, The Athletic

This was far from a clean game for the Lions. Tackling was sloppy. There were dropped interceptions, poor angles to the ball, too many open looks allowing the Rams into Detroit territory. On offense, things were stagnant for a stretch. Before a game-tying field goal, the offense had just seven points in the second half. This will all need to be corrected, especially when you consider the Rams were down some key pieces. But that’s what good teams do — they find ways to win games without their best stuff. When the lights came on, the defense got the stop it needed and the offense scored 10 unanswered to win the game.

Overtime was straight bully-ball, with the offensive line coming alive to pave the way for Montgomery. His game winner from a yard out put the nail in the coffin. — Colton Pouncy, Lions beat writer

In the post-game press conference Detroit Coach Dan Campbell conceded the Lions’ could have done much better, even though they won.

“We got to get better, and whether we won or lost today, we got to get better. And  we we won we still have to get better. And we’ll clean all this up and then and we got to play better against Tampa next week.”