DETROIT — The assumption was, they were done. Cooked. Season lost, changes happening. One assistant coach fired, one key player traded, time to look to the future.
And then an odd thing happened Sunday in Ford Field. In the aftermath of turmoil, glimpses of the future arrived, and so did opportunity. The Lions didn’t drop it this time, just the opposite, actually. They picked it off, intercepting Aaron Rodgers three times, all the big defensive plays were made by youngsters, including two interceptions by rookie Kerby Joseph.
The Lions’ 15-9 victory against Green Bay was bizarre in many ways, and perhaps revealing in important ways. It wasn’t just that the Packers are a wounded, wobbly foe and Rodgers was awful. It’s that the Lions made him look awful, with a spirited effort from a defense that had been maligned and mauled.
The Lions (2-6) snapped a five-game losing streak and extended the Packers' losing streak to five, the longest of Rodgers’ career. Green Bay (3-6) is a mess right now but that shouldn’t minimize what the Lions did. Instead of looking broken and lost, their defense clawed back. If they’re ever going to turn this around, this is how it will happen, with sharpening young talent and a ball-hawking mentality.
“Proud of our guys, they don’t go away,” Campbell said, his face red and his eyes watery. “They believe they can win every week. We made one more play today, one more play than they did.”
One more play — it’s what the Lions have been missing most of the season, most of several seasons. For the first time in a long while, the “one more play” came from the defense, as the offense struggled. This wasn’t about Jared Goff, although if the Lions had lost, it might’ve been. He was 14-for-26 for 137 yards and an interception.
Youth and opportunity
This was about youth and opportunity. First-round pick Aidan Hutchinson collected the first interception of his football career, on any level. Joseph, a third-round pick, was absolutely dynamic. Second-round pick Josh Paschal spent considerable time in Green Bay’s backfield. Sixth-round pick Malcolm Rodriguez was all over the field, and second-year linebacker Derrick Barnes had the game’s only sack. He also was in the right place at an opportune time on Green Bay’s first drive. On first-and-goal from the Lions’ 5, Rodgers’ pass bounced off Barnes’ helmet and caromed to Joseph in the end zone for an interception.
The defense spent the week just trying to get its bearings, after getting shredded by the Dolphins. That led to the firing of defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant. That led to a players-only defensive meeting, in which they vowed to sharpen their focus and be more aggressive hunting turnovers. That led to the postgame locker room Sunday, where Campbell gave the game ball to defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.
“I thought earlier in the week we came together as a defense and we got real with each other,” Hutchinson said. “And that doesn’t necessarily equate to success, but I thought we definitely were more on the same page. …That’s what happens when you get older and keep playing more games. You can see it with Kerby, with Malcolm, with Josh, all the rookies, taking leaps and bounds. I feel our trajectory is just going up at this point.”
Hutchinson followed an upward trajectory on his interception. The Packers had a fourth down at the Lions’ 1 and tried a trick play. Rodgers flipped a quick pass intended for left tackle David Bakhtiari, who checked in as an eligible receiver. Rodgers short-armed the throw and ended up lobbing it, and Hutchinson tracked it.
“That thing was in the air for about 10 seconds it felt like,” Hutchinson said. “I was just staring and I was like, am I really about to catch this? It was wild. Great. Awesome.”
Hutchinson said Rodgers told him afterward that was a “freebie” for a “young pup.” Rodgers was dishing a few freebies, throwing two red-zone interceptions for the first time in his career.
“Yeah, had some (expletive) throws for sure,” Rodgers said. “The kid (Joseph) made a nice one down the middle, but the other two, probably should’ve just checked out of that play and handed it off.”
The Lions’ defense wasn’t impenetrable. But after sitting at the bottom of most of the league’s statistical categories, it rose up. The Packers finished with 389 total yards but their depleted receiving corps was dinged again early, losing Romeo Doubs to injury.
For a change, the Lions feasted on the wounded. The trade of T.J Hockenson to the Vikings last Tuesday opened more doors, and two newcomers stepped through. Rookie tight end James Mitchell, a fifth-round pick from Virginia Tech, cashed in his opportunity with a 3-yard touchdown catch from Goff in the fourth quarter. Another new tight end, Shane Zylstra, fresh off the practice squad, caught a 1-yard touchdown pass to help the Lions forge a most unlikely 8-0 halftime lead.
The Packers had one final frantic attempt to win it after Campbell elected to go for it on fourth-and-3 from Green Bay’s 43 with two minutes left. The reasoning was justifiable — you don’t want to give the ball back to Rodgers if you can possibly avoid it. The call was poor, and Jamaal Williams lost two yards on a run.
The Packers took over and Rodgers converted one fourth down to the Lions 17. From there, Rodgers threw four incompletions, including a timely third-down deflection by reserve safety C.J. Moore. The last pass wasn’t close, and finally, Lions fans could drown out the standard horde of Packers interlopers.
In the clutch
From “young pup” Hutchinson to “the kid” Joseph, the Lions made clutch plays, one more clutch play than the Packers. It doesn’t save the season, or even necessarily turn it around. It means the players weren’t defeated by last week’s upheaval. It also means desperation can be a fine motivating factor, although it can’t always be the main factor.
“Man, our defense has taken some heat and to see them step up, against a worthy opponent, and a good quarterback, it’s real good,” Campbell said. “I’m proud of those guys because it’s easy to just get frustrated and go in the tank, but they came back.”
So what does that say?
“It just says that we made the plays that were there,” Campbell said. “We did not let an opportunity slip through our fingers.”
Not this time. And that should boost their youthful confidence the next time, when one more play has to be made.
