The Detroit Lions scored a massive victory in Los Angeles on Sunday, defeating Justin Herbert and the Chargers, 41-38. The Lions punted just one time all game, and won on a last-second 41-yard field goal from Riley Patterson.
At the end of the first quarter, the Lions ran an interesting play where Jared Goff handed the ball off to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who was lined up in the backfield, to covert a fourth-and-1. Chargers safety Derwin James immediately recognized the play from L.A.'s historic postseason loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last year.
"We got that play to end the game in Jacksonville," James said, via The Athletic. "It was that same play, and they hit us on it."
Back in January, the Chargers blew a 27-0 lead to lose to the Jags in the Wild Card round, 31-30. It was the fifth-largest comeback in NFL history, and the third-largest in NFL postseason history. The Jaguars' game-winning drive was kept alive thanks to a 25-yard run by Travis Etienne on fourth-and-1, a play that provided the blueprint for something Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson wanted to use.
Check out the two plays, here:
Both 4th & 1 situations. Compare and contrast what the Lions and Jaguars did. https://t.co/xVgUZH717K pic.twitter.com/L4X7f3W2fl
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) November 13, 2023
As you can see, these two plays aren't the exact same. The pre-snap alignments were not identical, and Trevor Lawrence didn't fake a pitch to the opposite side like Goff did. But there was one common theme The Athletic points out, and that was attacking cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. on the outside. Still, they were close enough to where James noticed it.
The Chargers defense once again let down Herbert, as they allowed 533 yards of total offense and didn't force a single turnover. Head coach Brandon Staley was brought in to boost the Chargers defense, but this unit has underperformed for years now. L.A. ranks 31st in yards allowed per game (393.2), last in passing yards allowed per game (291.2) and 24th in points allowed per game (23.9).
