Film breakdown: How the Lions pulled off CRAZY hook-and-ladder play

How did the Detroit Lions’ hook-and-ladder play work so perfectly vs. the Cardinals? We dive into every detail from the play in our latest film breakdown.

The Detroit Lions pulled off the most exciting play of Week 3 with this hook-and-ladder from Amon-Ra St. Brown to Jahmyr Gibbs.

Because of the inherent danger of a trick play like this, they are carefully crafted and repeatedly practiced to make sure every little detail is executed to perfection. The Lions pulled it off perfectly, thanks to masterful design by offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and flawless execution from the players.

Let’s dive deep into every aspect of the play, and how Detroit was able to pull it off against the Arizona Cardinals.

Didn’t they run this play before?

If you’re like me, you immediately thought of the hook-and-ladder play from the 2022 season finale, where St. Brown lateraled to D’Andre Swift for a big gain that led to Detroit clinching the win.

While the concept is a similar misdirection, the anatomy of the play was actually quite different.

This plays involved less route development and more getting offensive linemen out in front. Goff immediately gets the ball out to St. Brown, who backs up from the line of scrimmage. It’s meant to emulate an often-run WR screen, but with the added twist of the lateral. It worked just as much as the 2024 version, but it’s actually not all that similar.

Setting up the defense with similar-looking plays out of the same formation

So much of preparation for the week is film scouting of the opponent. It’s about finding tendencies, familiarizing yourself with specific formations, and any other hints you can find in the film.

So here’s the look of the trick play, and the route each player ran.

This four-wide, 11-personnel look has been pretty common for Detroit’s offense through three weeks. St. Brown is versatile enough to really be in any of the four positions here, and while he’s best on the interior, it’s certainly not uncommon for him to be on the outside like this.

As Ben Johnson is so good at, the Lions run several plays out of this look, and just a week prior, he ran a play that the Cardinals likely saw and logged in their memory. Here’s how that play looked:

As you can see, the pre-snap alignment is exactly the same, with the only difference being that David Montgomery is in the backfield instead of Gibbs. St. Brown and Sam LaPorta are even on the short side of the field both times. And if you look at their route combination, it’s quite similar. St. Brown runs a dig while LaPorta runs a space-clearing vertical route. The non-playside routes are significantly different, and Montgomery goes to the opposite flats in the Bucs games. However, for the playside defenders, these plays likely look identical.

What I also find fascinating is that both of these plays occurred during a two-minute drill at the end of the half. There’s so much overlap here that is designed to create a feeling of familiarity for the defense.

Against the Buccaneers, Goff hit St. Brown for a 9-yard gain. Against, the Cardinals, Detroit pulled the rug out from underneath them.

But Budda Baker…

All week, Lions coaches praised the instincts, speed, and physicality that Baker presents. He’s one of those players teams have to account for every play, and he’s exactly the kind of player who could destroy a play like this.

“He is an issue, he’s active player, he is a football-playing dude, and he can smell it,” Campbell said early in the week. “He can sniff it out, and he’s going to find it.”

In this instance, Baker did not, in fact, sniff it out. Detroit catches a little bit of a break here because Baker is the single-high safety on this play, and he’s quite literally the furthest player away from where the play is designed to go.

While they may have lucked out on the defensive play call, it’s also very likely that Detroit intentionally ran this play to the opposite side of the field that Baker was on.

Still, Baker is a good enough player to stop this play before it becomes a big one. However, on this particular play, St. Brown was just too tempting of eye candy for Baker, and two bad steps caused him to be out of the play just enough for Gibbs to take it to the house.

Of course, it wasn’t just Baker who was drawn to St. Brown. Two defenders immediately descend upon St. Brown, completely unaware of Gibbs trailing behind him.

How Gibbs went completely unnoticed

Okay, let’s back up and watch how Gibbs managed to slip by without a single Cardinals player noticing him. St. Brown is obviously a pretty good distraction, but I thought the Lions’ design for Gibbs allowed him to perfectly camouflage on this play.

The end zone angle really captures the brilliance of the design and the sell-job by Gibbs. Take a look:

Gibbs’ very first step is forward, feigning an interest in helping Graham Glasgow in pass protection. Even when he sneakily passes through the A-gap, his shoulders are squared to the line of scrimmage, indicating a blocking posture. It’s really only as he slightly shades to the right that he turns on the turbo jets. Prior to that, there really is no indication that Gibbs is even an option on this play. It’s an incredible sell by the second-year player.

Sam LaPorta, the unsung hero

St. Brown and Gibbs get the glory of pulling off the incredible play, but LaPorta deserves an assist. He effectively takes the other safety—veteran Jalen Thompson—completely out of the play with his vertical route, and a block that lasts at least four full seconds.

The man sacrificed the health of his ankle for this play, as Baker comes flying in late, crashing into LaPorta’s legs.