This week, we are reviewing the All-22 to see how the Lions were able to convert 4 out of 5 fourth down attempts during their Thursday Night win over the Packers.
For this week’s film review, we are jumping into how the Detroit Lions managed to convert on four out of their five fourth down attempts during their Week 14 win over the Green Bay Packers on “Thursday Night Football.”
Also, if you are more of a video person, you can catch the video myself and my good friend Meko Scott recorded over on the Pride of Detroit YouTube channel where we broke down all five attempts.
Let’s get into the tape and see how the Lions were able to execute and come away with their 11th win in a row.
Fourth-and-goal from the 2. 11 seconds remaining in first half
Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has been an expert at creating mismatches for some time now, and I especially love when he cooks something like this up on a money-down inside the red zone.
The Lions have three tight ends in tight to the left of left tackle Dan Skipper, with Shane Zylstra going in motion as the ball is being snapped to quarterback Jared Goff. Once Zylstra is sent in motion, a Green Bay defender (#39) follows him outside of the screen. This is even more confirmation for Goff that the Packers are in man-coverage.
Once Goff sees Packers linebacker Quay Walker (#7) blitz, that is all he needs in order to zero in on where he wants to go with the football. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs runs a perfect Texas route, leaving the defender with no chance of stopping him in space, and is able to find a bunch of green grass in the middle of the endzone for an easy score.
Fourth-and-1 on the Detroit 39. 9:05 left in 3rd quarter
Sometimes as an offense, you get the alignment you want against a certain call, and that is all you need to find success. This time the Lions are near midfield, looking to continue a drive into Green Bay territory. And while Detroit doesn’t utilize the quarterback sneak as much as some teams, they will certainly take it when teams give them looks like this one below.
The pre-snap motion by tight end Brock Wright was likely just to occupy the eyes of Green Bay’s linebackers for a moment, because as soon as the ball is snapped, Goff is able to simply fall forward while center Frank Ragnow and right guard Kevin Zeitler do the rest.
Fourth-and=goal at the Green Bay 3. 5:02 left in 3rd quarter
Later on in the same series, the Lions once again find themselves needing a fourth-down conversion deep in Green Bay territory. This time, Ben Johnson goes to one of the oldest, yet most reliable tricks in the book—tempo.
The Lions break the huddle quickly, and waste no time in getting set at the line of scrimmage. This, along with the fact that running back Jahmyr Gibbs is split out wide while receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is in the backfield next to Goff, create a few moments of confusion for Green Bay pre-snap. From there, St. Brown releases into the flat, momentarily grabbing the attention of two Green Bay defenders. That is all that Goff needs to find wide receiver Tim Patrick for the first of his two touchdowns on the day.
Fourth-and-1 on the Detroit 31. 1:29 left in 3rd quarter
Remember earlier when I talked about how Green Bay made things easy for the Lions on the quarterback sneak from Goff? Well, they must have learned as the game progressed, and they made sure they would not be surprised by the sneak again. Prior to the snap, Green Bay went with four down defensive linemen, with all four being positioned inside the tackle box—almost daring the Lions to try and run the ball between the tackles.
Instead, the Lions went with a pitch play that was designed to get Gibbs into an alley off-tackle. And while it ultimately did not work and left the Lions’ defense in a tough spot after the failed conversion, I am still not upset with the thought process—just the execution.
Right tackle Penei Sewell climbs to the second level in an effort to pick up Walker, but the linebacker is able to slip underneath him and knife into the backfield. preventing Gibbs from cutting back towards the middle of the field. On top of that, after being sent in motion, tight end Brock Wright appears to get too wide, leaving nobody to block for Gibbs on the edge.
He is able to make one defender miss, but Green Bay rallies to the football and is able to make the stop.
Fourth-and-1 at the Green Bay 21. 43 seconds left in the game
Lastly, we have the call that dominated the shows where they yell at each other for multiple hours on ESPN.
To put things simply, I 1000% agree with Dan Campbell’s thought process here. Your defense has shown up admirably in a game in which they were beyond shorthanded thanks to injuries. Still, you have the opportunity to put the game on ice here with one more first down before attempting the game-winning kick, and with an offensive line like the Lions have—why wouldn’t you take it?
Nothing fancy here—tight end Sam LaPorta is sent in motion across the formation where he, Zylstra, and Patrick do a great job of sealing off the edge. Sewell gets one hell of a chip block on 57 before climbing to pick off Walker, and the alley is there for running back David Montgomery to pick up the seven yards that would ultimately seal the Lions’ 12th win of the regular season.
Sidenote: Goff celebrating on one knee after barely getting the handoff to Montgomery is hilarious.
This. Team.
