The Detroit Lions may not be winning pretty, but they are winning… and winning fairly decisively. Against the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit allowed their overmatched opponent to hang around a little too long—and almost let them get back in the game entirely—but when it was time to shut the door, the Lions managed to so.
It was a very strong performance from the Lions defense—particularly in the first half. They tallied three interceptions, and held Cincy to just three points through three quarters. Despite allowing 21 points in the fourth quarter, the game was never really that close.
The offense didn’t do a great job capitalizing on the early takeaways, but their 21 points in the second half helped put away the game for good.
The final score of 35-24 suggested a game that was closer than it really was, but there are no style points in football. The Lions are 4-1 with a big game against the Kansas City Chiefs coming up on Sunday night.
Here’s how the Week 5 win over the Bengals played out.
First quarter
Detroit got the ball first and started with good field position after Jacob Saylors took the opening kickoff across the 40-yard line. The Lions methodically worked their way down the field with a mix of pass and run. The two key plays were both to tight end Sam LaPorta—a 22-yard gain, and a 10-yard touchdown catch and run from LaPorta. 7-0 Lions.
The Lions appeared to get a three-and-out on defense when Aidan Hutchinson tallied a third-down sack, but Hutchinson was lined up offsides on the snap, giving the Bengals a free first down. On the next play, Detroit gave Cincinnati another gift—a 15-yard penalty on Kerby Joseph for a late hit. Joseph made up for it with a nice pass breakup on the next play. After a false start pushed the Bengals back, they found themselves in a third-and-15. Amik Robertson blew up a screen attempt, and the Bengals were forced to punt.
The Lions responded with a promising drive mostly using the passing game. Jared Goff completed passes of 10 or more yards to LaPorta (14), Amon-Ra St. Brown (16), and Jameson Williams (10). But just as the Lions were crossing over into field goal range, Giovanni Manu—starting for left tackle Taylor Decker—lost a rep against Trey Hendrickson, and the Bengals pass rusher sacked Goff and forced a fumble.
The Lions defense made sure the turnover would not result in any Bengals points. Alex Anzalone forced an incompletion on third down to create a three-and-out.
On the ensuing punt, Kalif Raymond took a big hit to his head and stayed down. He eventually walked off under his own power, but was then carted to the locker room. The Lions listed him as questionable to return with a neck injury. He was eventually downgraded to out.
Due to a penalty on Grant Stuard on the punt, the Lions had to start at their own 10-yard line. Detroit was able to get out of their end zone with a pair of first downs, but on third-and-12, Goff faced immediate pressure and took a short sack.
Second quarter
A brilliant punt from Jack Fox pinned the Bengals at their own 3-yard line.
That turned out to be huge, because on the first play of the drive Jake Browning was picked off by Amik Robertson, giving the Lions offense the ball back on the Bengals’ 17-yard line.
A 9-yard run from Gibbs moved the Lions to first-and-goal from the 5-yard line. A few plays later, Montgomery took a wildcat snap, faked a run, and threw a jump-pass to a wide open Brock Wright for the touchdown. 14-0 Lions.
The Bengals were able to pick up a couple of first downs on their next possession, but that was it. Detroit got great defensive plays from Alex Anzalone (tackle for loss), Brian Branch (big hit on a 4-yard gain), and Rock Ya-Sin (pass breakup on third down) to force another Cincinnati punt.
But Detroit only managed a single first down before punting back to the Bengals. Again, they were able to pin them deep (own 4-yard line) thanks to a nice punt and a penalty on Cincinnati. Hutchinson had his second big play taken away from him—this time a sack that would have resulted in a safety. Terrion Arnold was rightfully called for a defensive holding. To his credit, Arnold had pass breakups on the two next plays, setting up a third-and-15 for the Bengals (after a false start). Kerby Joseph picked off Browning on a terrible ball to give the ball right back to Detroit.
Detroit couldn’t do much with the field position, only gaining 4 yards on three plays. The Lions opted to punt from the Bengals’ 41-yard line rather than go for it or try a 58-yard field goal. Fox pinned the Bengals, again, inside their own 10-yard line with 3:07 remaining in the half.
Cincinnati moved the chains on the opening set of downs with a short pass to Ja’Marr Chase on third down—their first third-down conversion of the game. Then Browning hit Andre Iosivas for 25 yards, as the Bengals threatened to put up their first points of the game late in the half. But a great tackle for loss by Jack Campbell on a screen got the Bengals behind the sticks, and Cincy eventually had to settle for a 50-yard field goal attempt. Evan McPherson made it to make it 14-3 Lions at halftime.
Third quarter
The Browns got the ball first, but it only took Browning two plays to throw his third interception of the game. Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone made an acrobatic catch to give Detroit great field position.
This time, the Lions offense finally took advantage of the good field position. St. Brown made a clutch catch on third-and-8, and a few plays later, Jahmyr Gibbs made a great one-man effort on a screen pass for a 20-yard touchdown pass. 21-3 Lions.
The Bengals offensive struggles continued. This time, they went three-and-out after Anzalone’s tight coverage forced an incompletion on third-and-3.
Detroit’s ensuing drive was immediately sparked by a 39-yard play-action pass to LaPorta.
Then the Lions hit the Bengals with six straight plays to David Montgomery—including a third-down conversion on a dump-off to him, and a 19-yard run that moved the Lions into a goal-to-go situation. The last of the six was an 8-yard touchdown for Montgomery, after the back made a nice cut to the outside for the score. 28-3 Lions.
The Bengals slowly worked their way down the field to try to salvage anything from this game. The Lions should have gotten off the field on a fourth-and-3 failed conversion, but Cincy was bailed out by a very questionable pass interference call on Anzalone. The Bengals were able to work their way down into the red zone as the clock turned over to the final quarter.
Fourth quarter
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Browning made a ridiculous throw on the run, and Ja’Marr Chase toe drag swagged his way to a 15-yard touchdown, making the score 28-10 Lions.
On the drive, Terrion Arnold suffered a shoulder injury and was carted to the locker room. He was initially listed as questionable to return, but he, too, was downgraded to out.
The Lions offense flirted with making this a game again, quickly going three and out. Trey Hendrickson notched his second sack of the game, when the Lions matched Brock Wright with him one-on-one.
Cincy struck quickly. While the Lions had the Bengals in a tight spot after an Aidan Hutchinson sack, Browning converted a third-and-14 when Ja’Marr Chase beat Amik Robertson with a double move for a massive 64-yard touchdown with still over 10 minutes left. 28-17 Lions.
The Lions offense would close the door from there, though. A 26-yard pass to St. Brown got the drive moving, then four straight runs to Montgomery moved them into the red zone. To ensure it was a three-score game, Goff hit rookie Isaac TeSlaa for a 12-yard touchdown and a 35-17 Lions lead with just over five minutes remaining.
The Bengals would add their third fourth-quarter touchdown to make it 35-24 Lions with three minutes left. Browning found Tee Higgins for the short score.
The Lions just barely recovered the onside kick, but quickly went three-and-out after Manu gave up a blindside sack on third down. That give the Bengals two minutes to make up an 11-point deficit, starting at their own 7-yard line. But their dreams of a comeback lasted exactly one play, when Derrick Barnes blasted up the middle of the line for a sack and a safety. 37-24 Lions.
St. Brown recovered the onside punt thingy, allowing Detroit to run out most of the remaining clock.
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