THE DETROIT LIONS got back to winning ways with a clinical all-round display to defeat the Las Vegas Raiders 26-14 on Monday.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw one touchdown and finished with 272 passing yards, while Detroit’s rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs also caught the eye with his first home touchdown at Ford Field.
Gibbs, 21, piled up 152 rushing yards from 26 carries as Detroit returned to form after last week’s 38-6 thrashing by Baltimore.
The victory sees Detroit improve to 6-2 to tighten their grip on the NFC North division, which they lead from Minnesota (4-4).
“I thought we played really well all across the board,” Goff told ESPN after the win.
“We made some critical mistakes on offense but we were able to overcome them and that’s what good teams do.
“Defense played their tails off and gave us a lot of good opportunities. It was a full team win. It was great.”
The Lions were slow to get going and were forced to settle for three straight Riley Patterson field goals to open up a 9-0 lead early in the second quarter.
The Raiders got back into the game in the closing minutes of the first half when Josh Jacobs rushed over from three yards for a touchdown after a 10-play 75-yard drive.
But Detroit responded immediately, with Goff picking out rookie tight end Sam LaPorta for an 18-yard touchdown with 27 seconds remaining in the second quarter to make it 16-7 at the break.
The Lions were rocked back early in the third quarter when Goff could only watch in dismay as former Los Angeles Rams team-mate Marcus Peters picked off his pass and raced 75 yards into the end zone.
That made it 16-14, but Gibbs then took over to produce a dazzling 27-yard rushing touchdown to leave Detroit 23-14 up after Patterson kicked the extra point.
Patterson then booted a 52-yard field goal — his fourth of the night — to complete the scoring.
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
