By Tim Peterson
(Inglewood)-Riley Patterson kicked a 41-yad field goal as the clock hit zeroes to give Detroit a 41-38 win over the Chargers Sunday before 70,240 at SoFi Stadium.
The Chargers were playing catch-up all day. They trailed 24-10 in the second quarter and 24-17 at the half. They caught the Lions three different times in the second half but Detroit had the ball last and made it count. The Chargers scored on a touchdown pass from Justin Herbert to Keenan Allen with 3:34 left to tie the game. But the Lions got the ball and never gave it back driving down into LA territory where Patterson booted the game winner.
Detroit got on the board first when Patterson kicked a 33-yard field goal on its first possession. The score was set up by a 46-yard pass play from Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown down to the Chargers 12-yard line.
Cameron Dicker “The Kicker” booted a 48-yard field goal on the Chargers’ next possession to tie it at 3.
The Lions marched 75 yards on 5 plays on the next series. Jahmyr Gibbs busted off a 35-yard run to set up a one-yard touchdown run by Gibbs to put the Lions up 10-3 with 4:18 left in the first quarter.
Kerby Joseph then picked off Justin Herbert to set-up the Lions at the LA 33. But the Chargers stopped the Lions on a fourth and goal at the one-yard line early in the second quarter to leave the score at 10-3.
After a Chargers punt the Lions went go 60 yards on 9 plays. Gibbs scored on a one-yard run on fourth and goal.
The Chargers marched 75 yards on 10 plays on their next possession. Herbert hit Allen, who had a huge day, on a 29- yard touchdown strike to cut the Detroit lead to 17-10 with 3:31 left in the second quarter.
The Lions answered immediately as David Montgomery broke off a 75-yard touchdown run to put Detroit up by two scores with 3:07 left in the half.
The Chargers put together a 75-yard, 10 play drive. Austin Ekeler scored on a two-yard run to make it 24-17 with 23 seconds left.
The Lions took that lead into the break.
The Chargers got even in the third quarter. Jalen Guyton hauled in a 28-yard pass from Herbert to cap a 10-play, 92-yard drive and it was tied at 24 with 7:59 left in the third quarter.
The Lions broke the tie on the next series. St. Brown caught a pass in the flat and raced 20 yards to paydirt for a 31-24 advantage with 4:31 left in the third quarter. Detroit used 7 plays to drive 75 yards.
The Chargers scored on a fourth and one as Quentin Johnson caught a one-yard pass from Herbert to tie it at 31 with 11:30 left in the fourth quarter. The Chargers used 16 plays on the drive and were also aided by a pass interference penalty in the endzone.
The Lions grabbed the lead right back on the next possession. Brock Wight hauled in a 25-yard pass over the middle from Goff for the touchdown to finish a 75-yard March.
Allen, on a fourth and one, caught a pass and outran the Detroit secondary 38 yards for a touchdown with 3:34 left in the fourth quarter and it was all knotted up again at 38.
The Lions then moved the ball down the field to set up Patterson. They called timeout with two seconds left and Patterson came on and drilled it.
For the Chargers Herbert completed 27 of 40 for 323 yards and four touchdowns with the one pick. Allen had 11 receptions for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Ekeler had 4 catches for 48 yards and also ran for 67 yards and a score.
Goff was 23-33 for 333 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. St. Brown had 8 catches for 156 yards and a touchdown. Montgomery ran for 116 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries and Gibbs had 14 carries for 77 yards and two scores.
The Lions improved to 7-2 with the win while the Chargers dropped to 4-5. Next up for the Chargers is a road trip to Green Bay next Sunday.
Leave a Reply