By Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports.net
The Detroit Lions have an eight game winning streak, their longest in franchise history since 1934. Detroit has won from behind at Houston and blew out Jacksonville last week Jared Goff was perfect in passing efficiency last week and Detroit is looking to beat a .500 team at home. During the game, Detroit has seen injuries pile up and with the short week against Chicago for the Thanksgiving Day game, the Lions will most likely be shorthanded. Taylor Decker, David Montgomery, and Kalif Raymond all go down. Decker returned but he was not 100-percent.
How the win happened.
1st Quarter
The Indianapolis Colts take the opening kickoff and use two plays to earn a first down. Richardson bolts up the middle for big yardage. The Colts march down the field on the drive. Richardson mixes the pass and has runs for ten and 17 yards and he is going up the middle against the Lions defense. An eight yard run on first down by AR and the Colts are cooking. The drive stalls from there and Indy settles for three. A Matt Gay 27 Yd Field Goal. 11 plays, 61 yards, 6:07 Colts 3, Lions 0.
Detroit comes out firing on its first drive. Three plays to get the first and then a 15-yard Amon-Ra St. Brown 15 yard strike for the second chain mover of the drive. Then, a DeForrest Bruckner sacks Goff on third down on a coverage sack and the Lions punt. Indy takes over at their own ten and Richardson looks deep for Alex Pierce as he gets hit and nearly completes a long pass. The very next play he does. On third and eight from the shotgun, AR hits Michael Pittman for nine yards and a first down. An offensive holding call takes away a big catch to Josh Downs. The Colts sputter and knock out a 62-yard punt and a quality return by Detroit’s Kalif Raymond for 16-yards. Goff on second and ten baits the defense and throws over the middle to Tim Patrick who rumbles for 27 yards. End of Quarter. Colts 3- Detroit 0. Key Plays- The Richardson Runs. Key Stats. Indy is last in the NFL in time of possession. They have the football for 9:27 to Detroit’s 5:33.
2nd Quarter
The Lions early in the quarter on the same drive, give the ball to Jahmyr Gibbs on third and eight. He gains 18. After another Gibbs short run, Goff connects to St. Brown for eight yards and a Lions first down. (FD). A Colts penalty gives Detroit a first and goal and Gibbs scores from two yards out. The key play is the 17-yard grab by Patrick . Detroit 7, Indy 3. 9 plays, 60 yards, 4:12
Indy goes to the ground and Jonathan Taylor to start their drive. With little success, Richardson goes for 40 yards to Alec Pierce and they are inside the Detroit ten. A dropped TD pass and an incomplete pass force a Indy field goal. Matt Gay 29 Yd Field Goal. 9 plays, 65 yards, 3:51. Lions 7- Colts 6.
Taking the kickoff, Detroit rushes Montgomery on first down for eight yards. Then, Goff connects with Patrick for ten. Goff sucks the defense in for a eight yard Brock Wright grab. A second down play fake finds Jameson Williams open for a 22-yard grab. Its first and ten on the Colts 21. On third and six, Montgomery runs for 13 yards punishing the Indy defense. Its first and goal for Detroit on the six, Montgomery follows a Ragnow block and uses second effort to spin for a Lions TD. David Montgomery 6 Yd Rush (Jake Bates Kick). 9 plays, 70 yards, 4:42. Lions 14,-Colts 6. Key Play, Williams catch.
With Indy off to a slow start on the drive, a Brian Branch tackle on Michael Pittman Jr. was not finished and he rumbles for 30 yards. The Colts sputter from there and they punt near midfield. The Lions have it on their ten with 1:45 left in the first half. Williams catches a pass over the middle for eight. Gibbs runs behind Graham Glasgow for six. Detroit stumbles from there and punt. Scant seconds are left and the half ends. Lions 14- Colts six. Key Stat: Detroit has one penalty for five yards and it comes late in the first half.
Third Quarter
The Lions use their running backs in the passing game after taking the second half kickoff. Goff connects to Gibbs and then twice more to Montgomery for a pair of Lions first downs. He then finds Tim Patrick for 14 yards. Detroit is at the Indy 23. St. Brown catches a sideline screen for eight yards. Goff scrambles on third down after a LaPorta drop. He is just shy and the Lions go for it. Gibbs is short and Indy takes over.
The Colts, after a penalty, go to Michael Pittman and he finds a seem for 24 yards. A second major penalty to Indy for a pick play negates a big gain. Jonathan Taylor runs for 14 yards on third and 20. The Colts punt. A 57-yard punt by Indy and a 14 yard return by Kalif Raymond give Detroit field position just inside the 20.
A Lions first down swing pass to Williams nets 15 yards. On first down, St. Brown gains 12. Near midfield, the Colts Laiatu Latu gets a sack fumble on Goff and Montgomery recovers the fumble. The Lions LT Taylor Decker is injured on the play. On third and nine, Goff looks for St. Brown and connects for a first down. On first down, Montgomery catches a screen and bolts outside and punishes the Colts secondary for 14. Gibbs runs up the middle for 16. Three plays later, its .Gibbs going off right tackle for 5 yards. Lions TD. Gibbs is called for a penalty for taunting J.Bates extra point is GOOD, Center-H.Hatten, Holder-J.Fox. The Lions 21- Colts 6. 10 plays, 79 yards, 5:22 Key Play: The Montgomery swing pass for 14 yards.
Richardson had a lot of success running the football early in the game. He goes for 17 yards off left tackle. Richardson dishes out punishment on the run. A Colts flea flicker was poorly executed. Another incomplete pass and a Richardson fumble on third down (Colts recover) brings up fourth down. The Colts are flagged for holding and they punt.
Key Development- Kalif Raymond, David Montgomery and Taylor Decker all leave the field because of injury. Montgomery takes his pads off and Raymond foes to the locker room.
4th Quarter
Detroit goes to work after the punt and Brock Wright catches a pass in the seem and runs for 16 yards. The Lions are unproductive on their next set of downs and punt. Jack Fox bombs a 60 yard punt pinning the Colts deep. Starting the drive, a long bomb from Richardson to Ashton Dulin. The Lions appeared to sack Richardson at the two, but the officials rule the play as an incomplete pass. The Colts go three and out. So do the Lions for the first time in the game. The Colts on first and ten from their own 13 try a wide receiver screen to Downs for seven. The Lions’ (DL) Alim McNeil has dominated the Colts OL Dalton Tucker and AR has thrown quite a few errant passes and is called for intentional grounding.
The Colts punt and Detroit tries a heavy dose of Gibbs and he is pushed by the Lions offensive line for a first down to get the Lions moving. With Goff throwing errant passes and Montgomery out of the game, the Colts are keying on Gibbs and he is tackled for a four yard loss. Detroit tries a 56-yard Jake Bates FG. It is down the middle. Lions 24- Colts 6. Jake Bates 56 Yd Field Goal. 7 plays, 16 yards, 3:47.
The Colts take the kickoff and Richardson connects for 22 yards to Pittman Jr. for a 15 yard completion. Branch leads with the helmet and its a major penalty. The Colts are going after Lions backup corner Kalil Dorsey and nearly connect for a TD. A Richardson run is read by Jack Campbell and its 4th and six at the Detroit 27. A pass is stopped short. The Lions take over and they run Gibbs up the middle for one. Williams catches a pass for 16 yards. A mis direction play gives Gibbs a pickup of 16 and a first down. Williams takes a wide receiver handoff for nine. Craig Reynolds with a first down run and the Colts give up the ghost. Final Detroit 24, Colts. 6.
A stat that may only interest me
Jahmyr Gibbs is the second Detroit Lion player to have 1,000 yards from scrimmage and ten touchdowns in his first two years with the team. Bet you know the other one.
Stars of the Game
First Star- The Lions Alim McNeil only had one tackle and a near sack of Richardson. He was dominant on the day and the Colts ran plays away from him all day and took away half of the field.
Second Star- Jameson Williams stats were not huge. Five catches for 64 yards. He caught passes in patterns that we have not seen before. He caught possession routes and underneath routes and he clearly has a much bigger role in the offense.
Third Star- The Colts Zaire Franklin. 12 tackles and a sack, a QB hit. The guy is a stud.
Roy J. Akers is a multi-media reporterĀ and covers several sports forĀ www.skyviewsports.net