With a large lead, the Detroit Lions barely hang on to defeat the Saints 33-28.
NEW ORLEANS: In his return to New Orleans, Dan Campbell emerged victorious, but it wasn’t an easy feat.
The Detroit Lions won in the Superdome on Sunday for the fourth time in five games, 33-28, thanks to two errors by the Saints deep in their own territory that resulted in 14 points for the team. They also had a strong defensive stop in the fourth quarter.
Less than seven minutes into the game, the Lions led 21-0, but they only scored one touchdown the remainder of the way.
Less than 4 minutes remained in the game as backup quarterback Jameis Winston threw incomplete passes three times in a row after backup quarterback Derek Carr left with head, shoulder, and back injuries following a strong hit from Bruce Irvin. Brian Branch intercepted a Derek Carr pass that deflected off tight end Juwan Johnson’s hands to set up one touchdown, Tracy Walker recovered a Carr fumble caused by Saints offensive lineman James Hurst to set up another.
With the win, the Lions advanced to 9-3 and now sit atop the NFC North, three games ahead of the Minnesota Vikings (6-6). Two victories and a Minnesota defeat will put them in position to capture their first division title in thirty years in two weeks.
CARLOS MONARREZ:Lions blew hot start, lucky to survive game against inferior Saints
After a 6-2 start, the Lions have played less than their best football in all four of their games since the bye.
They survived a shootout to beat the Los Angeles Chargers, rallied from 12 points down with three minutes to play to beat the Chicago Bears, and, coming off an upset loss to the Green Bay Packers, needed some late-game heroics and good fortune to win Sunday.
Alvin Kamara ran for his second touchdown of the day with 7:30 to play to pull the Saints within five points, but after a three-and-out by the Lions, New Orleans’ final possession went nowhere with Winston playing quarterback in place of the injured Carr.
On second-and-6 from the Lions’ 40-yard line, Winston threw incomplete behind a wide open Chris Olave. Winston led Kamara too far on another incompletion on third down, and threw behind Olave again on fourth down to give the ball back to Detroit.
The Lions converted a third-and-7 on the final drive, with Jared Goff threading a 10-yard completion to Sam LaPorta through the outstretched hands of defensive back Jordan Howden.
Goff converted a third-and-8 three plays later when he stepped up in the pocket to avoid a rush and completed a short pass to Josh Reynolds for a first down.
The win was Campbell’s 20th as Lions coach, after he spent five seasons as an assistant with the Saints, where he was part of four division title winners.
One of the best teams in the NFL at creating turnovers with a plus-six turnover margin, the Saints coughed up two big ones Sunday and the Lions did not commit a turnover after losing seven the past two weeks
David Montgomery opened the scoring for the Lions, capping a seven-play, 80-yard run-heavy drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
Branch intercepted Carr’s deflected pass on the next play from scrimmage, and the Lions took a 14-0 lead three plays later on Goff’s 13-yard touchdown pass to LaPorta.
After another three-and-out, the Lions took a 21-0 lead on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown.
The Lions had 13 plays for 141 yards and three touchdowns on their first three drives, while the Saints ran seven plays for minus-6 yards on their first three possessions.
Goff finished 16 of 25 passing for 215 yards for the Lions, who scored their final touchdown on a 19-yard end-around by Jameson Williams with 14:07 to play.
Kamara had 51 yards rushing on 14 carries and two touchdowns, and Taysom Hill added 59 yards rushing and a score for the Saints.