They did it on the ground. They did it through the air. They did it without throwing an incomplete pass.
The Detroit Lions’ offense feasted Monday Night in a 42-29 win over the Seahawks, handing Seattle its first loss of the season following a 3-0 start. Geno Smith and Kenneth Walker made a valiant effort to keep pace for the Seattle. But in the end, it was a fruitless effort against a Lions unit running on all cylinders.
The Lions went three and out on their opening possession after a third-down sack of Goff. From there, there was little resistance from a Seahawks defense helpless to slow Detroit’s cavalcade of playmakers.
Jared Goff had a perfect night at quarterback, completing all 18 of his pass attempts. He also managed to catch a touchdown. Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Amon Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Sam La Porta each took turns making plays for an offense that scored touchdowns on six of its 10 possessions.
After their first-possession three-and-out, the Lions responded with touchdown drives on three straight drives. Detroit’s two-headed running back monster of Gibbs and Montgomery set the early tone.
Gibbs ripped off a 20-yard run to set the Lions up in the red zone on their first possession. Montgomery finished the drive off with a one-yard touchdown run. Detroit’s next two possessions ended with touchdown runs by Gibbs as the Lions opened up a 21-7 lead.
The Seahawks opened the third quarter with a touchdown to cut Detroit’s lead to 21-14. Then the Lions really started showing off.
Montgomery set up Detroit’s next touchdown on a physical catch-and-run on a screen pass from Goff. He caught the first-and-10 pass for what appeared destined for a short gain as Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon closed in for a tackle near the line of scrimmage. But it was Witherspoon who ended up on the ground after a violent collision as Montgomery remained upright and carried the ball for a 40-yard gain.
The play set up the first touchdown catch of Goff’s career. On second-and-goal at the 7-yard line, Goff handed the ball off to St. Brown then made a beeline for the end zone. St. Brown then turned around and lofted a perfect ball that Goff corralled for a score to extend Detroit’s lead to 28-14.
The Seahawks responded again with a score cut Detroit’s lead back to one score. No matter. On Detroit’s very next play, Goff found Willams for a 70-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 35-20.
The Seahawks responded once again, this time with Walker’s third touchdown run of the night to cut the Lions lead to 35-27 early in the fourth quarter. But that was Seattle’s last gasp.
Goff’s second touchdown pass of the night — this one to St. Brown — put Detroit up 42-27 with 3:34 remaining and all but ended Seattle’s hopes of a comeback.
