In a high-powered Detroit Lions offense, you don’t have to resort to cheating to put points on the board.
But it’s certainly fun if it works.
The Lions made one of the best trick plays of the season on Sunday to secure a touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Sam LaPorta against the Chicago Bears. It featured strong performances from both Goff and running back Jahmyr Gibbs and support from LaPorta and the offensive line to sell it.
Goff appeared to stumble after taking a shot from under center on first-and-10 at Chicago’s 21-yard line. As he pretended to fall to the ground, so did Gibbs with what the Lions sold as a botched handoff. Fox microphones picked up players shouting “ball, ball” and “clumsy, clumsy” as Gibbs fell to the turf.
But Goff retained possession of the ball, which he hid against his body as he stood upright. Chicago defenders, meanwhile, bit on the fake fumble as the Lions lineman blocked to their left as if it were a run play.
By the time the Bears defenders realized what had happened, LaPorta had broken free over the top of the secondary. Goff uncorked a pass from the 30-yard line and found LaPorta wide open in the end zone for a touchdown.
The score extended Detroit’s lead to 34-14 early in the third quarter.
Another look behind the line of scrimmage shows how orchestrated the effort was. Gibbs rolled as he fell to the turf and immediately jumped back up to block as Goff turned completely around and looked directly at LaPorta.
Coordinator Ben Johnson and his offense had clearly practiced the game to perfection.
