Lions flirt with upset loss to Rams in their opener, but run game leads a win in OT

There was more excitement for this Detroit Lions season than there had been in many, many years. Perhaps ever. And it almost started with a home loss.

There were plenty of nerves around Michigan as the Los Angeles Rams took a late lead. But plenty of championship teams are made tougher from close calls, and the Lions could look back on Sunday night’s game as a building block for better things.

The Lions should feel fortunate to be 1-0. The Rams had a fantastic effort, led by impressive performances from Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp, and led in the final minutes of regulation. But the Lions drove down to tie it with a field goal, then won it in overtime. The Lions won the toss and marched right downfield with the running game chewing up huge chunks of yards. David Montgomery scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on the first drive of overtime and the Lions won 26-20. It was an eight-play drive in overtime and the Lions ran it seven times.

There might be some concern about the Lions’ defense not covering anyone or giving up a 17-3 lead, but the mood in Michigan will still be pretty happy on Monday. The way the Lions took control in overtime was a statement.

Rams battle for the late lead

The Rams’ effort on Sunday night was impressive, given the challenges they faced.

They had many lineup issues coming into the game and they got worse after kickoff. The offensive line was without multiple players. Star receiver Puka Nacua, who dealt with a knee injury in August, hurt the same knee in the first half. He tried to get back in the game but dropped out shortly after and was ruled out at halftime. When they fell behind 17-3 it seemed like it would be a long night for them. Nobody would have blamed them for losing at Detroit with a shorthanded lineup.

Yet the Rams still were in the game in the fourth quarter. The Rams scored a touchdown to cut Detroit’s lead to 17-10, and then even though an apparent game-tying touchdown was nullified due to holding, the Rams settled for a field goal and trailed 17-13. Jared Goff threw an interception in Rams territory, giving Los Angeles a shot at the lead late in the fourth quarter.

Stafford was fantastic on the Rams’ next drive, completing all eight of his passes including a 9-yard touchdown to Kupp. With 4:30 left, the Rams led.

The Lions couldn’t have been happy to let the Rams back in the game and take the lead, but they had some fight of their own as they forced overtime.

Lions have trouble covering Cooper Kupp

The Lions’ defense had a lot of improvements in the offseason, particularly at cornerback, but there were issues Sunday night. In particular, they couldn’t cover Kupp. Still, they got a crucial stop late in the fourth quarter.

The Rams had a shot to chew up the rest of the clock, but had to punt after Stafford threw incomplete on third-and-10. The Lions had a chance to at least tie it and had more than two minutes on the clock.

The Lions caught a break after that. Sam LaPorta caught a pass over the middle and 15 yards was added on an unnecessary roughness penalty for a helmet-to-helmet hit on the tackle. That put the Lions in field-goal range with plenty of time to go and two timeouts to use. The Lions had a shot to win it in regulation but Goff misfired on a third-down pass and Detroit settled for a game-tying field goal with 17 seconds left. The game went to overtime.

The Lions won the toss. Detroit got right into Rams territory with two big runs on their first two plays. They kept running the ball right down the field, with Montgomery punching it in for the winning score. It wasn’t always pretty for the Lions, but they’ll take the final result.