A high-octane Detroit Lions offense doesn’t need to resort to trickery to put points on the board.
But it sure is fun when it does.
The Lions pulled off 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 some strong acting by 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 snap from under center on first-and-10 at the Chicago 21-yard line. As he feigned falling to the ground, so did Gibbs on what the Lions sold as a botched handoff. Fox microphones picked up players yelling “ball, ball” and “fumble, fumble” as Gibbs fell to the turf.
But Goff maintained possession of the ball, which he hid tucked to his body as he remained upright. Chicago defenders, meanwhile, bit on the fake fumble as Lions lineman blocked to their left as if it were a run play.
By the time Bears defenders realized what 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 from behind the line of scrimmage shows just how orchestrated the effort was. Gibbs rolled as he fell to the turf and immediately popped back up to block as Goff turned completely around and looked directly in LaPorta’s direction.
Coordinator Ben Johnson and his offense had clearly practiced the play to perfection.
