ALLEN PARK -- It had been a minute since the Detroit Lions were bottled up like they were in Green Bay for the season opener.
But they were back to looking like the high-powered unit most have come to expect to see over the previous three years. The Lions smacked the Chicago Bears, 52-21, and the deep ball and big plays were coming in bunches, early and often.
Detroit’s offensive explosion came at the perfect time after posting only one play of more than 20 yards against the Packers. They hit the Bears for seven plays of 20-plus yards, with five of those coming from Jared Goff and the passing game.
Goff threw for 334 yards and five touchdowns, hitting Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 34-yard gain on the game’s first play to set the tone for the home opener at Ford Field. He was efficient, completing more than 80% of his passes, and he spread the ball around the field to his many options.
“Vertical is the name of the game,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “Listen, we’ve got the weapons between (Jameson Williams) Jamo and what we can do with (Amon-Ra) St. Brown underneath and working outside. (Kalif Raymond) Leaf helps us, too, because Leaf can stress the other side a little bit, which helps all of that. But, you’ve got to have protection, and you’ve got to have a quarterback. And we’ve got a guy, we’ve got the line that played really well, and we’ve got a guy who - he makes it right, he sees it fast, he lays it up.
“And I thought Goff played out of his mind. It was awesome. He was composed. He was on point, and I just thought he commanded the offense to precision, and it was great to see. We were kind of cooking on all levels there a little bit - loosened it up early, got the run game going.”
Goff added a 64-yarder and a 44-yard touchdown to receiver Jameson Williams. The veteran quarterback and St. Brown connected on the 34-yarder to open the game, and they also hit on a 32-yard gain, too. The Lions quarterback connected with Isaac TeSlaa for a 29-yarder before the half, which was another ridiculous catch by the rookie wideout. TeSlaa’s one-handed grab allowed the Lions to add another score right before halftime, extending their lead to 14 points, and they never looked back.
St. Brown was the main driving force of the day, though. He posted the first three-touchdown catch game of his career, finishing with nine catches for 115 yards.
He also became the first Lions player to have 100 receiving yards and three scores in a game since Calvin Johnson in 2010. St. Brown’s touchdowns came on the play right before halftime, then on a third- and a fourth-down play to put the game into blowout mode in the fourth quarter.
Williams had only two catches, but managed to post 108 yards and the deep touchdown. It was the second time both St. Brown and Williams posted 100 receiving yards in the same game, so, yeah, it was clicking.
After such a toothless showing in Green Bay in John Morton’s first game as offensive coordinator, the Lions came to life with the man he replaced standing on the other sideline. St. Brown and Goff have formed a nearly automatic connection over the last couple of years, and the Lions went to that well to get back on track in their win against the Bears.
“I mean, listen, it’s an art form. So, if you love art - which I’m not saying I do or I don’t - but it’s awesome to watch,” Campbell said of Goff and St. Brown. “They’ve got such a rapport with each other, and they trust each other immensely. The way that he runs his routes, and he’s so crisp and he’s so detailed, and his body demeanor screams to Goff, it helps him anticipate the throws. And they’ve just got so much time on task, he knows exactly what he’s going to do, and Saint knows exactly where the ball’s going to be before he’s out of the break.
“They’ve just worked together for so long, so we’ve got a tremendous amount of trust in those two players. And these guys are playing as good football as you can play, and they have for a while. Those are two of our big studs, so it’s great to see.”
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