Jared Goff achieved a perfect game with no incompletions, breaking an NFL record for the most passes without an incompletion to finish a game.
Amon-Ra St. Brown threw and caught a touchdown pass, and David Montgomery had one of the season’s best run-after-catch plays. Despite the defense allowing over 500 yards, Kerby Joseph sealed the game with an end zone interception.
These factors contributed to the Lions avenging their 2023 loss to the Seahawks, winning 42-29 at Ford Field on Monday Night Football, with global viewers tuning in.
Though it didn’t rain in Detroit, there was thunder and lightning inside Ford Field as running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs set the tone early, dominating the Seahawks with their speed and power throughout the game.
The duo combined for 88 yards and three touchdowns (two by Gibbs and one by Montgomery) in the first half, with Montgomery adding a punishing 40-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter, continuing their dominance from the second quarter.
“It was just one of those fun nights,” said Jameson Williams, who scored on a 70-yard, one-play drive when Goff found him crossing the middle.
“We did what we hadn’t done in the first three games: we scored a lot of points. The defense played well, and we complemented each other. (The touchdown) felt great because I saw it open up early, right after the catch.”
After both teams went three-and-out to start the game, the Lions responded with Montgomery’s one-yard touchdown. At the end of the first quarter, linebacker Jack Campbell forced a DK Metcalf fumble, which Carlton Davis returned to the red zone. The Lions extended their lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter on a short Gibbs run.
Seattle answered in the second quarter with a one-yard Kenneth Walker III touchdown, set up by a 29-yard Geno Smith pass to Metcalf.
The Lions made it 21-7 by halftime with another short Montgomery run.
Seattle opened the second half with a touchdown, and the teams traded scores on five combined drives, including Amon-Ra St. Brown’s touchdown pass to Goff, followed by Goff’s touchdown pass to St. Brown.
Goff said he believes he achieved two firsts: catching a touchdown and finishing a game with no incompletions – something he never did, even in youth football.
“Never. I don’t think I ever did. I knew I was perfect in the first half last week, and by the third quarter tonight I couldn’t recall a miss. But then I threw one out of bounds, and there was offensive pass interference, so I asked, ‘Does that count?’” Goff laughed. “But yeah, it was a good day.”
Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell acknowledged room for improvement but was pleased with the team’s performance heading into the bye week, especially with the offense clicking.
“We’re 3-1 at the bye. We’ll rest, get fresh, and then make a big push,” Campbell said.
Notable game stats:
With Goff and St. Brown throwing touchdowns to each other, this marked the first time since 2016 that a QB and WR threw touchdown passes to each other in a game, last done by Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles and Marquise Lee against the Titans.
Despite completing all 18 of his passes, Goff fell short of the record for completion percentage in a game, which requires at least 20 attempts. He also missed a perfect passer rating, scoring 2.5 points below the ideal 158.3.
Jameson Williams moved up to 11th in receiving yards this season with two catches for 80 yards.
Though Adrian Hutchinson didn’t record a sack, he generated multiple pressures and faced double teams throughout the night, remaining the league leader in sacks.
The Lions almost scored as many points as offensive snaps, tallying 42 points on 47 combined plays.
After four games, St. Brown is tied for third in receptions with 27 catches this season.
Goff ranks fourth in passing yards, totaling 292 yards in the game and 1,015 on the season through four games.
The Lions head into their bye week with a 3-1 record.
