The Lions dominate the turnover-heavy Titans and earn a 52-14 win

Detroit — Jared Goff didn't play a snap in the fourth quarter. His 85 passing yards were the second fewest of his career. And the Detroit Lions defeated the Tennessee Titans 52-14 at Ford Field on Sunday.

It was complete domination.

Kalif Raymond had 190 yards and a touchdown on punt returns. The Lions (6-1) forced four takeaways and gave up none. Jahmyr Gibbs had 127 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, including a career-long 70-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Running back David Montgomery threw a touchdown pass and ran for another.

“That’s what champions do,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said. “When you come out, you don’t care what time it is, what records there are, what the surface is like, you come out and mind your business, and that’s what we did.”

The Lions are 6-1 for the first time since 1956. Their win marks the first time since 1941 that a team scored 50 or more points while rushing for fewer than 225 yards.

Detroit started five possessions inside Tennessee's 30-yard line, giving it short field after short field to further increase the score.

“I don't know if I've ever been a part of something like this where we started with the ball – not just in plus territory, but (near) the red zone … four or five (times), probably,” Goff said. “We did our job and outboxed them for touchdowns. That’s what we were supposed to do today and that’s what we did.”

Over the last four games, the Lions have now averaged 43 points per game. Week after week, the Lions have rightly stated that their last game was their best of the season. And if it weren't for their 47-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6, this could be considered their most dominant victory in a decade.

One can only imagine what players like Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport would have done to the Titans offense. Backup quarterback Mason Rudolph held on as best he could, going 22 of 38 for 266 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions, but was outclassed by Goff with a three-touchdown, under-100-yard performance. Titans receiver Calvin Ridley caught 10 passes for 143 yards and Tony Pollard ran for 94 yards on 20 carries.

But for every small win the Titans had on Sunday, the Lions scored a big one.

▶ Box Score: Lions 52, Titans 14

The Titans (1-6) tied the game at 7-7 with 4:07 left in the first quarter. Gibbs responded with a 70-yard touchdown run on the next play from scrimmage.

The Titans snapped a seven-game winning streak early in the second quarter and finished the game with 14 points. Detroit responded with a 72-yard kickoff return by Khalil Dorsey, setting up a three-play scoring drive and a 21-14 lead.

The Titans incurred a pass interference penalty at the end of the second quarter that gave them the lead and the goal at the 1, but came away empty-handed after four straight incompletions and went into halftime trailing 35-14.

It was exactly that kind of day.

“We responded well,” Goff said. “We knew they would fight. We really did. I mean, they're a solid team, they played well in a lot of those games early on, and we knew that if we just kept on them, they would eventually wear out.

After going three-and-out in the first, Detroit quickly forced a turnover to get on the field. Pressure from Levi Onwuzurike forced Rudolph into a bad throw that landed in the arms of Lions linebacker Trevor Nowaske, setting up first-and-10 at the Tennessee 23. David Montgomery carried the ball twice for 16 yards — aided by a facemask penalty — to put the Lions in the end zone with 10:31 left in the first frame and a 7-0 lead.

The interception extended Detroit's takeaway streak to 11 games, the longest active streak in the NFL.

“It's the ultimate team sport, and I feel like today was the ultimate team game for us,” said Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who had an uncharacteristically quiet day (two catches, 7 yards). “Everyone did their part in this win, whether it was scoring, blocking, creating a turnover, coming back, punting, whatever it was, I feel like everyone had a part in this game.”

“And it was great to see.”

The Titans responded with a four-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with 4:07 left in the first quarter. Ridley's 26-yard catch set up Rudolph for an 11-yard touchdown run.

But it didn't take long for the Lions to regain their lead. Gibbs took a handoff on the first snap of the ensuing drive, punched a hole on the left side and left the Titans' defense in the dust as he raced down the sideline for a 70-yard touchdown that put the Lions up 14-7 took the lead at 3:57, the longest run of Gibbs' career. Gibbs broke the 45-yard run he set the week before in Minnesota.

Once again it was a quick reaction from the Lions. Khalil Dorsey completed a 72-yard kick return to give the Lions the starting position at Tennessee's 25-yard line. After extending the drive on a third-down pass interference call, Detroit distributed the ball to tight end Brock Wright on National Tight Ends Day for an 8-yard score, 21-14, Wright's first touchdown of the season.

Kerby Joseph intercepted his fifth pass of the season – and first outside the end zone – to set up another touchdown for Detroit. Sam LaPorta almost got in on the holiday celebration, but was knocked down at the 1-yard line a few plays later, setting up a touchdown throw for St. Brown to make it 28-14 with 11:37 left in the second quarter Leadership went.

With 6:35 left in the half, Raymond returned a punt 64 yards to the Tennessee 22-yard line. After Detroit reached the goal line, LaPorta finally got his touchdown when Montgomery threw him a 3-yard running back pass to take a 35-14 lead with 2:18 left in the half.

“That was a dart,” Goff said. “That was an absolute success. …We've been cooking this for maybe a few years now and it's a good time to do it. … (LaPorta) was open, but it had to be a good throw and it was an absolutely well-thrown ball.”

At the end of the second quarter, the Titans capitalized on a pass interference call on Brian Branch that gave them the lead at the 1-yard line. Tennessee received the ball outside halftime, so a touchdown there would have given them a chance to make it a one-score game early in the third quarter. But four straight incompletions, it was the Lions who ended the half with the ball and a 35-14 lead.

At the start of the third quarter, the Lions finally got a big return for a touchdown. After the Titans scored three early in the second half, Raymond scored at 13:05 and quickly ended any hopes of a comeback with a 90-yard return touchdown that gave the Lions a 42-14 lead.

From then on things continued in the Lions' spirit. Amik Robertson batted away a fumble from Ridley, which led to a recovery by Carlton Davis (his second of the season), giving Detroit the ball at the Tennessee 26-yard line. A few plays later, Raymond had his second touchdown of the game and third of the season with a 7-yard receiver touchdown to make the lead 49-14.

Lions kicker Jake Bates hit a 51-yard field goal, a new career mark, to give the Lions a 52-14 lead with 1:08 left in the third quarter.

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The Lions dominate the turnover-heavy Titans and earn a 52-14 win

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