INGLEWOOD, Calif. — It had been two quarters since the Detroit Lions stopped Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers, and Dan Campbell didn’t want to leave things to chance with his reeling defense.
So on fourth-and-2 from the Chargers' 26-yard line, with 1:47 to play and the potential go-ahead 44-yard field goal there for the taking, Campbell kept his offense on the field in a decision that was both gutsy and obvious.
Jared Goff threw complete to Sam LaPorta over the middle for 6 yards and a first down, and 98 seconds later Riley Patterson came on to kick the game-winning 41-yarder as time expired to give the Lions a thrilling 41-38 win at SoFi Stadium.
"I wanted to finish with the ball," Campbell said. "And so I trusted our guys and trust Goff.
"There’s going to be a lot of time left (if you) kick a field goal, so I wanted to finish with the ball in our hands and I liked where we were at offensively. We were playing good, Goff was in a good spot and I just, I felt like that was the right thing to do."
The Lions improved to 7-2 with the win, tied for the second-best record in the NFL, and remain 1½ games ahead of the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North.
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Goff completed 23 of 33 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns, and David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 193 yards rushing and three scores for the Lions.
"That to me, this was part of the vision coming to life, man, is those two back there, the two-headed monster," Campbell said. "They both deliver something different and they’re both very unique and they’re dangerous, both of them. So it’s good to see that and Gibbs continues to grow and it’s great to have David back. He played at a high level."
Patterson’s heroics came at the end of a nine-play 53-yard drive after the Chargers tied the score at 38 on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Justin Herbert to Keenan Allen with 3:34 to play.
The Lions started their final offensive possession with a 41-yard Goff pass to Kalif Raymond that put them on the fringe of Patterson's field goal range.
But the Chargers stuffed Montgomery for a short loss on the next play, then threw Gibbs for a 3-yard loss on a screen pass on second down.
On third-and-14, Goff completed a 12-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown on the sideline on the next play, allowing Campbell to keep the ball in his offense’s hands.
LaPorta ran a short crossing route over the middle on fourth down and stopped in front of two Chargers defenders, where Goff hit him in the chest for a first down.Goff said LaPorta was his second option on the play.
"I kind of lean towards we’re going (for it on fourth downs) until he tells us we’re not, and that’s not just in that situation, that’s kind of in every fourth down that we get," Goff said. "There was many factors going into that but, yeah, he’s got big (guts) and he showed it there. It’s a lot of fun when he puts the ball in our hands to make the play."
The Lions jumped to an early 17-3 lead on the strength of their rushing game before the Chargers (4-5) scored touchdowns on their final five possessions.
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Gibbs capped a five-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter and followed with another 1-yard run midway through the second quarter.
Herbert answered with a29-yard touchdown pass to Allen to cut the Lions’ lead to 17-10, and one play later Montgomery, making his return from rib injuries that sidelined him for two games, scored on a 75-yard run on a play when the Lions were in the wrong personnel.
The Lions had 176 yards rushing in the first half, the first time they’ve had at least 175 yards on the ground and three touchdowns in a half since Nov. 24, 1991, against Minnesota, and the second time in franchise history
St. Brown finished with eight catches for a career-high 156 yards, his fourth straight 100-yard receiving game. He scored on a 20-yard pass late in the third quarter to give the Lions a 31-24 lead.
Herbert followed with a touchdown pass on the ensuing possession, after the Lions nearly got a goal-line stand from their defense, then Goff threw his second touchdown of the game one possession later to Brock Wright.
Herbert finished 27-for-40 passing for 323 yards and four touchdowns for the Chargers. Allen had 11 catches for 175 yards and returned from a shoulder injury to catch the 38-yard touchdown that tied the game at 38.
"You never know exactly how the game’s going to go but you do what you have to do to find a way to win and we did that today," Campbell said. "The most important thing for us, man, I wanted us to play fast, physical and violent and truly complete, and I did feel that way in all three phases."
Contact Dave Birkett atdbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him@davebirkett.
