Despite five interceptions from quarterback Jared Goff, the Detroit Lions overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to knock off the Houston Texans 26-23 on “Sunday Night Football.”
Here are five takeaways from Sunday’s nightcap.
Lions escape, win seventh-straight with walk-off field goal
On a night the Lions did not play well, they found a way to come out on top courtesy of two Jake Bates field goals in the final five minutes.
While Bates’ 58-yarder tied the game at 23, he won the game for Detroit with a walk-off 52-yard field goal as time expired.
If the rest of the league was not already on notice, the Lions are going to be a hard out, especially if they can overcome a five-interception game. While their win was ugly, the Lions are still atop the NFC and look to be serious contenders going forward if they can play clean football.
Jared Goff has brutal game in win
Sunday night did not go great for Goff. It all started on the Lions opening drive when Goff was picked off by Jimmie Ward.
Goff’s fourth interception came in the third quarter when Kamari Lassiter recorded his second interception of the night.
Coming into the game, Goff had four games in which he completed at least 80% of his throws, including a 100% completion performance (18-18) against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 30.
With only four interceptions all season prior to Sunday night’s game, it is safe to say this was not one of Goff’s better outings.
Texans need WR Nico Collins back if they want to contend
Despite leading by as many as 16 points at the half, the Texans left a lot on the table. While quarterback C.J. Stroud’s numbers were more respectable than his completion percentage against the Packers (47.6) and Jets (36.7), he was still intercepted twice.
One of those picks came in the third quarter as the Texans were driving. Houston appeared to have a touchdown until Carlton Davis came down with the end zone interception.
While it looked like there may be a chance of Collins (hamstring) returning to the field for the first time since Oct. 6, Collins was ruled inactive shortly before Sunday’s game.
In his limited starts, Collins leads the team in receiving yards (567) and is tied for the team lead in touchdown catches (three). If the Texans want to be contenders, getting Collins back as soon as possible is a must.
Both teams combine for seven interceptions
You read that right. Each team combined for seven interceptions in the game, with Goff throwing five and Stroud with two. According to Pro Football Reference, the most interceptions ever thrown in an NFL game is Jim Hardy’s eight from 1950.
While neither quarterback reached that mark, both had awful nights throwing the ball. Goff’s five interceptions on Sunday were more than he had thrown the entire season coming into the game. Even though Stroud has not been efficient throwing the ball, he had only thrown four interceptions all season, making both QB’s performance uncharacteristic.
John Metchie III steps up, records first NFL TD
With the Texans depleted at the wide receiver position, Metchie’s performance on Sunday night was a welcome sight. Coming into the game with just four catches for 36 yards, Metchie had five catches for 74 yards and his first career NFL TD.
This is an amazing story considering Metchie missed his entire rookie season due to his leukemia diagnosis in 2022.
On a night of turnovers and sloppy play, Metchie’s performance was a bright spot not only for the team, but for himself after a difficult last few years.
With so much inconsistency from the Texans, Metchie could continue to be one of Stroud’s top targets as the season progresses, especially if he plays like he did on Sunday night.
