The Detroit Lions are one of the most hyped NFL teams in 2024. Detroit caught national attention in 2023 after making it all the way to the NFC Championship and coming very close to their first ever Super Bowl berth. Unfortunately, the Lions suffered their first setback of the season with a 20-16 loss against the Buccaneers.
Lions QB Jared Goff believes that there should have been pass interference called on his first pass attempt of the game. “I saw pass interference on the defense,” Goff said, per Kyle Meinke of MLive.
Lions receiver clearly knocked away here on his route which causes Goff to throw an interception. A flag should've been thrown. #TBvsDET pic.twitter.com/bsS3N3yS4Z
— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) September 15, 2024
Goff threw an interception on the play. He was targeting Jameson Williams, who was knocked off his route by a defender. However, no penalty was called and the interception gave the Buccaneers the ball near midfield.
The Buccaneers scored a field goal off of that Goff turnover and captured an early 6-0 advantage. This one play, and the resulting three points off turnover, ended up being hugely important in the game.
Lions fans will be thinking about that missed PI penalty all week long.
Jared Goff, Lions offense struggles to find rhythm in Week 2 loss against Buccaneers
This game was not completely decided by that one interception.
Jared Goff and the entire Lions offense was out of sorts all afternoon long. The Lions appeared hellbent on winning the game with Jared Goff’s right arm. They passed the ball early and often, asking Goff to throw 55 passes compared to only 27 rushing plays.
Goff only managed 307 yards and two interceptions on those 55 passes. There were also a handful of turnover-worthy plays that did not result in interceptions. It was a rough outing from Goff, who did not look comfortable at any point of the afternoon.
Goff did have multiple opportunities to win the game for Detroit. The Lions held the ball with a four-point deficit twice during the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. However, the Lions were unable to get into the end zone either time.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell blames himself to the defeat. Campbell felt awful about a coaching mistake before halftime that resulted in a penalty and 10-second runoff that cost the Lions a chance at a field goal.
“I asked this team to improve and they improved, but the coach cost them the game,” Campbell said. “It is a massive error on my part. I messed up.”
Had the Lions made that field goal, they could have won the game in the fourth quarter with another field goal.
Meanwhile, Aidan Hutchinson and Detroit’s defense played a great game. Hutchinson finished with four-and-a-half sacks and the Lions limited the Buccaneers to 20 points.
The Lions will get a chance at redemption in Week 3 when they travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals.
