David Montgomery’s 1-yard touchdown run in overtime lifted the Detroit Lions to a 26-20 win over the Matthew Stafford-led Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in a rematch of their NFC wild-card game.
The Lions lost a two-touchdown lead in the third quarter but extended the game with Jake Bates’ tying 32-yard field goal in the final minute of regulation.
The Lions won the coin flip and took advantage of having the ball, gaining at least 9 yards on its first four plays in overtime to set up Montgomery’s winning score.
The Rams were in a position to spoil Detroit’s season-opening party when Stafford threw a go-ahead, 9-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter.
They just couldn’t make enough plays on both sides of the ball to hold on for the win.
The Rams put up quite a fight despite losing Pro Bowl receiver Puka Nacua and two linemen on its banged-up line.
The Lions had a 17-3 lead in the third quarter after Jared Goff threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams. They lost the comfortable cushion because their former star quarterback picked them apart and their current one threw an interception early in the fourth.
John Johnson intercepted Goff’s pass over the middle at the Rams 20, taking away the Lions’ chance to kick a field goal and restore a seven-point lead.
Stafford took advantage, leading a 10-play, 80-yard drive that he capped with the scoring pass to Kupp. He could not complete enough passes late in the fourth to keep the ball and seal the win, leading to a punt that gave Goff another shot from his 31 with 2:11 to go.
The Lions reached the Rams 14 and settled for Bates’ tying field goal that sent the game to overtime.
Rams coach Sean McVay may have regretted a decision he made in the second quarter.
With a chance to attempt a 40-yard field goal when it was tied at 3, McVay elected to go for it and turned the ball over on downs when Stafford threw an incomplete pass that targeted Kupp.
It was a rare miss for the duo in Detroit.
Stafford completed 34 of 49 passes for 317 yards with a touchdown and an interception, lobbing a ball in the middle of the end zone where Kerby Joseph was waiting early in the second quarter. Kupp matched a career-high with 14 receptions and had 110 yards receiving.
Goff was 18 of 28 for 217 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Williams tied a career-high with five catches and set a personal best with 121 yards receiving.
Montgomery had 17 carries for 91 yards and Jahmyr Gibbs ran 11 times for 40 yards — with both scoring a touchdown.
— Larry Lage in Detroit
Minnesota Vikings 28, New York Giants 6
Sam Darnold had one of those super performances at MetLife Stadium that New York Jets fans hoped to see weekly after he was drafted No. 3 overall in 2018.
Six years later as a member of the Minnesota Vikings, he did it against, of all teams, the Giants on his old home turf.
Darnold threw two touchdown passes in a highly efficient performance and Andrew Van Ginkel scored on a spectacular one-handed 10-yard interception return to lead the Vikings to an easy 28-6 victory over the woeful New York Giants on Sunday.
Darnold completed his first 12 passes and had touchdown passes of 3 yards to Justin Jefferson and 21 to Jalen Nailor in making an impressive debut for the Vikings, who are coming off a 7-10 season, He also had a 22-yard pass to Josh Oliver to help set up Aaron Jones’ 3-yard TD run that put Minnesota ahead 7-3 late in the first quarter and got Kevin O’Connell’s team off to a good start.
“Obviously it’s great to be back,” said Darnold, who finished was 19 of 24 for 208 yards and one interception that came on a deflected pass. “It’s been a while since I played here. I played here my first year in Carolina coming back. That was the last time I played here. It’s always good to get back in MetLife.”
What’s remarkable was Darnold, who played in San Francisco last season, was signed as a veteran presence for first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy. The Michigan product injured a knee in training camp and won’t play this season.
“Sam Darnold, for a guy in a new system to start 12 for 12 and be incredibly poised throughout the day, it was a huge performance for us to be able to build off,” O’Connell said.
Giants inside linebacker Bobby Okereke, who recovered a fumble to set up the game’s opening score, was not surpried by Darnold. He was at Stanford when Darnold was at Southern California and they played against each other often.
“You know, it’s fun competing against him because he’s a gamer. He makes plays. They’re going to run play-action. They’re going to run boot,” said Okereke, who said New York didn’t play well enough to win.
The Vikings certainly made all the big plays and none was more impressive than Van Ginkel’s left-handed grab of Daniel Jones’ swing pass deep in his own territory late in the third quarter put an exclamation point on a solid defensive performance by Brian Flores’ unit. It had Giants fans booing loudly as they headed to the exits down 28-6.
“He jumped up off the edge and made a nice play,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said of the interception.
Jefferson had four catches for 59 yards, with his TD coming on a quick slant on a fourth-down pass. It capped a 99-yard drive that he ignited with a 44-yard catch.
Graham Gano kicked field goals of 23 and 50 yards for the Giants, who played just like the team that posted a 6-11 record last season.
Jones, who was coming off major knee surgery, did not play well and got little help from either his new revamped offensive line or his receivers. First-round draft pick Malik Nabers had five receptions for 66 yards, including two for 25 yards.
Jones finished 22 of 42 for 186 yards and two interceptions, the second by 35-year-old safety Harrison Smith.
Giants co-owner and chief executive John Mara said after last season he wanted to see significant progress this year. But New York did little on offense with Daboll taking over the play calling and the Giants got little pressure on Darnold despite acquiring edge rusher Brian Burns from Carolina in the offseason.
“Obviously not the way we wanted to start. Disappointing game,” Daboll said. “A lot to clean up and that’s what we will do.”
— Tom Canavan in East Rutherford, N.J.
Philadelphia Eagles 34, Green Bay Packers 29 (Friday)
The Green Bay Packers wasted a golden opportunity to start their season on a winning note with Jordan Love running their offense.
Now they’re going to try to bounce back without their franchise quarterback, at least for a little while.
Love was helped off the field in the closing seconds of the Packers’ 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday in Brazil. A person familiar with the situation said Love had injured his medial collateral ligament — but not his ACL — and should return this season.
— Steve Megargee
