Chargers fall to Lions on Riley Patterson’s winning field goal
🏈 Lions 41, Chargers 38 — FINAL
The Chargers had a prove-it opportunity Sunday at SoFi Stadium and proved their offense can impressively produce but their defense still is not good enough.
Detroit converted a fourth-and-two in the final two minutes, setting up Riley Patterson’s game-winning 41-yard field goal on the final play as the Lions won at SoFi Stadium.
The Chargers lost despite their offense scoring touchdowns on five consecutive possessions to close out the game.
Justin Herbert finished 27 of 40 for 323 yards and four touchdowns. Keenan Allen 11 receptions for 175 and two scores.
But the defense yielded 533 total yards in a game the Chargers never led but was tied four times.
Playing for Jacksonville last season, Patterson kicked a 36-yarder on the final play to beat the Chargers in a wild-card playoff game.
The defeat dropped the Chargers to 4-5 in a tight AFC race, while the Lions improved to 7-2.
Keenan Allen ties game on a 38-yard touchdown catch
🏈 Lions 38, Chargers 38 — 3:34 left in the fourth quarter
If Keenan Allen is dealing with a shoulder injury, he’s not letting it affect his on-field dominance.
Allen caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Justin Herbert on fourth-and-one to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.
Allen left for the locker room earlier in the quarter with a shoulder injury before returning on the final play of the Chargers’ last scoring drive. His wide-open touchdown catch — his second TD of the game — gave him 175 yards on 11 catches. Herbert has completed 27 of 40 passes for 323 yards, with four touchdowns and an interception.
The Chargers have scored three touchdowns on three fourth-down plays today.
Jared Goff executes perfect play-action fake as Lions retake lead
🏈 Lions 38, Chargers 31 — 7:30 left in the fourth quarter
Lions tight end Brock Wright caught a 25-yard touchdown pass off a play-action fake by Jared Goff to push Detroit ahead once again.
Wright broke free of coverage up the middle and caught an the overhead pass ahead of a leaping Derwin James Jr.
The touchdown capped a seven-play, 75-yard drive for the Lions. Goff has completed 19 of 29 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns so far.
Chargers tie game on Quentin Johnston fourth-down TD
🏈 Chargers 31, Lions 31 — 11:30 left in the fourth quarter
Chargers rookie wide receiver Quentin Johnston caught a one-yard touchdown pass on fourth down from Justin Herbert to help tie the game.
The touchdown came after the Chargers failed to score from the Detroit one-yard line on the previous five plays.
Herbert made an impressive 17-yard throw on the run to Johnston to get the Chargers inside the 10.
Lions cornerback Cameron Sutton was called for pass interference twice during the 16-play, 75-yard drive, the second coming on an incomplete pass on fourth down from the Detroit one-yard line to give Chargers a new set of downs — which they needed to find the end zone.
Keenan Allen (shoulder) returned to the field for the fourth-down touchdown play, but it remains to be seen if he’ll play moving forward or if the Chargers were using him as a decoy.
Lions retake lead; Keenan Allen questionable to return
🏈 Lions 31, Chargers 24 — 4:31 left in the third quarter
Amon-Ra St. Brown scored on a 20-yard catch-and-run, sprinting into the end zone untouched to push the Lions back into the lead.
Jared Goff and the Lions wasted no time finding the end zone, with Goff connecting on a 33-yard pass to St. Brown to set up the touchdown.
Goff has completed 15 of 25 passes for 213 yards so far.
The Chargers announced Keenan Allen is questionable to return because of a shoulder injury he sustained on the previous possession.
Chargers tie game on Jalen Guyton touchdown catch
🏈 Lions 24, Chargers 24 — 7:59 left in the third quarter
Justin Herbert connected on an 18-yard pass to Jalen Guyton to help tie the game and put the momentum squarely in the Chargers’ favor.
The touchdown strike capped a 10-play, 92-yard drive that wasn’t all good news for the Chargers. Keenan Allen sustained an apparent injury after making a 12-yard catch on the play before Guyton’s touchdown. Allen was spotted rubbing his left shoulder on the sideline after walking off the field.
Allen has 10 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown today.
For Guyton, it was his first touchdown catch since the 2021 season.
The Chargers overcame an unnecessary roughness penalty on Derwin James Jr. to hold back Detroit on its opening possession of the second half. James’ tackle on Jahmyr Gibbs in the backfield off a safety blitz played a role in stalling the Lions’ drive at the L.A. 37.
Chargers linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr., who exited the game earlier with a shoulder issue, returned in the third quarter.
Austin Ekeler scores a TD for Chargers just before halftime
🏈 Lions 24, Chargers 17 — HALFTIME
Austin Ekeler scored on a one-yard run on fourth down in the final seconds of the first half to keep the Chargers within striking distance heading into the locker room.
The Chargers’ 10-play, 75-yard drive only took 2:44 to complete and was a decisive response following Detroit’s 75-yard touchdown run by David Montgomery.
The Justin Herbert-Keenan Allen connection once again fueled the Chargers’ scoring drive, with Allen catching passes of 13 and 28 yards.
Herbert has completed 14 of 24 passes for 179 yards so far, with a touchdown and interception. Allen has eight catches for 113 yards and Ekeler has 24 yards in eight carries.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff completed 10 of 15 passes for 130 yards in the first half as Detroit compiled 307 total yards of offense to the Chargers’ 210.
Montgomery has 102 yards on eight carries and Amon-Ra St. Brown has four catches for 76 yards.
David Montgomery scores on a 75-yard run to extend the Lions’ lead
🏈 Lions 24, Chargers 10 — 3:21 left in the second quarter
David Montgomery scored on a spectacular 75-yard touchdown run, weaving his way through the Chargers’ secondary and managing to stay in bounds by the slimmest margin as he capitalized on a key block by Jameson Williams to find the end zone.
The run gave the Lions more than 300 yards of total offense and added to what has been a troublesome afternoon for the Chargers defense. Justin Herbert responded quickly after Detroit’s previous touchdown — can the Chargers find the end zone again before halftime?
Chargers show life on offense with Justin Herbert TD pass
🏈 Lions 17, Chargers 10 — 3:21 left in the second quarter
Justin Herbert connected with Keenan Allen on a 29-yard touchdown pass to keep the Chargers within striking distance.
After struggling to find rhythm on offense during its previous two possessions, the Chargers put together a 10-play, 75-yard drive that featured a 15-yard run by Austin Ekeler and an 11-yard reception by Allen.
Herbert capped off the drive with a beautiful pass that Allen managed to haul in despite tight coverage from cornerback Jerry Jacobs.
Lions extend their lead on another Jahmyr Gibbs touchdown
🏈 Lions 17, Chargers 3 — 7:30 left in the second quarter
Jahmyr Gibbs scored his second touchdown of the game, scoring off a one-yard dive on fourth down to extend the Lions’ lead.
The nine-play, 60-yard drive came after the Chargers went three-and-out for the second time this afternoon. Detroit failed to score earlier when the Chargers stopped them on fourth down from L.A.’s one-yard line.
A 24-yard run-and-catch by Gibbs, a 13-yard catch by Jameson Williams and a 14-yard reception by Amon-Ra St. Brown fueled Detroit’s trek to the end zone. The Lions have 227 total yards and 12 first downs to the Chargers’ 60 total yards and two first downs.
Justin Herbert picked off by Kerby Joseph
🏈 Lions 10, Chargers 3 — 2:57 left in the first quarter
Justin Herbert was picked off by Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph, bringing the Chargers’ third possession to an abrupt halt.
Herbert threw the interception on the second play of the drive while under pressure from sprinting Detroit linebacker Alex Anzalone. Joseph managed to stay in bounds as he hauled in the errant pass, giving the Lions the ball at the Chargers’ 33.
Big run by Jahmyr Gibbs helps lift Lions back into lead
🏈 Lions 10, Chargers 3 — 4:18 left in the first quarter
Jahmyr Gibbs scored on a one-yard touchdown run after picking up 35 yards on a incredible run the play before to push the Lions back into the lead.
Gibbs fended off a tackle, then sprinted across the field and used his speed to get all the way to the one-yard line before being knocked out of bounds. His touchdown run capped a quick, five-play, 75-yard drive for the Lions.
Cameron Dicker’s 48-yard field goal ties game in first quarter
🏈 Lions 3, Chargers 3 — 6:54 left in the first quarter
Cameron Dicker capped the Chargers’ second possession with a 48-yard field goal to tie the game in the first quarter.
Austin Ekeler picked up 24 yards on an impressive run and Keenan Allen caught a 10-yard pass, but those were the only highlights of the Chargers’ eight-play, 45-yard drive.
Dicker has made 14 of his 15 field-goal attempts this season.
Lions strike first with a field goal in the first quarter
🏈 Lions 3, Chargers 0 — 10:47 left in the first quarter
Riley Patterson kicked a 33-yard field goal to give the Lions an early lead after a costly penalty kept Detroit out of the end zone.
The eight-play, 61-yard drive was fueled mostly by a 46-yard pass from Jared Goff to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Two plays later, the Lions seeming found the end zone on a 10-yard reception by Jameson Williams before it was called back because of low block by offensive tackle Taylor Decker on Khalil Mack.
The 15-yard penalty meant the Chargers were able to limit the Lions to a field goal.
Chris Rumph II will not play after sustaining injury during warmups
The Chargers lost reserve edge rusher Chris Rumph II before the game when he injured his foot in warmups.
The situation developed after the team had set its inactives, so the Chargers will face Detroit with only 47 available players.
Rumph is the Chargers’ fourth edger rusher behind Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa and Tuli Tuipulotu. He entered Sunday with 103 defensive snaps in six games.
Rumph typically plays a large role on special teams and will be missed there.
Jared Goff got closure from Sean McVay, and it helped make him a Detroit Lions hero
His father was a fireman and, in a way, Jared Goff is one too.
Consider his career as a quarterback. Time after time, he has gone into a bad situation and ultimately made it better, extinguishing the wrong kind of fire and eventually igniting the right one.
“It’s not the most fun way to do it, I guess,” Goff told The Times in a phone interview this week. “Everyone would love to go and just win, win, win. But it’s a very rewarding and fulfilling way to go about it. Proud of myself, certainly, and all those teammates on those teams for being down in the gutter and being able to come out on top.”
Check the history. At the University of California, his teams went from 1-11 to winning a bowl game. His Rams went from 4-12 his rookie year to the Super Bowl two years later. And with the Detroit Lions, Goff’s team went from 3-13-1 to now, a season and a half later, 6-2 and one of the NFL’s top franchises.
Chargers inactives for Sunday against the Lions
Here are the players who will not be suiting up for the Chargers against the Detroit Lions on Sunday:
And here are the players who are out for the Lions:
Relentless Khalil Mack rushes Chargers’ defensive turnaround with big Lions test next
He has elevated his play to levels of the past, almost to a time when he was named the NFL’s top defender.
Khalil Mack’s rise has been so pronounced of late that it might even be cosmic.
“It’s about how unselfish he is and how for the team and for this defense he plays,” Chargers linebacker Eric Kendricks said. “I feel like the football gods are going to be on your side when you play like that.”
A willingness to stand in against the run and shut down the perimeter by Mack and the other edge rushers has helped the Chargers slow opposing ground attacks. As a result, teams have been forced into the exact sort of passing situations that open sack opportunities, opportunities the Chargers have seized to become one of the NFL’s best at harassing quarterbacks.
Chargers vs. Lions matchups: How to watch, start time and prediction
Breaking down how the Chargers (4-4) and the Detroit Lions (6-2) match up heading into their 1:05 p.m. game Sunday at SoFi Stadium. Jeff Miller makes a prediction. The game will be shown on Fox.
When Chargers have the ball
The difficulty the Chargers have experienced in trying to sustain a ground attack is unlikely to be solved against Detroit, which features the NFL’s second-stingiest run defense. The Lions have yet to see any opposing back rush for more than 64 yards in a game.