It seems everything that the Detroit Lions and Ben Johnson do is scripted, according to plan, and not by mistake … including mimicking a mistake on one of the most surprising plays of the NFL season.
Sunday afternoon against the Chicago Bears, in a game the Lions won to dash the Packers‘ flickering hopes of an improbable NFC North Division Championship, Lions quarterback Jared Goff pretended to fumble the ball and running back Jahmyr Gibbs faked as if he were diving to the ground to recover it, only there was no fumble and Goff aired it out to tight end Sam LaPorta for an easy 22-yard touchdown.
Here’s the thing; Johnson very well may have been inspired by a Jordan Love touchdown pass, against the Bears, off an actual fumble.
It was brought to my attention that Ben Johnson & the Lions probably did the fake fumble play because of the tape they saw last year of Jordan Love fumbling the snap and finding a wide open Luke Musgrave pic.twitter.com/cxQwUig6Qi
— Hogg (@HoggNFL) December 23, 2024
Love’s fumble allowed Luke Musgrave to break wide-open in last year’s Packers game against the Bears, and it seems to have caught Johnson and the Lions’ attention.
Given that the NFL is a copycat league, perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that the Lions grabbed a play where Love and the Packers avoided a catastrophe and recreated its success, nor should it be shocking if more teams attempt similar plays in the weeks and seasons to come.
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