'Tonight was a big one': Lions tame Broncos, close in on playoff spot

Detroit — The Detroit Lions weren't able to officially clinch a playoff spot Saturday night, but they made it all but a formality. More importantly, they rediscovered their early-season mojo, taming the red-hot Denver Broncos, 42-17, at Ford Field.

"I think every team goes through (lulls), but our superpower is how we respond," Lions quarterback Jared Goff said. "It starts with (coach) Dan (Campbell) and goes to me and through the offense and the coordinators and the coaches, everybody.

"Our superpower is how we respond as a team, as a unit, as a group. We’ve been through a lot of adversity as a group and a three-game lull where we won one of three. It’s not the worst thing we’ve been through, so being able to bounce back is something that we pride ourselves on, and tonight was a big one"

With the Minnesota Vikings dropping a thrilling overtime contest to the Cincinnati Bengals earlier in the day, the Lions can clinch a postseason berth a number of ways in the next couple of days. The easiest would see the Eagles beating the Seahawks on Monday night. Alternatively, there are several combinations of Sunday losses involving the Packers, Rams, Saints, Buccaneers and Falcons that would also get the job done.

Additionally, the Lions (10-4) will be able to clinch the NFC North, their first division crown in 30 years, next week in Minnesota.

Saturday night's game against the Broncos (7-7) got off to an ugly start for both teams, as the sides combined for five punts and a lost fumble in a scoreless first quarter. Denver came the closest to putting points on the board in the opening frame, driving into Detroit's red zone before safety Ifeatu Melifonwu came on a blitz and dislodged the ball from Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, quelling the threat.

The Lions started to settle into a groove at the end of the quarter and found paydirt early in the second. Tight end Sam LaPorta was the star of the series, hauling in a 17-yard pass out of play-action, a third-down conversion and a 9-yard touchdown.

That was the seventh touchdown of the season for LaPorta, matching Joseph Fauria's franchise record for a rookie tight end. LaPorta had already reset the team's first-year marks at his position for receptions and receiving yardage.

After the defense forced a three-and-out, culminating with Josh Pascal's first sack of the season, the Lions continued to click on offense with a quick-strike, six-play touchdown drive. Explosive gains by Josh Reynolds through the air and Jahmyr Gibbs on the ground were followed by an 18-yard catch by Jameson Williams, where the speedy receiver broke a tackle near the sideline. That led to a 9-yard touchdown grab by Gibbs on second-and-goal.

And the Lions were able to push their advantage to 21-0 before halftime with a third consecutive touchdown drive. This time it was Amon-Ra St. Brown who was the featured piece, hauling in four passes for 55 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown, where he flipped into the end zone over a Denver defender.

The Broncos were finally able to break through to open the second half, riding a 44-yard pass-interference penalty against linebacker Alex Anzalone. That came on a third-and-12 snap and the Broncos converted twice more on third down, including a well-covered, 5-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Lil'Jordan Humphrey.

The play, like all scoring plays, was reviewed, and the ball appeared to be moving as the Broncos receiver went to the ground, but the officials didn't have enough evidence to overturn the call on the field, allowing the touchdown to stand.

But Detroit was able to quickly stop the bleeding with a touchdown response. Quarterback Jared Goff opened the counterattack with a 26-yard completion to St. Brown before Gibbs got loose for gains of 11 — to convert a third-and-10 — and 36 yards down to the 4-yard line.

Two plays later, Goff found LaPorta for a second time, thrusting the rookie past Fauria and matching the franchise's single-season scoring mark for a tight end with Jim Gibbons, who hauled in eight touchdowns in 1964.

The Broncos nearly returned to the end zone on the ensuing drive, but running back Javonte Williams was stopped at the 1-yard line by Derrick Barnes on third-and-goal and a fourth-down touchdown was taken off the board by an offside infraction, causing the visitors to settle for a short field goal that cut the lead to 28-10.

Detroit had no such issues keeping their good times rolling. Not even seeing a third down on their six-play possession, they pounded the ball on the ground against the league's worst run defense, handing it to Gibbs and David Montgomery five times for 34 combined yards, capped by a 12-yard scoring romp for the rookie, his second score of the night.

"It’s kind of like a flow state, where you get into the rhythm and like I mentioned, sometime in the middle of that second quarter, throughout the rest of the game it felt like (offensive coordinator) Ben (Johnson) could have called anything, called whatever you want," Goff said. "And he felt that way, and it was just up and down the field. We were running the ball well, we were throwing the ball well. I think we had the one three-and-out in the fourth quarter, but other than that, had a really, really good game."

The sides would trade punts early in the fourth quarter — snapping the Lions' scoring parade at five straight touchdown drives as Goff noted — before the Broncos put a dent into the 25-point deficit with an eight-play, 62-yard touchdown possession. They got a fourth-down conversion in the red zone to stay afloat, setting up a 1-yard sneak by Wilson that made it 35-17 with 6:28 remaining.

With a comeback far-fetched, Detroit linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez slammed the door shut by recovering Denver's onside kick. Playmakers St. Brown and Gibbs further facilitated the finish with a pair of clock-killing first downs before Goff found LaPorta for the exclamation point, a third touchdown reception on fourth down, lowering Gibbons in the team's record books.

"I always say I can’t do it without my teammates," LaPorta said. "I certainly can’t. There're 10 other guys out there with me. So yeah, it was just a really good day, really good day for the team."

Goff finished his day 24-of-34 for 278 yards and five touchdowns. St. Brown paced the pass catchers with seven grabs for 112 yards and a score, while LaPorta had five receptions for 56 yards and the trio of touchdowns.

With a playoff berth potentially in hand before they play next, the Lions will hit the road to play the Vikings on Christmas Eve with a chance to earn their first division crown since 1993, earning the Lions the first home playoff game in Ford Field's 21-year history.

"Look, this is about to be a tough environment," Campbell said. "Going on the road at Minnesota, they've got an outstanding defense, they’ve changed a couple of things up offensively just watching crossover tape, so this is not going to be easy.

"(They are the) defending North champs from last year, but, man, we wouldn’t have it any other way — go out there on the road, tough environment, and we got a chance to get the next one, so we are going to be looking forward to it. I know I am, and I know our guys will."

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers