That Was Close! Detroit Lions Win in OT 26-20. Dan Campbell Says ...

Coach Dan Campbell after the game.

It was a classic nail-biter.

The Detroit Lions on Sunday night didn't always look like a Super Bowl-bound team, but they certainly did in the final drive in overtime at Ford Field when they came from behind to beat Matt Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams 26-20, thanks in part to the mighty power of running back David Montgomery, who was a brute on the field, rushing for 91 yards during the game, and scoring the winning touchdown from the one-yard line.

Jameson Williams had a career-high 121 receiving yards. Jared Goff had an acceptable game, but not outstanding. And the Rams managed to contain two of the Lions' weapons, Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta. Combined they had seven catches totalling 58 yards.

However close, the Lions are 1-0, tied for first place with the Vikings and the Bears. The Packers lost.

They looked a bit rusty at times, perhaps because the starters didn't play in the pre-season. 

Detroit Lions Coach Dan Campbell acknowledged the team's shortcomings after the game.

"We got to get better and whether we won or lost today, we got to get better, and we we won. We still have to get better and we'll clean all this up and then and we got to play better against Tampa next week."

Here's what some of the sports writers had to say:

Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press:

I’d like to say huge, considering all the raw emotion coursing through Ford Field. But honestly it felt more like the Lions survived after they blew a double-digit lead (for the second game in a row) and let the short-handed Rams back in the game. Of course, season openers can be crazy affairs that ultimately don’t tell us much. Right, 2023 Kansas City Chiefs? This was always going to be a tough draw for the Lions because that old saying — it’s hard to beat a team twice — is cited so often. And that’s what this game was: a rematch of two teams that essentially just played each other. The Lions won this game, ultimately, with their run game, salting it away with David Montgomery’s hard-nosed running in overtime. Expect both these teams to make the playoffs and, with any luck, face off in yet another rematch in January.

Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times

A remade Rams defense played the Detroit Lions tough through four quarters on Sunday night.

But they could not stop the Lions in overtime. Jared Goff drove his team 70 yards in eight plays and David Montgomery scored on a one-yard touchdown to send the Rams to a 26-20 defeat before 66,530 at Ford Field...

It was another heartbreaking loss for the Rams and Stafford, who lost here, 24-23, last January in an NFC wild-card game.

In the post-game press conference Detroit Coach Dan Campbell conceded the Lions' could have done much better, even though they won.

"We got to get better, and whether we won or lost today, we got to get better. And  we we won we still have to get better. And we'll clean all this up and then and we got to play better against Tampa next week."

David Montgomery runs it in for the @Lions win! pic.twitter.com/iKUEHAvgMK