During Sunday’s game against the Rams, Lions head coach Dan Campbell threw a challenge flag after a 23-yard catch by Colby Parkinson. Campbell said Parkinson went down at the 4-yard line, but the officials gave him a couple extra yards where he fell forward after his knee was down.
Campbell was right: Parkinson was down at the 4-yard line. But coaches can’t challenge where a player is down unless it affects whether or not the player gained a first down. And there was no question that Parkinson gained a first down, so Campbell was charged a timeout for throwing a challenge flag on a non-reviewable play.
Still, during the time after Campbell threw the challenge flag, the replay assistant apparently told the referee the spot had been wrong, and it was fixed. Campbell said after the game that he was right, and the review fixed the bad spot, but he lost a timeout anyway.
“They said I cannot challenge that because it’s not line to gain,” Campbell said. “But it was wrong, which they corrected. So I won the challenge but I lost my timeout.”
That was one of two replay controversies on passes to Parkinson on Sunday. On another, the officials ruled on the field that Parkinson scored a touchdown even though replay appeared to show he was down at the 1-yard line. Replay upheld the ruling on the field. Campbell said he was given no explanation other than that the call stood.
“The call stands,” Campbell said. “They said, ‘The call stands.’”
Lions Clips
After losing to the Rams on Sunday, the Lions are long shots to make the playoffs, a year after earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Lions head coach Dan Campbell says he doesn’t want anyone on his team to accept that.
“It can’t be OK. It should burn at you. It should eat you up. Do not go numb to the losing,” Campbell said.
Campbell said the Rams showed the Lions who the best team in the NFC is this year, and the Lions have to recognize that they have plenty of work to do.
“Now you have first-hand knowledge of what the top of the NFC looks like,” Campbell said. “That’s them. So now you know. You know what it looks like you know what it is, and we’re not there right now. Doesn’t mean we can’t be, but now we know what it looks like. We’ve got to get better.”
The Lions are running out of time to get better, and they can’t be OK with what they’ve done this year.
The Rams will officially be playing in the 2025 postseason.
Los Angeles is the first NFC team to clinch a playoff berth with the team’s 41-34 victory over Detroit on Sunday.
Puka Nacua finished with a career-high 181 yards on nine catches — plus two carries for 8 yards — to lead the way for the Rams on offense.
L.A. and Detroit went back and forth during the first half, with a 31-yard touchdown by Jameson Williams quickly followed by a Rams 37-yard field goal to make the score 24-17, Lions, at halftime.
But it was all Rams in the third quarter, with a 44-yard field goal followed by a 26-yard touchdown reception by Colby Parkinson and an 11-yard touchdown run by Blake Corum to give the Rams a 34-24 advantage.
Los Angeles then put it away with Parkinson’s second touchdown of the game, this time an 11-yard score.
While David Montgomery added a 1-yard touchdown on a direct snap with 2:42 left in the contest, the Rams ran enough time off the clock on their ensuing drive to make sure Detroit’s last play didn’t make a difference.
Rams QB Matthew Stafford ended the contest 24-of-38 for 368 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Kyren Williams had 78 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns while Corum had 71 yards on 11 carries with a TD.
Receiver Davante Adams had to exit the contest with a hamstring injury and did not return. He’s been nursing a hamstring issue, missing two days of practice this week. He finished with four catches for 71 yards.
On the other side, Aidan Hutchinson caught an interception and returned it 58 yards to help spur the Lions’ first touchdown. Quarterback Jared Goff was great in the first half, tossing three touchdowns. But that’s the number he finished with, too, ending the game 25-of-41 for 338 yards with three TDs and no picks.
Amon-Ra St. Brown was terrific in his return to Los Angeles as a USC product, catching 13 passes for 163 yards with two touchdowns. Jameson Williams added seven receptions for 134 yards with a TD.
With the win, the Rams are now 11-3 and continue to have a hold on the NFC’s No. 1 seed. They will have a quick turnaround for a Thursday night matchup in Seattle against the fellow 11-3 Seahawks, who beat the Colts on Sunday. That game may end up determining the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
Detroit is now 8-6 and is on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture. The Lions will host the Steelers next Sunday afternoon.
The Rams have scored again to put their lead over the Lions at 41-27 and they also got some good news after one of their top receivers went down in a heap.
FOX sideline reporter Erin Andrews reports Puka Nacua was experiencing cramps after making a downfield catch in the fourth quarter. Nacua went down in a heap and was able to get to the sideline.
The Rams already lost receiver Davante Adams in the fourth quarter, as he’s questionable to return with a hamstring injury.
Los Angeles finished that possession with a touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Colby Parkinson — the second time the two players had hooked up for a score.
Detroit cornerback Amik Robertson is also questionable to return with a hand injury.
UPDATE 7:26 p.m. ET: Nacua returned to the game on Los Angeles’ next drive.
The Rams had been rolling in the second half, but now there’s an injury concern with one of their top receivers.
Davante Adams has headed to the locker room with an apparent hamstring injury early in the fourth quarter.
Adams — who has been nursing a hamstring injury in recent weeks, missing some practice time — pulled up while running a deep route down the left seam on a third-and-7 play. He stayed on the ground for a bit before limping off the field to the sideline. He went right to the locker room for further evaluation.
Adams has four catches for 71 yards so far on Sunday. He entered the game leading the league with 14 touchdown receptions.
The Rams lead the Lions 34-24 with 11:30 left in the fourth quarter.
UPDATE 7:05 p.m. ET: The Rams announced Adams is questionable to return with a hamstring injury.
Puka Nacua is having another dominant performance.
After the Rams took a three-point lead over the Lions, Nacua had another big catch to put the Rams in position to up their advantage to 10 points with a Blake Corum 11-yard touchdown.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Los Angeles is ahead 34-24.
The Rams went up with a 26-yard touchdown by Colby Parkinson and got a three-and-out on Detroit’s ensuing possession. Kobie Turner sacked Jared Goff for a 12-yard loss on second-and-10. Detroit’s third-down play was a screen pass that wasn’t going to go the distance and fell incomplete.
Starting from the 50-yard line, L.A. came out hot, with Matthew Stafford finding Nacua over the middle for a 39-yard completion to put the offense at the 11. Corum took it in from there for the score.
Nacua now has eight receptions for 169 yards so far on Sunday, a week after finishing with 167 yards on seven catches.
Matthew Stafford is dealing and the Rams have taken the lead over the Lions.
Stafford completed a 26-yard pass to tight end Colby Parkinson that was upheld on review for a go-ahead touchdown.
Los Angeles leads Detroit 27-24 late in the third quarter.
Stafford’s first touchdown of the day capped a nine-play, 88-yard drive that took 4:13 off the clock.
Stafford got chunk completions of 15 and 21 yards over the middle to Davante Adams, putting the Rams in Lions territory.
Then from first-and-10 on the Detroit 26, Stafford hit Parkinson deep down the right sideline for what was ruled a touchdown. FOX rules analyst Dean Blandino criticized the ruling, noting in his view that Parkinson should have been ruled down at the 1-yard line.
It’s been an offensive shootout so far in Los Angeles on Sunday, but the Lions got the best of the Rams in the first 30 minutes to take a 24-17 lead into halftime.
The two teams combined for 518 total yards. According to the FOX broadcast, that’s the most combined yards in a first half for two teams this year.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff and receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown have been on the same page throughout, with Goff completing nine passes to St. Brown for 127 yards with a pair of touchdowns.
Jameson Williams also has four catches on four targets for 92 yards with a 31-yard TD. Williams’ score came with just 30 seconds left in the half, capping a 9-play, 80-yard drive that took just 2:39 off the clock.
Goff finished the first half 14-of-20 for 221 yards with three TDs.
Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson got things going for his team with an interception off a screen, returning it 58 yards to end Los Angeles’ first drive.
St. Brown got his first touchdown from there, catching a 17-yard pass to give the Lions an early 7-0 lead.
Matthew Stafford was able to shake off his early pick to lead the Rams to three scoring drives. Kyren Williams had a 4-yard touchdown and 1-yard touchdown. Stafford also engineered a successful two-minute drive with 30 seconds left, putting L.A. in field-goal range with a 37-yard dart to Puka Nacua down the right side.
Stafford finished the first half 13-of-23 for 193 yards with an interception. Nacua leads with five catches for 99 yards.
The Rams will receive the second-half kickoff.
Back and forth the Lions and Rams go, with Amon-Ra St. Brown making a pair of plays to put Detroit back on top.
St. Brown’s 8-yard touchdown catch has given Detroit a 17-14 lead over L.A. with 6:12 left in the second quarter.
Coming off a Rams TD, St. Brown started the Lions’ drive with a 52-yard catch-and-run all the way down to Los Angeles’ 13-yard line.
After a pair of short runs, head coach Dan Campbell got the Rams’ defense with a screen pass to St. Brown on the right side. With blockers in front of him, the wideout was able to make it to the end zone for an 8-yard score to put the Lions up by three.
St. Brown already has six catches for 96 yards with two touchdowns.
Kyren Williams has gotten back in the end zone and the Rams have a second-quarter lead over the Lions.
Williams’ 1-yard score gave the Rams a 14-10 advantage with 8:31 left in the second period.
The run capped a six-play, 69-yard drive for Los Angeles.
The Rams had to run five plays from inside the 5-yard line. But with a defensive holding penalty on third-and-goal from the 1 and offsetting penalties on the next snap, the Rams finally put it in on first-and-goal from inside the 1.
Los Angeles had three straight chunk plays to get deep into Detroit territory. Williams started the possession with a 19-yard run, then Matthew Stafford followed that with a 36-yard deep connection with Puka Nacua. Colby Parkinson had an 11-yard catch after that to put the ball inside the 5-yard line.
As noted by the FOX broadcast, Lions right tackle Penei Sewell had a leg looked at on the sideline, but has remained in the game.
