The Lions Put on a Short-Yardage Clinic vs. the Packers on 3rd and 4th Down

Last Thursday night, Dan Campbell knew that the Lions offense would have to stay on the field as much as possible against the Packers because of how decimated their defense was. Possessing the ball meant converting on 3rd down. It also meant going for it on 4th down more often.

The plan ultimately worked as the Lions finished 7-for-15 on 3rd down (46.7%). That’s a conversion rate good enough to rank 3rd-best in the NFL entering Week 14. It was all the more impressive when you consider that several of those failed conversions were the result of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson calling a play with 4th down in mind. That’s why we saw several runs, screens, and short passes on 3rd-and-medium or 3rd-and-long that you normally wouldn’t see.

The Lions would end up going for it on 4th down 5 times, converting 4 of those attempts.

This meant there were ultimately 15 moments in the game where the Packers defense could have made a stop on 3rd or 4th down to get off the field. The Lions ultimately converted 11 of those, and that allowed them to hold onto the ball for 36:06 and score 34 points.

Many of these were short-yardage situations, and this was where the Lions really shined. Their success wasn’t about putting a bunch of big bodies on the field and pushing the defense back to get a yard or two. This was about succeeding with scheme as Ben Johnson pulled out his best short-yardage plays and ultimately won the cat-and-mouse 4th-and-1 “game within the game.”

Let’s break it all down.

On this first 4th down right before the half, the Lions came out in a 3x1 formation with 3 tight ends to the left, wide receiver Tim Patrick to the right, and running back Jahmyr Gibbs offset to the right in the backfield:

This was a goal-line situation, so the Packers were in a man-coverage look with linebacker Quay Walker as the deepest defender in the middle just 5 yards off the ball:

The Packers would have two defenders on either side of the formation ready to account for Gibbs out of the backfield. Whichever way he released, he would become that defender’s responsibility:

Johnson seemingly knew that. So this play was designed to get the ball to Gibbs on an angle-route over the middle:

First, Johnson threw a little eye candy at the Packers to make them think the trips side would be the target of the play and to keep any extra defenders away from the middle. He sent one of those three tight ends in motion right before the snap:

Goff then had to read Quay Walker. If he blitzed, the middle would be clear and he could target Gibbs. If he sat, Goff could look to Patrick on the outside, who was running a return-route.

Unsurprisingly, Walker blitzed. Gibbs then beat linebacker Isaiah McDuffie (#58) badly for the touchdown:

Take another look at the route by Gibbs. He did a great job of attacking the outside as if he was trying to beat McDuffie to the flat. That got McDuffie to turn his hips and start sprinting to the outside. Then Gibbs cut it back:

Gibbs is tough for any linebacker to defend in coverage. He’s like a wide receiver in the backfield.

And speaking of wide receivers in the backfield, the Lions would put a real one there on this next 4th down from the Packers’ 1-yard line. Amon-Ra St. Brown aligned right next to Goff and the Lions would run a “stick” route concept:

The most critical element of this play, however, is that the Lions broke the huddle and raced to the line before snapping it quickly:

The Packers were unable to get lined up in time or think about how they wanted to handle St. Brown in the backfield. You can see them communicating and trying to get lined up above. Ultimately, linebacker Eric Wilson (#45) would be late getting over: