In their win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday to improve to 13-2, the Detroit Lions uncorked one of the most creative trick plays in recent memory. In the third quarter, the Lions offense used a fake fumble as a play action pass and found tight end Sam LaPorta wide open for a 21-yard touchdown pass.
The play came with the Lions leading the Bears by a score of 27-14 in the third quarter, with the touchdown extending their lead to 20 points.
The TD pass was one of three that quarterback Jared Goff threw in the game, and second-year tight end Sam LaPorta's sixth of the season.
As it turns out, the Lions seemingly got the play from their NFC North rivals, the Green Bay Packers, who scored on a similar, albeit accidental, play against the Bears last season.
Speaking on ESPN's Get Up! on Monday, former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan pointed out that Lions players even screamed "Ball! Ball! Ball!" in order to further sell the play. His only complaint, however, was that they decided to use this excellent trick play against the Bears and not in a playoff game.
In the win over the Bears, Goff -- in addition to the epic touchdown to LaPorta -- completed 23 of 32 passes for 336 yards and three touchdowns.
The Lions' win over the Bears and the Eagles' loss to the Commanders later in the day puts Detroit on track for the #1 seed in the NFC playoffs, which is huge considering how much better they've statistically performed in recent years in a dome versus an outdoor stadium.
A bye week via the #1 seed would also be a huge plus for Detroit given the staggering number of injuries the team has, particularly on the defensive side of the ball -- heading into the weekend, the team had 21 players on injured reserve.