'Genius': Detroit Lions execute fake-fumble trick play in dominant win over Chicago Bears
Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions wowed the NFL and sports world by tricking the Chicago Bears on Monday (AEDT).
The moment of deceit came in the third quarter of a 34-17 victory when the Lions faked a fumble and Goff threw a touchdown pass.
Goff intentionally stumbled while dropping back. With Detroit players yelling, “Fumble” and Jahmyr Gibbs pretending to dive for the ball, Goff threw to Sam LaPorta for a 21-yard touchdown that made it 34-14.
READ MORE: Tiger's son comes up aces with hole-in-one
READ MORE: World No.1 drops profanity twice on live broadcast
READ MORE: Forgotten man removes himself from Test
The Lions pretended to drop the ball which resulted in Bears defenders to rush. FOX Sports
Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson approached Goff on Monday with a slightly different plan. It had the quarterback deliberately fumbling, similar to the classic trick play known as the “fumblerooski.”
Goff didn't think he could pull that one off, so they tweaked the idea. After working on the play in practice, they executed it to perfection against the Bears.
Then Goff threw for a touchdown. FOX Sports
“At first, it started on Monday, with Ben asking if [I] thought I could fumble on purpose and pick it back up,” Goff said afterwards.
“I said, 'I don't know about that'. We kind of got off that pretty quickly and were like, 'Let's just pretend we're falling or pretend I'm fumbling but I'm holding onto the ball'. I think the part that Gibbs dives really sells the play. I'm only doing half of it.”
Gibbs and Tim Patrick told ESPN that Johnson's inspiration for the play came from the Packers' season-opening win at Soldier Field last season.
Jordan Love found a wide-open Luke Musgrave for a 37-yard pass after fumbling the snap.
"The stuff he comes up with every game is crazy," Gibbs said of Johnson.
"You don't really see stuff like that only if you're in college. In college, they have all of those explosive plays and stuff."
