If I told you the they had 225 yards of offense, 61 net passing yards and Jared Goff threw for 85 yards on Sunday, you'd assume the Detroit Lions had a disappointing loss to a Tennessee Titans' squad that may be packing it in already.
But driven by four takeaways from Aaron Glenn's defense and return men who took full advantage of Tennessee's awful kick coverage, a game that was tied at 14 early in the second quarter became a 52-14 win for the Lions.
In the first half on Sunday, the Lions had four touchdown drives of 25 or fewer yards. They would add one more in the second half, to further fortify a record in TruMedia's database.
In just the first half against the Titans, the Lions have four touchdown drives of 25 or fewer yards
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) October 27, 2024
This is the only *full game* in the @TruMediaSports database (since 2000) to have 4+ TD drives of 25 or fewer yards.
Running back David Montgomery ran for a touchdown and threw for another. Backfield mate Jahmyr Gibbs had a 70-yard touchdown run on his way to 127 yards on the ground.
Tight ends Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright, on "National Tight Ends Day", caught touchdowns (LaPorta's came from Montgomery.
Wide receiver Kalif Raymond had a 90-yard punt return touchdown followed closely by a touchdown reception, in a "revenge game" for him against one of his former teams.
Detroit Lions dominate Titans in simply unique fashion
Raymond had 190 yards on five punt returns. Cornerback Khalil Dorsey had a 72-yard kickoff return. Safety Kerby Joseph had his fifth interception of the season, as he and linebacker Trevor Nowaske combined for 41 interception return yards.
That's 303 "hidden yards" on returns or some sort, not to mention the difference in yardage lost to penalties (eight penaltes-60 yards for Tennessee, three penalties-29 yards for Detroit).
There's no denying how good the Lions are, with two blowout wins in their last three as big evidence. They are the current favorites to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LIX, and it's hard to see anyone unseating them right now.
The Lions scored 52 points today despite just 225 yards of total offense.
— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) October 27, 2024
That's the lowest yardage output by any team that scored 50+ points in a game since World War II.
It's also clear the Titans are a very bad football team, and even with the competitive start to Sunday's game it seemed like only a matter of time before it showed up.
The Titans' ineptitude did show up, and a good team like the Lions did what good teams do when they face a bad team-win in blowout fashion. It just didn't look like anyone expected it would going into the game.