The Lions got their first win in 364 days when quarterback Jared Goff -- who got the first win of his career under a coach other than Sean McVay -- found rookie receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown at the front of the goal line for a game-winning touchdown.
So how surprised was St. Brown by the fact that the Vikings weren’t covering the goal line on the last play of the game?
“I was really shocked, actually,” St. Brown told PFT by phone after the 29-27 win. “The corner . . . I think he went like four or five yards deep into the end zone. It was perfect. I was running at him, and he actually just stayed there. He didn’t even come up. In my head I was like, ‘This is the perfect situation.’ As I broke in, there was no one in front of me. It just worked out perfect for us.”
Indeed it did. And the play was a simple one. St. Brown said they’ve been running it since training camp.
“That’s one of our two-minute end-of-the-game situations,” St. Brown said. “It’s not too crazy of a play concept. . . . [W]hen we call this play at the end of the game it’s basically get one or two yards into the end zone so when I catch it, I’m in the end zone. That was the biggest thing for me on that play was it’s an ‘in’ route but making sure you catch it in the end zone because there’s no time left on the clock. If I’d caught that a yard before the end zone, game over. We have no timeouts. The biggest thing for me was just making sure I get in that end zone.”
The Vikings made that task easier by inexplicably not guarding the front of the end zone. That blunder by coach Mike Zimmer puts a major crimp in Minnesota’s postseason plans, which could in turn prompt some big changes after the season.