Lions dominate turnover-prone Titans, cruise to 52-14 win

DETROIT — Sometimes, you're the hammer, and sometimes, you're the nail.

And sometimes, you're a bulldozer plowing through a field of daisies.

Jared Goff didn’t play a snap of the fourth quarter. His 85 passing yards were the second-fewest of his career. And the Detroit Lions beat the Tennessee Titans, 52-14.

It was complete and utter domination.

Kalif Raymond had 190 yards and a touchdown on punt returns. The Lions (6-1) forced four takeaways and gave away none. Jahmyr Gibbs had 127 yards rushing and a touchdown on 12 carries, including a career-long 70-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Running back David Montgomery threw a touchdown pass and ran for another.

The Lions started five possessions inside Tennessee's 30-yard line, giving Detroit one short field after another to continue racking up the score.

Over their last four games, the Lions are now averaging 43 points per game. Week by week, the Lions have made a legitimate case that the most recent game has been their best of the season. And if it weren't for their 47-9 win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6, this might be considered their most dominant win in a decade.

One can only imagine what the likes of Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport would have done to this offense. Backup Titans quarterback Mason Rudolph hung in as best he could, going 22 for 38 for 266 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions, only to be outdone by a three-touchdown, sub-100-yard performance by Goff. Titans receiver Calvin Ridley caught 10 passes for 143 yards and Tony Pollard ran for 94 yards on 20 carries.

But for every minor Titans victory on Sunday, the Lions scored a major one.

The Titans tied the game, 7-7, with 4:07 to go in the first quarter but Gibbs answered with a 70-yard touchdown run on the next play from scrimmage.

It was just that type of day.

After going three-and-out on its opening drive, Detroit quickly forced a turnover to get on the board. Pressure from Levi Onwuzurike forced Rudolph into a bad throw, which landed in the arms of Lions linebacker Trevor Nowaske to set up first-and-10 at the Tennessee 23. David Montgomery — aided by a face-mask penalty — carried the ball twice for 16 yards to get the Lions in the end zone for a 7-0 lead at 10:31 in the opening frame.

The interception extended Detroit's takeaway streak to 11 games, the longest active streak in the NFL.

The Titans answered at 4:07 in the first quarter with a four-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Calvin Ridley's 26-yard catch set up Rudolph's 11-yard touchdown run.

But it didn't take the Lions long to regain their lead. Gibbs took a handoff on the first snap of the ensuing drive, hit a hole to the left side, and left the Titans defense in his dust while speeding down the sideline for a 70-yard touchdown that put the Lions up 14-7 at 3:57, the longest run of Gibbs' career. Gibbs smashed the 45-yard career-long that he set at Minnesota the week prior.

Once again, it was a quick response from the Lions. Khalil Dorsey ripped off a 72-yard kick return to give the Lions starting field position at the Tennessee 25-yard line. After extending the drive on a third-down pass-interference call, Detroit dished the ball to tight end Brock Wright — on National Tight Ends Day — for an 8-yard score to go up 21-14, Wright's first touchdown of the season.

Kerby Joseph intercepted his fifth pass of the season — and first outside of the end zone — to set up another touchdown for Detroit. Sam LaPorta almost got in on the holiday celebration but was downed at the 1-yard line a few plays later, setting up a touchdown throw to Amon-Ra St. Brown and a 28-14 lead at 11:37 in the second quarter.

With 6:35 left in the half, Kalif Raymond returned a punt 64 yards to the 22-yard line of Tennessee. After Detroit reached the goal line, LaPorta finally got his touchdown, when Montgomery tossed him a 3-yard running back pass for a 35-14 lead with 2:18 to go in the half.

At the end of the second quarter, the Titans benefitted from a pass-interference call on Brian Branch that put them first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Tennessee received the ball out of halftime, so a touchdown there would have given them a chance to make it a one-score game to begin the third quarter. But four straight incompletions later, and it was the Lions ending the half with the ball and a 35-14 lead.

Early in the third quarter, the Lions finally parlayed a big return into a touchdown. After the Titans went three-and-out to begin the second half, Raymond fielded one at 13:05 and quickly ended any hopes of a comeback with a 90-yard return touchdown to put the Lions up 42-14.

From there, things just kept going the Lions' way. Amik Robertson punched a fumble away from Ridley, leading to a recovery by Carlton Davis (his second of the season) to give Detroit the ball at Tennessee's 26-yard line. A few plays later, Raymond had his second touchdown of the game and third of the season on 7-yard receiving touchdown to go up 49-14.

Lions kicker Jake Bates added a 51-yard field goal, a new career-long, to put the Lions up 52-14 with 1:08 to go in the third quarter.

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