Nothing seemed to go right for Detroit’s Jared Goff on Sunday night against the Houston Texans.
The nine-year veteran threw a career-high five interceptions through the first three quarters, and the Lions were down by 10 points.
But instead of letting his mistakes ruin the game, Goff led the Lions to a surprising 26-23 win, which ended with a 52-yard field goal by Jake Bates as time expired.
“I had some unfortunate things early, but I’ve been through a whole lot worse than that,” Goff said. “Mentally, I’ve been to the bottom. Some unlucky plays aren’t going to throw me off my game.”
With the win, the Lions improved to 8-1 for the first time since 1954. It was their seventh straight win and fifth consecutive road victory.
“That was a hard-fought game,” Detroit coach Dan Campbell said. “We had to fight our way back in there. I’m proud of the guys. There’s things we’ve got to clean up, but our guys wouldn’t go away. They just wouldn’t go away.”
The Lions were down 23-7 at halftime after Goff threw three interceptions in the first half. He threw two more interceptions in the third quarter. Despite that, the Lions scored 16 unanswered points to tie the game, with about five minutes left, thanks to a 58-yard field goal by Bates.
“I just don’t deserve this,” Bates said. “I was a soccer player growing up. I idolized football players in the NFL, and just to be here is surreal. I’m still pinching myself.”
The Texans (6-4) had a chance to take the lead with just under two minutes left, but Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 58-yard field goal attempt went wide left.
“We didn’t make the plays to win the game… to win games guys have to step up and make plays and that’s not happening,” said Houston coach DeMeco Ryans.
The Lions became the first team to win a game after throwing five or more interceptions since Atlanta did it in 2012, when Matt Ryan threw five picks against Arizona but still won 23-19.
David Montgomery ran for a 3-yard touchdown early in the third quarter, but his attempt at a 2-point conversion was stopped, leaving the Lions trailing 23-13. Then, Amon-Ra St. Brown caught a 9-yard touchdown pass to make it 23-20 early in the fourth quarter.
Goff threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns, and Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 71 yards.
C.J. Stroud threw for 232 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw two interceptions in the second half. The Texans were shut out after halftime, losing for the third time in their last four games.
“I blame this game on me,” Stroud said. “I’ve got to be better in those moments. When the defense is getting turnovers like they did, we’ve got to be able to reward them with points.”
Goff’s five interceptions were the most by an NFL player since Jameis Winston threw five on Oct. 13, 2019, for Tampa Bay against Carolina.
Goff had not thrown an interception in five games and came into Sunday with only four interceptions on the season. His previous career high for interceptions in a game was four, which happened during a loss to Chicago when he was with the Rams on Dec. 9, 2018.
“There’s just these little circumstances that come into play so for me, I’m not going to tell him anything,” Campbell said. “These weren’t ill-advised throws, it just wasn’t our day.”
Rookie Kamari Lassiter led the Texans with two interceptions, helping them set a franchise record for interceptions in the game.
Jimmie Ward intercepted Goff on Detroit’s first drive after the ball was tipped by Jalen Pitre, giving Houston possession at the Detroit 33-yard line. The Texans took advantage of the turnover and made it 7-0 when Joe Mixon ran 8 yards for a touchdown.
With about two minutes remaining in the first quarter, Fairbairn kicked a 34-yard field goal to extend the Texans’ lead to 10-0. Detroit responded and cut the lead to 10-7 when Sam LaPorta caught a 20-yard touchdown pass.
The Texans were up by 6 when Denico Autry hit Goff’s arm as he threw, and the ball landed in the hands of Henry To’oTo’o, giving Houston possession at the Detroit 36-yard line.
However, the Texans couldn’t move the ball and settled for a 29-yard field goal from Fairbairn, making it 16-7 with about four minutes left in the first half.
Houston extended its lead to 23-7 when Stroud found John Metchie III for a 15-yard touchdown with 16 seconds remaining in the second quarter. This was Metchie’s first career touchdown after missing his entire rookie season in 2022 while undergoing treatment for leukemia.
Goff threw his third interception when Lassiter picked off his desperation throw on the last play of the first half.
Davis intercepted Stroud on the first play of the second half, but Lassiter grabbed his second interception of the game three plays later.
After Montgomery’s touchdown, Detroit’s Carlton Davis III intercepted Stroud again, leaping in front of Tank Dell in the end zone for his second pick. Goff threw his fifth interception two plays later, but the Texans couldn’t take advantage of it and were forced to punt.
