Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions used a trick play to fool the Chicago Bears on Sunday, a play inspired by the Green Bay Packers’ season-opening win at Soldier Field last season. With the score 34-14, Goff pretended to stumble while dropping back, yelled “Fumble!” and threw a touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta. The play, which started with a different plan that involved Goff deliberately fumbling and then picking it up, was tweaked and executed to perfection.
The play was born on Monday when offensive coordinator Ben Johnson asked Goff if he thought he could fumble on purpose and pick it back up. Goff was unsure, so they decided to instead pretend that he was falling or fumbling but actually holding onto the ball. The dive by running back Jahmyr Gibbs sold the play, and Goff admitted that he was only doing half of the trick. The play resulted in a 21-yard touchdown that sealed the win for the Lions.