Lions film review: Takeaways from 9 consecutive drives ending in points

Allen Park — When you hang 47 points on an opponent, effectively scoring nine consecutive possessions to open a game, there’s a lot to process.

Instead of trying to pick out a theme or three from Sunday’s blowout victory over the Dallas Cowboys, we’re going to review the tape from the Detroit Lions’ offensive performance drive-by-drive to understand how the offense was able to have such a staggering level of success and tack on some concluding thoughts at the end.

First series — five plays, 70 yards (touchdown)

After Jared Goff misfired on his opening throw, snapping a streak of 19 consecutive completions dating back to Week 3, the quarterback rebounded with a 42-yard bomb to Tim Patrick on third down to salvage the opening drive.

With Jameson Williams occupying the deep safety in Dallas’ Cover-1 look, Patrick was isolated against cornerback Amani Oruwariye down the right sideline. The receiver had a step, but the ball was underthrown, requiring an adjustment and having to play through the defender's contact.

Equally critical to the play’s success was running back David Montgomery picking up linebacker Damone Clark, blitzing through the A-gap. That preserved Goff's pocket, allowing the QB to maintain his mechanics.

Montgomery finished the series with back-to-back carries gaining 23 yards. On the second, a 16-yard scoring run, the zone blocking going left was outstanding, creating a massive backside cutback lane. Guard Kevin Zeitler and right tackle Penei Sewell opened a wide hole, getting Montgomery to the second level untouched where he cut left, keeping his balance as he was spun around by safety Donovan Wilson’s tackle attempt.

Second series — 12 plays, 58 yards (field goal)

Detroit opened its second possession with six straight runs that gained 43 yards. On two handoffs to Gibbs, the back reached the safety untouched, while the final effort, a jet sweep to a motioning Williams, caught the Dallas defense flat-footed.