Getty Josh Jacobs runs through a hole.
The Detroit Lions thought they had a defensive stop against the Oakland Raiders, but Jon Gruden had other plans after a rare three and out in a game featuring a serious lack of defense.
Gruden, much to the surprise of Detroit, faked a punt and on the end around, managed to pick up a huge gain. Detroit didn’t see the play coming and didn’t have any type of plan for it as evidence by the massive chunk play the Raiders were able to pick up.
Here’s a look at the big gainer.
The @Raiders FAKE PUNT works to perfection! #DETvsOAK
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It’s a rarity to see a fake punt in the NFL and especially one that actually works, but clearly with the play, the Raiders sent the message they are in it to win it.
Oakland would later miss a field goal on the end of the drive, but the play showed just how motivated the Raiders were to try and get the win on the afternoon.
Marvin Jones Makes Huge Plays
Early on against the Oakland Raiders, Jones saw his number called a few times and delivered. First, Jones made a massive catch to push the ball in the red zone for the Lions on a contested deep pass. It was a deep ball which Jones fought off trouble against Daryl Worley and nabbed with ease.
Jones, a guy who can get up and down the field quick and nab the deep ball, showed off with that once again in making the huge play for the team to start things off offensively on the road.
The wideout was far from done on the same drive.
Later on the drive, the Lions elected to go for it on fourth down and managed to come away with the impressive conversion. Jones came up with the huge catch over the middle in the back of the end zone to get the Lions even on the scoreboard after their defense had stopped Oakland.
Stafford ➡️ Jones = 💰 @MarvinJonesJr
#OnePride
A few weeks back, Jones got in the end zone four times against the Minnesota Vikings, and while that might not be a common occurrence to expect during every game, it’s a good start for the wideout against a pass defense he might have an easy advantage over most of the afternoon.
If Jones can make catches like this in traffic, then convert in the red zone, he might be on for yet another massive afternoon catching the ball.
Defense Optional
The Lions offense did a decent job to keep pace most of the game, but both defenses couldn’t get the job done in key moments which led to a fairly high scoring game on the field. The Lions got multiple big plays from Marvin Jones, Kenny Golladay and T.J. Hockenson, while the Raiders saw Josh Jacobs do the most damage on the ground.
When the Raiders went for the fake punt, they were clearly gambling they could punch a touchdown in, but the loss of three points on the other end was something which loomed large in a close game, even as Oakland opened up a lead in the fourth quarter.