HOUSTON — The Detroit Lions were their own worst enemy Sunday, and even that wasn’t enough to stop their impressive win streak.
Jake Bates made field goals of 58 and 52 yards in the final 5:01, the second a winner as time expired, as the Lions overcame five Jared Goff interceptions to beat the Houston Texans, 26-23, at NRG Stadium.
The Lions, winners of seven straight (the franchise’s longest win streak since 1995) and owners of an NFC-best 8-1 record, rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit for the improbable victory.
Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a 58-yard field goal after a high snap on the Texans’ final possession to leave the Lions good field position for their final drive. Fairbairn was 11 of 13 on kicks of at lerast 50 yards this season before his miss.
Here are three thoughts from Sunday’s game:
Good grief, Goff
You shouldn’t win a game when your quarterback throws five interceptions. In fact, the Lions are just the second time since 2000 to win a game in which they had five picks.
Not every Lions turnover was Goff’s fault. He didn’t get much help in pass protection or from the run game most of the night, and one of his picks came on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half.
But after playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and a frontrunner for league MVP for the month of October, Goff lacked accuracy and tried to do too much at times Sunday. His first interception came on a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage, he made a bad throw downfield to Jameson Williams on another pick and he was lucky to avoid a sixth interception when Derek Stingley dropped a deep shot to Williams in the first quarter.
I don’t think Sunday’s performance was regression or a worrisome sign of things to come. This is the same Goff who threw four interceptions in the final 10 games last season (including the playoffs). He has enough of a recent track record to consider this a one-off.
But other teams will take note of how the Texans got after Goff and the struggles the Lions had in protection and try to copy that plan going forward.
Glenn shines in homecoming
It can’t be understated what Aaron Glenn has done with the Lions defense.
The Lions are down their top three edge rushers and traded for a new pass rusher this week who didn’t suit up Sunday. They had a rough opening drive and gave up a touchdown just before halftime, but they forced two turnovers, had four sacks, held a good Houston running game to 56 net yards and played well in the red zone most of the night.
Alim McNeill was dominant at defensive tackle against a bad Texans offensive line, and Brian Branch had an All-Pro performance with 10 tackles and two pass breakups while remaining a force against the run as well.
The Lions held the Texans scoreless, with just five first downs, in the second half. Glenn, a Texas native who played three seasons in Houston in the middle of his career, was a star Sunday.
Magic moments
There’s no guarantee the Lions will hold off the Philadelphia Eagles for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but they just went 5-0 in arguably the toughest stretch of their schedule — road games against the Texans, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers, and a home game against the Tennessee Titans — and there’s no denying the magical element to this season.
Bates was kicking in the United Football League six months ago and hasn’t missed a field goal this year. The defense is torturing opponents without its best player. And the offense is loaded with skill players.
The Lions have some tough games upcoming — against the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers among others — but they feel unstoppable right now.
Dave Birkett will sign copies of his new book, “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Our Lady of Victory in Northville. Order your copy here. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.