Detroit Lions pull off 'stumble bum' trick play in victory - ESPN

CHICAGO — Earlier in the week, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson approached veteran quarterback Jared Goff with an odd request coming off a tough loss to the Buffalo Bills.

«It started on Monday with Ben asking me if he thought I could actually fumble on purpose and pick it back up, and I was like, 'I don't know about that,' and we kind of got off that pretty quickly,» Goff recalled.

By Sunday, it all made sense as the Lions celebrated their first 13-win season with a 34-17 win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, with Goff perfectly executing Johnson's «stumble bum» trick play in the third quarter.

After receiving a first-down snap from under center, Goff pretended to stumble, and running back Jahmyr Gibbs dove to the turf after the faux fumble. Bears safety Jonathan Owens appeared to momentarily bite on the fake, then Goff delivered a 21-yard touchdown pass to open tight end Sam LaPorta with 12:18 remaining in the quarter to put Detroit ahead 34-14 and help seal the win.

Gibbs, who had 154 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown, said the Lions called the play earlier in the game but changed it because of the Bears' defensive look before returning to it a couple of drives later.

«I didn't know if it was going to work or not, but I was hoping,» he said.

Sunday's trickery was inspired by a play Johnson saw of Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love actually dropping a snap against Chicago before recovering the ball to pull off a big, 37-yard completion to tight end Luke Musgrave on Sept. 10, 2023. The pivotal fourth-quarter play led to a 38-20 victory against the Bears last season.

It was one of several trick plays called by Johnson — who is expected to interview for the Bears' head coaching vacancy,