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The Detroit Lions are hosting Monday Night Football for the first time since 2018, and will debut their new blue alternate helmets to complement their steel-gray jerseys for the national audience.
The Lions (5-2) are looking to rebound against the Las Vegas Raiders (3-4) after getting humbled in a blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens last week. The Raiders are coming off a big loss to the Chicago Bears last week, but starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo returns from a back injury that sidelined him for a week.
The game kicks off at 8:15 p.m from Ford Field. It will be televised on ESPN/ABC and livestreamed on Fubo (free trial) and ESPN+. The Lions are a seven-point favorite at home after opening at 8½.
MORE: Watch Lions-Raiders on Fubo (free trial)
Follow along below for live updates.
Lions vs. Raiders updates, highlights
11:32, third quarter: Marcus Peters returns pick-six off Jared Goff, Lions lead cut to 16-14
Jared Goff made a grave mistake to start the second half. On the second play of the Lions’ first drive of the final 30 minutes, Goff threw behind Amon-Ra St. Brown directly to Las Vegas cornerback Marcus Peters. The veteran ballhawk juked out Goff on the return and tiptoed down the sideline for the touchdown to make it a two-point game.
0:27, second quarter: Sam LaPorta scores Lions’ first TD for 16-7 Detroit lead at halftime
The Lions answered the Las Vegas touchdown with seven points of their own with a two-minute drive before halftime. Detroit methodically drove down the field with short passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and LaPorta.
On the first play inside the red zone, Jared Goff found LaPorta on a post route over the middle and the rookie tight end ran past the safety into the endzone for his fourth touchdown of the season.
The defense was able to keep the Raiders’ offense in check until the final drive of the half when Josh Jacobs powered in for a rushing touchdown. Las Vegas gained 100 yards in the first half, 50 of which came from Jacobs. Kerby Joseph intercepted Jimmy Garoppolo in the first quarter, prompting a Thriller dance from the entire defense in celebration.
2:56, second quarter: Josh Jacobs bullies in for Raiders TD, Lions’ lead cut to 9-7
The field goals could prove to be costly for Detroit, who couldn’t keep the Raiders from scoring before halftime. Josh Jacobs, the NFL’s leading rusher in 2022, made his presence known on the drive with bruising run after bruising run into the heart of the Lions’ defense to carry Las Vegas down the field.
Jacobs’ seventh run of the drive found the end zone from three yards away for the Raiders’ first points of the game.
8:08, second quarter: Lions stall in red zone again, settle for FG for 9-0 lead
Amon-Ra St. Brown seems to be over the sickness that had him listed as questionable heading into the game. The Lions’ leading receiver had two catches for 68 yards on the drive, including a 44-yard catch and run over the middle, to put the Lions in the Raiders’ red zone once again.
However, he is also the reason the Lions didn’t score a touchdown. On second down from the Raiders’ 7-yard line, the Lions ran a reverse with St. Brown, who was tackled for -8 yards. The big negative play forced another short field goal from Riley Patterson, who easily split the uprights for the third time this half.
12:23, second quarter: Lions kick second field goal for 6-0 lead
The Lions could not take advantage of the great field position with a touchdown. Detroit moved the ball 36 yards inside the Raiders’ 10 yard-line but a holding penalty on Taylor Decker killed the momentum. Patterson hit the chip shot kick to make it 6-0.
2:36, first quarter: Lions stop Raiders on 4th down, lead 3-0
The Lions had to punt after the big Kerby Joseph interception, giving the Raiders the ball back just on their half of the 50-yard line. Las Vegas gained eight yards on the first three plays but couldn’t get a first down on Josh Jacobs’ third-down run.
The offense stayed on the field by Jimmy Garoppolo couldn’t find Hunter Renfrow and turned it over on downs. The Lions took over at the Las Vegas 49-yard line.
4:49, first quarter: Josh Reynolds fumbles deep in Lions territory; Kerby Joseph gets it right back with INT
The first big mistake of the night came from the Lions but they did not feel the effects for long.
After the Lions started a drive deep in their own territory thanks to a punt, Josh Reynolds gave the ball back inside the Detroit 30-yard line on a fumble. Reynolds made a nice contested catch in traffic, but dropped the ball after a big hit a few steps later.
The very next play, Kerby Joseph got the ball right back on an interception. Jimmy Garoppolo floated a ball to the end zone directly into Joseph’s arms, who hauled it in and returned it to the 11-yard line.
7:51, first quarter: Lions strike first with field goal for 3-0 lead
The Lions’ coaches and players weren’t kidding when they said earlier in the week they wanted to re-establish the run. Jahmyr Gibbs had eight touches, five runs and three catches, and Craig Reynolds carried it twice on the opening drive to move Detroit into field goal range.
Jared Goff connected on a few short passes to Gibbs and Sam LaPorta, but missed the rookie tight end on third down to end the drive. Riley Patterson hit the 44-yard field goal to give the Lions an early lead.
Halloween is here
Some Lions players arrived to the stadium in style on the eve of Halloween, with Aidan Hutchinson (Sharkboy) and Tracy Walker among those in costume.
Pregame notes
The Lions, who have a bye next week, are without top rusher David Montgomery, who is nursing a rib injury. Top receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is active (check the inactives list) despite an illness that popped up on Sunday’s injury report. The Lions are also down left guard Jonah Jackson for the third straight game with an ankle sprain, and Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow will miss his first game of 2023 with calf and toe injuries.
The banged up Lions offense will turn to rookie Jahmyr Gibbs and a committee of receivers including Jameson Williams to try to replace St. Brown and Montgomery’s production. Gibbs scored his first NFL touchdown as a starter last week, while Williams struggled to get on the same page as Jared Goff and faces mounting questions about his career trajectory. Williams, in Year 2, can quiet the critics with a breakout showing in prime-time.
JAMO’S TIME: How Lions’ Jameson Williams can learn from Randy Moss and end bust talk on MNF
Goff had his worst outing last week against Baltimore. He attempted 53 passes as the Lions chased on the scoreboard all game, but finished with zero touchdowns for the first time this season. The Raiders’ defense has been solid against the pass this season, allowing 187.4 passing yards per game, sixth best in the NFL.
Raiders Pro-Bowl pass rusher Maxx Crosby has been a big reason why. The Eastern Michigan alumnus, who this week announced he is donating $1 million to EMU athletics, has 6½ sacks through seven games. He will face off with the Lions’ standout right tackle Penei Sewell for most of the night.
The Lions defense is also hungry to prove last week was an aberration. The Raiders are ranked 30th in the league in scoring, averaging 16 points per game, making it a potential bounce-back spot for the Lions.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions vs. Las Vegas Raiders: Live updates, game highlights
