The Lions’ offense, though, kept Denver at arm’s reach. After the Broncos’ initial score, the Lions marched 75 yards in eight plays to push the lead back to 21 points. And following the field goal to cut the lead to 28-10, the Lions later pushed their lead to 35-10. The teams would trade a pair of touchdowns in the late stages of the fourth quarter to reach the final score.
“We just didn’t play well enough at all,” safety Justin Simmons said. “Got to go back to the drawing board and figure out what we didn’t do well. [There’s] a lot of things defensively, and we’ve got to correct those mistakes and get ready for New England at home.”
Denver had a chance to take an early lead, as Wilson found Jerry Jeudy on the Broncos’ first offensive snap of the game for a 40-yard catch-and-run. The play, which came after the Broncos forced an opening punt, pushed Denver to the Detroit 31-yard line. An ensuing Marvin Mims Jr. rush gave the Broncos another first down on the edge of the red zone.
On second-and-10, though, Denver lost its momentum. Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu brought pressure as the Broncos ran a naked bootleg, and he strip-sacked Wilson as he brought down Denver’s quarterback. Defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs recovered the fumble and returned it 33 yards to the Denver 37-yard line.
“It’s on us to capitalize on those moments in the game whenever we do have a chance to have a big play,” wide receiver Courtland Sutton said. “… Being able to capitalize on that is what great teams do. Obviously right now we’re hovering around being a good team and we want to be a great team. Those are the drives that we have to make sure that we find a way to get into the end zone.”
Though the Lions did not score on the ensuing drive, the play thwarted Denver’s best first-half scoring chance and ended the chance to gain an early advantage.
The Broncos would punt on their four ensuing first-half possessions and total two…
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