DETROIT (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks came into Monday night with one of the best pass defenses in the NFL. They are leaving Detroit in the league record books for all the wrong reasons.
Jared Goff threw a perfect game — going 18 for 18 for 292 yards and three touchdowns — and even caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Geno Smith did everything he could — throwing for 395 yards and rushing for 38 more — but he couldn’t bail out the defense in the 42-29 loss.
“Give Detroit a lot of credit but it just wasn’t a good enough performance on the defensive side of the ball,” Seahawks coach Mike MacDonald said. “Our guys fought like heck and we were in it until the final seconds, but we’re obviously not the football team we need to be.”
The Seahawks weren’t facing anything unexpected from the Lions. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 118 yards rushing — the fourth straight 100-plus game from Detroit’s running backs.
Goff spread the field horizontally. His 18 completions only averaged 4.1 yards in the air, but the receivers added another 218 after the catch.
Even Jameson Williams’ 70-yard touchdown reception was 14 yards in the air and 56 yards after he got the ball.
“There were a lot of things that we’ve been executing at a high level defensively — taking the right angles, tackling, and all the stuff we emphasize on a daily basis,” MacDonald said. “That wasn’t coming to life today, so we will watch the tape, find out why, and fix it.
“You can’t give up that many yards after the catch.”
MacDonald’s defenders agreed.
“Honestly, we just couldn’t stop them,” nose tackle Johnathan Hawkins said. “That’s not Seahawks football. We didn’t hold up our end, but we’re going to bounce back from this.”
The Seahawks were beaten up on defense — they were missing five defenders from the front seven and safety Julian Love left with a thigh injury — but MacDonald wasn’t using that as an excuse.
“We didn’t change what we were doing,” he said. “You can’t make significant changes because of injuries or you will never catch up.”
No matter who they had on the field, the pass defense gave up a performance unlike anything seen in league history.
Goff’s 18-pass perfect game broke the previous record of 10, set by Arizona’s Kurt Warner on Dec. 18, 2015, and his 292 yards comfortably surpassed Frank Filchock’s 179 (8-for-8) for the New York Giants against the Brooklyn Dodgers on Oct. 8, 1939.
St. Brown’s touchdown pass gave the Lions a 19 for 19 day.
“Give them credit – they had a great offensive plan and we’re on record as saying Jared Goff is a great quarterback,” MacDonald said. “They are a great team, and that’s where we want to be. We’re not there yet.”
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