The best players can make something out of nothing. And nothing is what Sam LaPorta and Jared Goff had on fourth down from the Rams' 2-yard line last Sunday when the Lions went trips right with LaPorta, fellow tight end Brock Wright and fullback Jason Cabinda and LA's defense gave them a look they weren't expecting. LaPorta was Goff's first and "really only read on that play," Goff said this week, and the Rams had effectively erased him.
"Their defense presented something we really weren't looking to get there and played it a little differently than we expected," Goff said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "So he kind of ad-libbed at the top of that route."
Fortunately, LaPorta had been prepared for this very possibility earlier in the week by Lions senior offensive assistant Jim Hostler, who's frequently in the tight ends room. Hostler came up to LaPorta last Friday, which is red zone day for the Lions, and asked him, "Hey, if you don't get the ball on the initial route, what are you gonna do?"
"I was like, 'I guess I never thought about that, Hoss. I mean, I'd probably tuck it in.' He goes, 'Yeah, that’s perfect,'" LaPorta said Friday with a smile.
So when the Rams took away LaPorta's initial out-breaking route, the rookie, acting much more like a vet, fought his way through traffic, shed linebacker Michael Hoecht, "came across the back of the end zone and we were both on the same page with it," said Goff. They linked up for a touchdown and a 21-10 lead in the second quarter of Detroit's 24-23 win. The Lions probably aren't playing again Sunday if LaPorta and Goff hadn't improvised to perfection.
And if Hostler, who's in his 24th season as as NFL coach, hadn't prepared LaPorta for the moment.
"And of course the first person I see on the sideline (after the touchdown) is Hoss just kind of looking at me out of the side of his eye, and I was like, 'This is just like you said, Hoss! Holy cow!!'" LaPorta said with a laugh.
LaPorta's instincts also served him well on the play. He said his decision to re-route himself across the back of the end zone where Goff could hit him in strides between two linebackers was "more so reacting than thinking." It's also a tribute to the chemistry between tight end and quarterback that Goff and LaPorta were thinking the same way in a moment of crisis.
That LaPorta made it happen on basically one leg, with a bulky brace around his left knee after an injury scare in the regular-season finale, makes it all the more impressive. It was one of only three catches he made in the game, but it was crucial in keeping Detroit's season alive.
"He’s a hell of a player and that’s what good players do," said Goff, "is find each other in those moments."