Sunday Night Football between the Rams and the Lions seemed destined for overtime drama where Detroit clinched a 26-20 nail-biting win. The Lions’ overtime drive, which led to a one-yard touchdown run by David Montgomery resulted in the victory. But for former NFL WR, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson–the early part of the game was not as exciting.
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So much so that he went on to dub the first half saying, “It was a snoozefest.”
Since offenses from both teams were sluggish, the scoreboard barely moved — only a 7-3 lead for the Rams. As Johnson shared on “Nightcap,” he expected only fireworks from the team’s offense, including Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp, but instead, he found himself dozing off since both the Rams and Lions struggled with their rhythm.
Interestingly, the second half was full of thrills, as per the ex-wide receiver. The game quickly picked up pace, and the Lions came to life.
“In the second half, everything opened up,” Johnson explained while praising the team’s physicality plus resilience under head coach Dan Campbell. Despite early injuries to key team members like Jameson Williams and Puka Nacua, the Lions flipped the script and went to win their Week 1 clash.
Well, for Johnson, the Lions’ win was not standalone. He saw it as a hint of something bigger happening in Detroit.
Ochocinco praises Lions’ cultural shift
Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, who played in the NFL for 11 seasons with the Bengals, Patriots, and Dolphins was awestruck at how the entire culture in Detroit had shifted–which was evident in the game between the Rams versus Lions. The change is not about just X’s and O’s or even on-field performance, it is more about a complete revamp of the mindset.
“Dan Campbell and the Lions are setting the tone,” Johnson said, indicating how the team has re-surged and is no longer the NFL’s underdog doomed to mediocrity.
In the newfound cultural shift, Johnson also put Lions QB Jared Goff’s role in the spotlight. Goff, who once seemed like he was forgotten after he was traded from the Rams to the Lions on March 18, 2021, in exchange for quarterback Matthew Stafford, is showing now that his story was far from over.
“They shipped him off like he was done,” Johnson remarked and added how he is “resurrecting his career and changing the ways of that organization.”
While it is true that the Rams might have won the Super Bowl in 2021 immediately after acquiring Matthew Stafford, Goff is leading the Lions toward rewriting the team’s legacy–one fight at a time–with “blue-collar grit.”
