Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was in his bag during the Week 6 game against the Dallas Cowboys, and a shining example of that was the flea flicker he drew up in the second quarter that resulted in a long touchdown.
The play saw quarterback Jared Goff flip the ball to running back David Montgomery, who then flipped it back to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who then got the ball back to Goff.
In the meantime, tight end Sam LaPorta was blocking before he broke away and began sprinting down the field, getting a beat on the defender covering him.
From there, Goff laid a beautiful pass into the waiting hands of LaPorta, who took care of the rest en route to a 52-yard touchdown catch. Check out the play below.
Ben Johnson's been in the lab 🧑🍳 #DETvsDAL | 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/JCSzYrA9qb
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 13, 2024
Nobody needed that play more than LaPorta, who had been disappointing over the first four games of the 2024 season. With that one play, LaPorta is one-yard shy of tying his season-best mark in yards, and that was his first touchdown catch of the campaign.
While most tight ends in the NFL would love to have even the meager production the Lions tight end has through four games, his showing was below the standard he set during a historic rookie campaign.
LaPorta tallied 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first season, which set his bar high going into 2024. But we always knew LaPorta would bounce back, and that flea flicker touchdown might have been just what the doctor ordered.
