It’s not too often that you see a defense actually celebrate an opponent’s touchdown, but that’s exactly what happened during Sunday’s game between the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions.
The Falcons — having already blown two double-digit leads this season and fired head coach Dan Quinn — trailed the Lions by two but faced a first-and-goal situation with a minute to go. The Lions had burned all their timeouts, so all Atlanta really needed to do was run out the clock and kick a game-winning chip shot at the end.
In fact, the only way the Falcons could realistically lose the game was by scoring a touchdown. So, you’ll never guess what happened (OK, you will):
Todd Gurley scored a touchdown.
Lions celebrate Gurley's accidental TD for the Falcons, peak 2020 pic.twitter.com/zzxA3BoeHs
— Vikings Blogger (@firstandskol) October 25, 2020
Gurley took the handoff and realized well too late into the run that the Lions were letting him score. He tried to give himself up shy of the goal line, but Gurley wasn’t able to keep himself from breaking the plane.
Todd Gurley tried to stop himself from scoring on this run…
It didn't work out. pic.twitter.com/u0hahQ0IQf
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 25, 2020
The Falcons would convert on the two-point try and take a six-point lead. But still, the Lions had a chance now. They needed to score a touchdown with a PAT to win.
With one play remaining in the game, Matthew Stafford connected with T.J. Hockenson for the tying touchdown. Matt Prater would make a long extra-point try to win the game. The Falcons lost, 23-22.
LIONS GAME-WINNING TD WITH 0 SECS LEFT 🤯
(via @Lions)pic.twitter.com/TSqPAoudiu
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 25, 2020
Under normal circumstances, this would be a devastating and comical loss for the Falcons — a kind of loss that has become all too familiar. After all, if there is a statistical possibility of a loss, the Falcons will find a way.
But with the Falcons now at 1-6 and Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields a possibility in the draft, Falcons fans will be able to live with that defeat.
