How TE Brock Wright 'totally redeemed himself' to lead Detroit Lions to big win

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — He started the season as a blocking tight end and was elevated to the No. 1 role out of necessity after the T.J. Hockenson trade.

He had 25 catches in 23 career games entering Sunday, and when Jared Goff looked his way on the first play of the biggest series of the Detroit Lions’ season, he let a pass slip through his hands.

But with their playoff hopes on the line after another here-we-go-again moment, the Lions called Brock Wright’s number again, and the big tight end delivered in a deliriously unexpected way.

Wright scored a 51-yard catch-and-run touchdown on fourth-and-1 with 1:49 to play as the Lions continued their improbable march towards a wild-card spot with a 20-17 come-from-behind win over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.

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“I thought it was a great call,” Goff said. “He’s the No. 2 in the progression, got it back to him and totally redeems himself for that play earlier in the drive. He’s a lot faster than people know. I think he ran like a 4.6 40 or something, but he can roll and so when I got to him in open space right there, I’m like, ‘He may score.’ And he did.”

Wright’s touchdown capped a wild fourth quarter that saw the Lions blow a 13-10 lead after a missed 54-yard field goal.

The Jets scored the go-ahead touchdown seven plays later, then had a chance to tie after a long fourth-down conversion following Wright’s TD but missed a 58-yard field goal wide left.

The Lions improved to 7-7 with the win, their third straight and sixth in seven games, to move within a game of the final wild-card spot in the NFC, pending the outcome of Sunday night’s New York Giants-Washington Commanders game.

The Lions have three games remaining against teams with a sub-.500 record — at the Carolina Panthers next week, home against the Chicago Bears in Week 17 and at the Green Bay Packers to close the regular season — and a 41% chance to make the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight.com.

“You can never take away from winning, not in this league,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “And I told our guys, nobody knows that better than we do. I mean, we’re not going to talk trash about a win. A win is a win and we’ll take that because we earned that. Our guys earned that.”

In a battle of two teams on the playoff bubble, the Lions controlled play most of Sunday, holding the Jets (7-7) to three first downs on their first four possessions of the second half before giving New York’s sputtering offense life with a risky field goal try that was reminiscent of a kick they missed in a September loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

In Week 3, Campbell opted for a 54-yard field goal try on fourth-and-4 with 1:14 remaining. Austin Seibert missed the kick, and the Vikings scored the winning touchdown three plays later.

On Sunday, Badgley missed a 54-yard field goal short on fourth-and-5 with 7:57 remaining, and the Jets started the ensuing possession at their own 44-yard line.

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Zach Wilson, making his first start since he was benched following a 77-yard passing day in a Week 11 loss to the New England Patriots, completed a 33-yard pass to Garrett Wilson on the second play of the series, then threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Uzomah with 4:41 to play.

“That was one of those, that was a hard decision one way or another,” Campbell said. “ 'Cause I really did, I wanted to go for it. We had just thrown the ball, it didn’t work out. It’s incomplete, you’re probably going to have to throw it again. And we were just on that fringe. We were so close to where I felt really good about Badgley. It was on that line, and so I took a shot and it didn’t work out. It didn’t work out. But that was the end to go if you were going to kick it a little longer, you wanted to go that way.”

The Lions’ answered the Jets touchdown drive with one of their own. D’Andre Swft ran for 8 yards, Goff completed a 10-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown. Justin Jackson ran for 4 yards. And Kalif Raymond caught a short pass for 5  more.

On the first play after the two-minute warning, the Lions lined up in a run set with Jackson in the backfield and three receivers split close to the line of scrimmage. St. Brown motioned right, Goff faked a handoff to Jackson, and Wright, attached to the right side of the line, sold a block on Jets defensive lineman Jermaine Johnson than leaked out into the left flat all alone for an easy catch.

With no Jets defender within 15 yards, Wright took off sprinting down the sideline, picked up a block from Josh Reynolds at the 10 and cut back into the end zone.

He said he told himself after the drop to “reset, finish” and make the most of any chance that came his way again.

“Didn’t have my best game, obviously,” Wright said. ‘A lot of plays I want back like I just said a couple minutes ago, but was just telling myself finish and we were able to come out with the win. I think that’s most important.”

The Jets converted a third-and-19 and fourth-and-18 on their final drive, and Wilson hit Elijah Moore with a 20-yard pass with 1 second on the clock to set up a game-tying field goal attempt, but Greg Zuerlein pushed his kick well left, sending the New York to its third straight loss.

Goff finished 23-for-38 passing for 252 yards for the Lions, who got two field goals from Badgley and a 47-yard punt return touchdown from Raymond to build a 13-10 fourth quarter lead.

Raymond’s touchdown, the Lions’ first punt return score since 2020, came after the Lions were stopped on the 1-yard line on their opening series, then forced a Jets punt from the end zone.

Wilson was 18-for-35 passing with two touchdowns and one interception for the Jets, who managed just 50 yards rushing on 22 carries.

Wilson’s interception on the opening drive of the second half set up Badgley’s second field goal.

“I think that’s part of the maturing process,” Campbell said. “The growth, everything. I don’t know if we would have made those plays earlier in the year. It would have gone the other way. That just shows we’re getting more mature. We’re becoming more disciplined in critical moments. That’s big.”

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How TE Brock Wright 'totally redeemed himself' to lead Detroit Lions