Joique Bell Says He Went Down On Purpose To Seal 18-13 Win Over Raiders
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
Joique Bell hasn't scored much this season (once, in Week 3 against Denver). And when the opportunity arose on Sunday against the Raiders, with the Lions nursing an 18-13 lead inside the two-minute warning, Bell stopped short of the end zone on purpose.
Bell had already moved the Lions to the Oakland 13-yard-line off two carries in crunch time. After the two-minute warning (and still holding onto three timeouts), Detroit could easily ice the game if it got a first down. A quick touchdown would have increased their cushion, but given the ball back to the Raiders with time to do something about it.
So at the 13-yard-line, Bell (who finished with six carries for 22 yards in a limited role) took another handoff and snuck through the middle, charging towards the end zone.
"We had already discussed me going down inside the four-yard-line," Bell said on the Stoney and Bill show on Monday. "So if you play it (the film) in slow motion, as soon as I get to about the four, you see Matt (Stafford) in the background saying, 'Get down, get down, get down.' As soon as I fall down at the two, he gives the fist bump, like, 'Yes, we got it.' It was planned to go down the entire time before I even got the ball."
Raiders safety Charles Woodson snagged Bell's legs at the two, and the game essentially ended. The clock meandered its way to zeroes, as Stafford took two kneeldowns in the red zone.
So the margin remained the same, at 18-13, but so did the result: The Lions on top. Detroit moved to 3-7 on the season, and ignited its first win streak of the season, after piling the win against the Raiders on top of its victory in Green Bay last week.
Bell has struggled all season, especially after injuries hurt his rhythm early in the year. But even in limited playing time, Bell ended up being the player that sealed Detroit's third win of the season.
For someone like the 5-11, 231-pound running back, who is known for his ability to charge straight through players for more yardage, it was a different experience to stop himself from scoring.
"It's really tough, but at the end of the day, the most important thing is the win, and we didn't want to put the defense back out there on the field," he said. "And so I'll have more opportunities to score down the line but that particular play was just to get down for my team to win."
