The Lions’ Lomas Brown Says He Deliberately Let QB Scott Mitchell Get Injured In 1994

If you've ever wondered why quarterbacks splurge on lavish gifts for their offensive lines, may we present Lomas Brown telling ESPN Radio that he let the Packers blow up his quarterback, Scott Mitchell, in a 1994 game. At the time, Mitchell was playing like, well, Scott Mitchell on a bad day (5-for-15 for 63 yards with two interceptions, according to the ). And Brown, who appears not to have been a Scott Mitchell fan to begin with, decided he'd take matters into his own hands, specifically by not taking any Packers into his own hands.

This is what Brown said on SVP and Russillo (per NBC's transcript):

"We were playing Green Bay in Milwaukee," Brown said. "We were getting beat, 24-3, at that time and he just stunk up the place. He's throwing interceptions, just everything. So I looked at Kevin Glover, our All-Pro center and I said, ‘Glove, that is it.' I said, ‘I'm getting him out the game.' . . . So I got the gator arms on the guy at the last minute, he got around me, he hit Scott Mitchell, he did something to his finger . . . and he came out the game. [Lions backup quarterback] Dave Krieg came in the game."

It'll take you five minutes to listen to the interview segment (or just watch it above). In the meantime: Holy shit. And as much as it sounds like there was never any love lost between Brown and Mitchell ("He's not on my Christmas list," Brown says), you have to admire the results. The Free Press notes that Krieg came off the bench to throw three touchdowns after Packers defensive end Sean Jones broke a bone in Mitchell's hand. (Mitchell usually was at his best when he was handing off, to Barry Sanders.) Brown in effect made the coaching decision that Wayne Fontes (career record with the Lions: 67-66) wasn't willing to make. Still, Detroit lost, 38-30. Mostly because they were the kind of team on which the o-line had to get the starting quarterback injured in order to have a fighting chance. In other words, because they were the Lions.

Ex-Lion Lomas Brown: I Got Scott Mitchell Hurt [Detroit Free Press]