The Seahawks' defense collapsed in a record-breaking 42-29 loss

DETROIT (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks came into Monday night's game with one of the NFL's best pass defenses. They're leaving Detroit in the league record books for all the wrong reasons.

Jared Goff threw a perfect game – he went 18 for 18 for 292 yards and three touchdowns – and even caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Geno Smith did everything he could – he threw for 395 yards and rushed for another 38 yards – but he couldn't save the defense in the 42-29 loss.

“You have to give Detroit a lot of credit, but the performance on the defensive side of the ball just wasn’t good enough,” Seahawks coach Mike MacDonald said. “Our guys fought hard and we were there until the last second, but we’re obviously not the football team we need to be.”

The Seahawks experienced nothing unexpected from the Lions. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 118 yards rushing – the Detroit running backs' fourth consecutive 100-yard game.

Goff spread the field horizontally. His 18 completions averaged just 4.1 yards through the air, but receivers added an additional 218 yards after the catch.

Even Jameson Williams' 70-yard touchdown reception was 14 yards in the air and 56 yards after he got the ball.

“There were a lot of things we did defensively at a high level – taking the right angles, making tackles and all the things that are important to us on a daily basis,” MacDonald said. “That didn’t work today, so let’s look at the tape, find out why and fix it.

“You can’t give up that many yards after the catch.”

MacDonald's defense attorneys agreed.

“Honestly, we just couldn’t stop them,” nose tackle Johnathan Hawkins said. “This isn’t Seahawks football. We didn’t hold our end, but we’ll bounce back from this.”

The Seahawks were struggling defensively — they were missing five defensive backs from their front seven and safety Julian Love was sidelined with a hamstring injury — but MacDonald didn't use that as an excuse.

“We didn’t change anything about what we were doing,” he said. “You can’t make significant changes because of injuries or you’ll never catch up.”

No matter who they had on the field, the pass defense delivered a performance unparalleled in league history.

Goff's perfect game of 18 passes surpassed the previous record of 10 set by Arizona's Kurt Warner on December 18, 2015, and his 292 yards easily surpassed Frank Filchock's 179 (8-8) for the New York Giants against the Brooklyn Dodgers on October 8, 1939.

St. Brown's touchdown pass gave the Lions a 19 for 19.

“Give them credit — they had a great offensive plan and we think Jared Goff is a great quarterback,” MacDonald said. “They’re a great team and that’s where we want to be. We’re not there yet.”

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