Trey Lance shines as Chargers rout Lions 34-7 in Hall of Fame Game

The Trey Lance you thought you knew? He showed up on Thursday night in Canton, Ohio. With a cool breeze rolling off Lake Erie and the Pro Football Hall of Fame glowing behind him, the Los Angeles Chargers dismantled the Detroit Lions 34-7 in the 2025 Hall of Fame Game — the official kickoff to the NFL preseason. It wasn’t just a win. It was a statement. Lance, once the No. 3 overall pick in 2021, delivered the cleanest, most composed performance of his five-year career, throwing two touchdown passes in just over two quarters. The 2025 Hall of Fame GameTom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium wasn’t just a ceremonial opener. It was a spotlight. And Lance? He didn’t blink.

Turnovers and Takedowns: How the Chargers Took Control

It started before the first snap even happened. The Lions fumbled the opening kickoff. The Chargers recovered at Detroit’s 28-yard line. No hesitation. No panic. Lance, under center, hit tight end Will Dissly on a fourth-and-2 fade route — a perfect spiral over a defender’s fingertips. Touchdown. 7-0. That play set the tone. The Lions’ offense, already shaky in camp, looked lost from the start. Kyle Allen, starting at quarterback for Detroit, threw a lazy sideline pass that Nikko Reed, an undrafted rookie cornerback for LA, intercepted and returned 60 yards to the 6-yard line. Two plays later, Kimani Vidal punched in a 2-yard run. 14-0. The crowd in Canton, mostly Chargers fans in blue and gold, roared. It was the kind of performance that makes coaches nod and opponents sigh.

Lance’s Quiet Dominance

Lance didn’t light up the stat sheet — 13 of 20 for 120 yards, two TDs, zero picks, 114.6 rating. But those numbers don’t tell the full story. He was calm. Precise. He moved in the pocket like a man who’d finally stopped trying to prove something and started playing football. His 15-yard dime to KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the second quarter? That was the kind of throw that makes scouts lean forward. He didn’t force anything. Didn’t try to make magic. Just made the right decision, every time. "I feel good. Some good. Some bad. Left some plays out there," he said afterward, a rare moment of self-awareness from a player often criticized for inconsistency. The truth? He didn’t need to be perfect. He just needed to be better than the alternatives. And on this night, he was.

Detroit’s Nightmare Night

For the Detroit Lions, it was a textbook case of everything going wrong. Three fumbles. Two lost. Two interceptions. A punt dropped inside the 10-yard line by Jakobie Keeney-James that gave LA a short field. And the worst part? It wasn’t just one unit failing. It was all of them. The offensive line couldn’t protect. The receivers dropped passes. The special teams looked like a high school squad. Head coach Dan Campbell didn’t hide his frustration. "We didn’t play like a team that wants to be good," he told reporters postgame. "We played like a team that’s waiting for someone else to fix it." Craig Reynolds, Detroit’s lone bright spot, scored on a 3-yard run late in the second quarter to make it 21-7. But that was it. The Lions’ offense managed just 178 total yards. Their top receiver had 12 catches — but only 109 yards. That’s not production. That’s noise.

The Ripple Effect

For the Chargers, this win wasn’t just about preseason bragging rights. It was about identity. After years of quarterback uncertainty — from Justin Herbert’s injury struggles to the failed experiment with Jared Goff — Lance’s performance gives them something they haven’t had in years: a legitimate backup plan. If Herbert goes down again, they might actually have someone who can step in without collapsing. That’s huge. And for a team that finished 7-4 last season, it’s a sign they’re not just surviving — they’re building.

Meanwhile, Detroit’s 0-1 preseason record feels heavier than it should. With the NFC North already tight — Chicago leads at 7-3, Green Bay at 6-3-1, and Detroit at 6-4 — this kind of sloppy performance against a lesser opponent could haunt them in November. Special teams, once a strength under Campbell, now looks like a liability. And if Allen can’t find his rhythm in the next two games, the Lions might be forced to turn to rookie Jake Haener sooner than planned.

What’s Next?

The Chargers face the Tennessee Titans next Thursday in their second preseason game. Lance will likely play the first half again. If he’s even more efficient, the conversation around him could shift from "Can he stay healthy?" to "Could he be the long-term answer?" For Detroit, the focus is damage control. They’ll need to clean up their special teams, get their offensive line to hold up for more than three plays, and find someone — anyone — who can make a big play downfield. Otherwise, their playoff hopes might be slipping faster than that fumbled kickoff.

Behind the Numbers

The box score tells a brutal story:

• Chargers scored 14 in the first quarter, 7 in the second, 6 in the third, and 7 in the fourth
• Lions scored all 7 of their points in the second quarter
• Lance’s 114.6 passer rating was his highest in any game since 2022
• Detroit committed 3 fumbles, lost 2; Chargers fumbled once and recovered it
• Reed’s 60-yard interception return was the longest by a Chargers rookie since 2018

And here’s the quietest stat of all: Lance has now thrown 13 passes in the preseason without a single turnover. That’s more than he managed in his entire 2023 season.