In the end, it was the defense. Imagine that. The Detroit Lions won a playoff game for the first time in three decades by getting stops.

And then getting more stops.

That they stopped their former quarterback added to the plotline. And surely added to the 24-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams at Ford Field on Sunday night.

The Lions held Matthew Stafford and his merry band of receivers to six points in the second half.

SIX.

All the offense had to do was get a couple of first downs. From there, they needed a knee, three of 'em to be exact, from the quarterback the opponent didn’t think was good enough. Hard to imagine a sweeter feeling for Jared Goff, who took those knees to end the first Lions home playoff game in 30 years and break the Lions’ playoff win draught.

When he knelt for the last time, he rose and pumped his fist, and who could blame him? He was an afterthought in the trade that brought him here, remember?

Oh, not by the Lions, they saw something in Goff, and knew that the way they planned on building he would be just fine. More than fine. Certainly, more than a “placeholder.”

He was more than that here at Ford Field against the Los Angeles Rams. He was a playmaker, hitting on his first 11 passes, completing 20 of his first 23, scanning and reading and tossing darts, or rainbows, feathers over the shoulders of his receivers.

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He led three touchdown drives in the first half. No wonder the crowd kept chanting his name. An effort to bouy him, of course, but also to show Stafford what he left, not that Stafford needed reminding. He always imagined what it would be like on this stage in Detroit, what it would sound like, what it would feel like.

Well, now he knows. Only Goff knows better.

He's said as much all season, how perfect a night like this would be, how cool it would be for him, for his teammates, for this staff to be the ones to break this streak, to give this region something it hadn’t experienced in almost half a lifetime.

It’d be surreal if it didn’t seem so real, which is how the game went, too, the offense bolting out, the defense catching up, the offense sealing it.

They got the first first down when David Montgomery took a swing pass, juked a defender on the edge, and rumbled past the markers. They got the second first down the next second down, when they needed 9 yards.

Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown. Ballgame.

Who else would it have been?

It was the biggest throw and catch of the night, and set up the end. It also ended a couple quarters of epic struggle.

Goff had so many open receivers to choose from in the first half, along with an impeccably clean pocket. But the Rams started smearing the pocket in the second half, and when the Lions struggled to run the ball, Goff had no time, and no answers.

Obviously, the first half pace wasn’t sustainable. The Rams’ defense isn’t dominant, but it’s good, and has played well during their 7-1 finish. So, 42 points wasn’t likely.

Besides, a team shouldn’t need 42 to win in the playoffs, even in this era of offense. And didn’t need them, it turns out.

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This is playoff football. Offense is critical; defense is essential.

That this defense made the plays they made after getting torched is a testament to what Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes have built and, frankly, what Aaron Glenn is getting from him guys.

Consider how the first couple of quarters went:

No matter who blitzed, it didn’t matter. Nor did it matter from where; linebacker, safety or corner, the Lions couldn’t get to Stafford, or bother him consistently.

As for the four-man rush?

Only Hutchinson got into the backfield, but without any of his fellow linemen joining him, Stafford was generally able to sidestep Hutchinson.

This wasn’t new, of course. The Lions’ front has struggled to pressure most of the season. And while Glenn’s blitz packages have been helpful at times, they’re opponent dependent.

Against a good offensive line, as the Rams have, and especially against a savvy and unflappable quarterback, as Stafford is, blitzes are usually nothing more than an invitation to make plays down the field.

That Stafford did. Getting the ball out quickly to his talented receivers, most often Puka Nacua, who had nine catches for 181 yards and a touchdown.

The Lions had one chance in a series to get a stop. They’d force a third-and-long and then the Rams would pick it up. They punted once.

When the Rams got into the red zone, however, the Lions stiffened up. They forced Los Angeles into three field goals.

Those stops were the difference, it turned out. The defense was making winning plays all along. First by preventing touchdowns, then by preventing first downs, and giving the offense one last chance.

That’s all it needed. A swing pass. A juke. A catch from the Lions' All-Pro in the slot.

A knee.

Three of 'em.

Next week awaits. Another home playoff game. This time it didn’t take three decades.

Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' defense, believe it or not, lifts them to playoff win