BALTIMORE — They trust themselves, and that’s all that really matters.

But it matters even more in moments like this. On the road in Baltimore, where the darkness usually wins. On "Monday Night Football," where the Ravens almost never lose. And here in the fourth quarter, where most NFL games are either won or lost.

Dan Campbell wasn’t going to let his team lose this game. No, he was going to give the Lions a chance to go win it, with the game hanging in the balance and everyone at home holding their collective breath.

Fourth-and-2 at midfield? Of course Campbell was going to go for this. It wasn’t just the right call analytically. It was the only call in his mind and in his gut. The Lions were up 31-24 on the Ravens with 1:56 to play, and over on the other sideline John Harbaugh had three timeouts in his pocket and Lamar Jackson, the two-time league MVP, waiting to redeem himself.

Punt? That'd be a hard pass.

But the pass play the Lions called? Well, that was something else.

Offensive coordinator John Morton dialed up a play-action pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown that completely fooled the Ravens and left everyone else marveling at the audacity of it, as Jared Goff lofted a perfect rainbow downfield to his favorite receiver for a 20-yard gain that all but sealed the Lions’ victory.

“I know they trust me, and I trust St. Brown,” Goff explained later, practically shrugging at the question. “So put the game in our hands, and we'll make it work. We've done it before.”

They have, indeed. And they’ll do it again, no doubt. Yet it still meant something to do it here on this stage — even at this early stage of the season — with everyone but the Lions still harboring doubts about what kind of Super Bowl contenders they truly are.

“We just felt like that was the right call,” said Campbell, whose team is now 2-1 and tied atop the NFC North standings. “And it's those guys. It’s the players, man. They're the ones who make this stuff come to life. They've earned that trust, you know? And once again, they step up and make huge plays at critical times. I mean, it's unbelievable, it really is. It's a thing of beauty.”

And a joy for everyone in that Lions’ postgame locker room late Monday night, from owner Sheila Hamp, who exited with an emphatic fist pump, to Al-Quadin Muhammad, the defensive end who’d thanked everyone in an emotional speech behind closed doors.

“A year ago, I was home — I was on the couch,” said Muhammad, who’d joined the Lions’ practice squad as a street free agent last October as injuries ravaged Detroit’s defensive roster.

He found himself starting opposite Aidan Hutchinson on Monday night, with Marcus Davenport placed on injured reserve earlier in the day. And Muhammad played a key role in the Lions’ success in corralling Jackson, having a hand in three of the team’s seven sacks. No team has ever had more against the Ravens’ elusive star.

“So, if you get a (expletive) opportunity,” Muhammad continued after he'd received a game ball, “make sure you take advantage of it.”

The Lions took advantage of everything they had in this game, all right. The offense was efficient early and overpowering as the game rolled on, following up an epic 18-play, 98-yard touchdown drive in the first half with a seven-play, 96-yarder in the third quarter.

For the game, Detroit rushed for 224 yards and four touchdowns — two apiece for David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs — and any questions about that shaky road opener from the revamped offensive line are now forcefully answered. The Ravens saw their 57-game streak with at least one sack snapped Monday, and Goff was only hit five times all night. He finished 20 of 28 for 202 yards and a touchdown without an interception, and the Lions went 10 for 17 on third- and fourth-down conversions.

Another of those came at the end of that 96-yard scoring drive, with the Lions facing a fourth-and-1 from the 4-yard line with the game tied at 21. And if you were wondering what would come next, just ask St. Brown.

For a few years now, going back to Ben Johnson’s time as Detroit's offensive coordinator, the Lions have had a gadget play drawn up that has Goff handing the ball off to St. Brown and then the receiver pitching it to Gibbs on an option run.

“Funny story,” St. Brown said Monday night. “Gibbs, in the meeting room this week said, ‘We have that play up every week and we never call it.’ I said, ‘Just because you said that, we’re calling it this week.’ And sure enough, we called it.”

And sure enough, it worked, as Gibbs took the pitch and bolted around the Ravens' Mike Green to the corner pylon to give the Lions a lead they’d never relinquish.

That they didn’t was largely thanks to the play of Kelvin Sheppard’s defense, which more than held its own against a dynamic Baltimore offense that scored 40 points in each of its first two games this season.

The Lions spent the week with newly-signed receiver Malik Cunningham playing the role of Jackson in practice, and Campbell said it didn’t go all that well for his defense on Thursday. It got better on Friday and Saturday, and Monday it was about as good as it can get, as Jackson gave up more sack yardage (55) than he gained rushing (35) for the game.

The Lions also handled All-Pro running back Derrick Henry after he broke loose for an early 28-yard touchdown run. He managed just 22 yards on his other 11 carries, including a tackle for loss in goal-line stand late in the first half, and Henry later coughed up a fourth-quarter fumble on a Hutchinson punchout that was all effort.

It was like that all night, too. The gang-tackling on defense. The methodical mashing on offense. The clutch plays on both sides of the ball. And considering the Lions’ history against this team — Detroit’s only previous win over Baltimore came 20 years ago, and the last meeting (a 38-6 loss here in 2023) was over as soon as it started — the talk all week had been about this being a “litmus test” and a “measuring stick.”

Yet to hear Campbell talk after his team had measured up and passed this latest test, he didn’t have to make any impassioned speeches this week.

“You don't have to say much,” he said. “We’ve got enough guys that were here the last time, and, I mean, you’ve got to be blind not to see what that (Ravens) team does and how they play — the physicality, the toughness, their identity — and that you better be ready, you know? You better be ready. You can't come in here and tiptoe. So we were ready.”

And it showed in the end, just like he trusted it would.

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