DETROIT – The Green Bay Packers, so shaky for so many weeks, put together their signature performance of the season by beating the Detroit Lions 31-24 on Thanksgiving at Ford Field.
It was high drama until practically the final play, and Jordan Love was up for the moment.
The Packers led 31-24 when they got the ball with 2:59 remaining. They needed two first downs and the Lions had all three timeouts. Two runs by Josh Jacobs preceded a third-and-5 conversion to Christian Watson. Two more runs by Jacobs ran the clock down to the 2-minute warning for third-and-3.
With the Lions out of timeouts, the stage was set to clinch the biggest win of the season. The Packers, surprisingly, threw the ball rather than try to pick up the first down on the ground while running clock. Love’s pass over the middle to Watson was jarred loose by Brian Branch.
That set up fourth down, and the offense stayed on the field after a timeout by coach Matt LaFleur. Love held firm in the pocket and put one up for Dontayvion Wicks, who made an incredible, leaping catch against Branch for 16 yards and the biggest first down of the season.
With the 31-24 victory, their third in a row, the Packers improved to 8-3-1.
Love was 18-of-30 passing for 234 yards and four touchdowns. Wicks caught six passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Micah Parsons had 2.5 sacks.
Jared Goff was 20-of-26 passing for 256 yards, with Jameson Williams catching seven passes for 144 yards and one touchdown for the Lions, who fell to 7-5 and are in big trouble in the NFC playoff race.
The Packers will host the Chicago Bears (8-3) on Sunday with a chance to take over first place in the NFC North. The Bears will play at the Philadelphia Eagles (8-3) on Friday.
Green Bay led 31-21 early in the fourth quarter but the Lions were on the move and approaching the red zone on fourth-and-3. Goff had completed 15 consecutive and Williams already had 100 receiving yards. It should have been 16 consecutive completions but Goff’s pass was slightly behind Williams and Williams dropped the ball.
The Packers went three-and-out, giving the Lions the ball back with 9 minutes to go. An 18-yard completion to Isaac TeSlaa, an illegal-contact penalty on Keisean Nixon that wiped out a third-and-15 sack and a 44-yard catch-and-run by Williams put the ball into the red zone.
Detroit got to first-and-goal at the 4. On first down, the Lions went wildcat and David Montgomery’s pass was incomplete as he got hit by Edgerrin Cooper. On second down, Colby Wooden batted down Goff’s pass. On third down, Devonte Wyatt had a big bull rush to set up Parsons’ sack.
Wyatt was injured on the play – Warren Brinson immediately took a knee – which set up fourth-and-goal from the 13.The Lions opted for a 31-yard field goal by Jake Bates to make it 31-24 with 2:59 remaining.
With Green Bay clinging to a three-point lead, a key moment took place at the start of the second half. First, on fourth-and-3, Parsons and Isaiah McDuffie stopped a run by Gibbs. Moments later, Love threw a 51-yard touchdown bomb to Christian Watson. It was an out-and-up, with Watson pulling away from Amik Robertson with the ball in the air.
So, the Packers went from potentially trailing after a Lions double-up to leading 24-14.
Not for long, though. Goff answered with a 24-yard scramble and an 18-yard touchdown pass to Isaac TeSlaa to make it 24-21 with 7:25 left in the third. Just like that, the crowd was back in the game.
Not for long, though. Love hit Wicks up the seam for 30 and, later, for a 1-yard touchdown.
Two huge plays preceded the touchdown. First. Romeo Doubs caught a receiver screen but had the ball punched out by cornerback D.J. Reed. Left tackle Rasheed Walker made a critical recovery at the 6. On the next play, third-and-1, linebacker Jack Campbell was expecting run and grabbed tight end Josh Whyle by the facemask on the play-action pass.
That gave Green Bay a first-and-goal at the 3 to set up Wicks’ second touchdown and Love’s fourth. That made it 31-21, a score that carried into the fourth quarter.
The Packers led 17-14 at halftime. They largely controlled the action, only to fritter it away in the final moments of the half.
Green Bay took a 17-7 lead with 2:12 to play on Love’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs on fourth-and-1. The crowd was furious that the officials gave Christian Watson a catch on third down to start the drive – the call was correct that Watson had both feet down – and LaFleur a timeout before Anthony Belton false-started on fourth-and-1.
Both teams probably would have been happy with a field goal to end the half. The Lions got into scoring position when Goff hit Williams for 25; Xavier McKinney barely tripped him up and was injured on the play.
Moments later, on third-and-3, the call was a receiver screen to Williams. Carrington Valentine had him stopped for a loss of about 4. However, instead of wrapping him up and letting his teammates finish the play, he threw a shoulder into Williams’ leg. Williams kept his balance and a convoy of blockers for a 22-yard touchdown.
That made it a three-point game with Detroit set to get the ball to start the second half.
Love was 11-of-21 passing for 118 yards, with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Wicks on fourth-and-3 – the fans, incorrectly, thought Wicks was out of bounds – and the fourth-down touchdown to Doubs.
Five days after being on the field for 82 plays in their overtime win against the Giants, Detroit’s defense was on the field for almost 18 minutes and 37 plays in the first half.
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