The Green Bay Packers made Thanksgiving even sweeter for their fans, winning their second straight divisional game by beating the Detroit Lions in a game that could change the fate of the NFC North.
After a solid first drive that stalled with a field goal, Green Bay’s defense got off to an incredible start, forcing a three-and-out and giving the offense the ball back. On fourth-and-two, Jordan Love found Dontayvion Wicks on a 22-yard pass to go up 10-0.
However, the Lions responded with their running game, watching David Montgomery punch it in from three yards out on a Wildcat snap.
Monty scores from the wildcat
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On the ensuing possession, Green Bay’s offense gambled again on a fourth down deep in Lions territory, and again would convert, getting seven more through Romeo Doubs. But the Lions capitalized on their two-minute drive with Jameson Williams making it a 17-14 game before the half.
After stuffing the Lions on fourth down, Jordan Love would finally air the ball out, throwing a moon ball to Christian Watson, who scored on a 51-yard grab.
Detroit just wouldn’t go away, scoring through Isaac TeSlaa to make it a three-point game again. But Wicks responded by scoring his second touchdown on the day.
The Lions would try to make it a game with three minutes left, cutting the lead to just seven. On their final drive, the Packers and MLF opted to go for it, with Love completing a pass off his back foot to Wicks to end the game.
Here are five numbers to tell the story of Green Bay’s Thanksgiving Day victory.
2
While the Lions have become notorious for going for it on fourth down, it was Green Bay who thrived by living on the edge, going for it twice on fourth downs, converting both times, and eventually scoring touchdowns.
In division games, the result is often decided by who can get seven on their drive and who has to settle for three. The Packers took the lead in the first half by going for it on fourth down, with Love finding Wicks for a score that was confirmed after a review. They would again go for it just before the two-minute warning at the end of the half, converting through Romeo Doubs, who beat his man on an out-breaking route to make it a 10-point lead.
There may have been some controversy on whether Matt LaFleur got the timeout in before a false start from Anthony Belton would have likely forced the team to kick a field goal. Still, the fourth-down conversion for seven allowed them to press their advantage.
1994
The last time a Packers quarterback threw for four or more touchdowns was when Brett Favre did it in 1994 in a loss against the Dallas Cowboys.
Early on, it was clear to see just how dialed in Love was, spreading the ball around and taking advantage of what the defense gave him. He was especially clinical in gotta-have-it situations. The first touchdown to Wicks was placed in a spot where only his receiver could make a play.
While Detroit’s defense initially limited Love’s ability to press the ball down the field, he would unleash the deep ball in the third quarter, hitting Watson on a 51-yard shot that they had been looking for all game.
As has become a pattern, Love looks like he has really hit his stride as the season wears on and is poised to continue this stretch against the Chicago Bears.
2.5
Micah Parsons had yet another incredible game, recording 2.5 sacks. His impact was felt early on as the Packers got home on all three of Detroit’s first three dropbacks.
While the defense and the pass rush did go missing in the third quarter, Parsons and Co. got back after it in the fourth quarter, recording two sacks on a drive when the Lions needed to score, forcing them to take three and maintain a seven-point Packers lead.
Parsons was incredible all day on third down, recording 1.5 of his 2.5 sacks on that down while also getting four pressures on his six pass-rush snaps on third down. While Green Bay’s secondary was a little disappointing today, allowing a Lions offense without Amon-Ra St. Brown to be super efficient, the pass rush was superb, with Parsons in particular being extremely deserving of the Turducken.
3.4
Green Bay’s run defense was very good against Jahmyr Gibbs, allowing him to average just 3.4 yards per carry. Early in the game, when St. Brown went out, everyone knew the Lions would need to rely even more heavily on the run game, especially Gibbs.
While Gibbs still made some of the chunk plays you would expect from him, he often found himself contacted behind the line of scrimmage and unable to shift gears. The Lions were still able to stay in the game thanks to heroic efforts from Jared Goff and Williams, but the Packers didn’t allow Gibbs to dictate the outcome.
If the Packers can force opposing rushing attacks to be non-existent, it bodes even better for their pass rush, which has been so incredible all season.
174
The duo of Watson and Wicks combined for 174 yards on the day, proving to be great weapons for their quarterback.
With Tucker Kraft out for the season, everyone wondered who would step up in this receiver room. Since coming back from his injury, Watson has been nothing short of a revelation, providing the big body down the field that Love and this offense needed.
While Watson only caught four of his 10 targets, he made them all count as he converted multiple third downs and hauled in a 51-yard score. It took a drop and an uncalled PI to limit Watson’s effectiveness on the day.
Wicks had an even better day somehow, recording two touchdowns on six grabs for 94 yards, one of which included a game-sealing fourth-down grab. With Matthew Golden and Jayden Reed set to come back eventually, it looks like the Packers might have a receiver room that runs four deep.