The Green Bay Packers made clutch plays from start to finish, grabbed an early 10-0 lead and held on late with more big plays during a 31-24 win over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day from Ford Field.
Matt LaFleur’s team converted three different fourth downs, including two resulting in touchdowns. The Lions, meanwhile, failed both fourth down opportunities. Jordan Love threw four touchdown passes and Micah Parsons had 2.5 sacks to lead the way.
The Packers are now 8-3-1 and 3-0 in the NFC North. The Lions are 7-5 after getting swept by the Packers and suddenly in big trouble in terms of the playoff picture.
Here is an instant analysis of the Packers’ holiday win over the Lions in Week 13:
Final score: Packers 31, Lions 24
It was over when…
Jordan Love hit a fadeaway throw under pressure to Dontayvion Wicks, who lost a shoe in the process of making the dagger 16-yard catch on fourth down with under two minutes to go. Dagger. The Packers kneeled out the rest of the clock.
Game balls
Key stat
The Packers had three sacks and seven quarterback hits on Jared Goff, while the Lions produced zero sacks and only two quarterback hits on Jordan Love. Given the kept clean/under pressure splits for these two quarterbacks, this game was always going to come down to which defense could better disrupt the opposing quarterback, and the Packers — in large part due to Micah Parsons — scored a decisive victory in terms of pressure.
Deciding factor
Fourth down. The Packers were 3/3 on fourth down, which included two touchdown passes from Jordan Love and the dagger play late, while the Lions were 0/2, including a failure at Green Bay’s 21-yard line in the fourth quarter. In a game against the hyper aggressive Lions, the Packers matched the aggressiveness and consistently came up with clutch plays.
Jordan Love watch
Jordan Love owns Thanksgiving Day. The Packers quarterback produced multi touchdown passes, didn’t have an interception and finished with a passer rating over 120.0 for the third straight Thanksgiving Day, all wins. Love threw four touchdown passes, completed passes to convert three fourth downs and didn’t take a sack or have a turnover. That stats could have been better had a few well-thrown contested catches been made. He was masterful.
Play of the game
The first fourth-down conversion of the afternoon gave the Packers an early 10-0 lead. What a throw, and what a catch. Jordan Love lofted a perfect ball, and Dontayvion Wicks made the catch in traffic and somehow got two feet down in bounds.
Injury updates
Defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt was carted off in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a significant ankle injury.
What’s next
The Packers get the mini-bye to end the week, which could be hugely important for a team that just played two games in five days and is dealing with injuries all over the roster. In Week 14, the Packers will host the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field for another big-time NFC North matchup. The Bears face the Philadelphia Eagles on Black Friday.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Instant analysis of Packers’ 31-24 win over the Lions on Thanksgiving Day
Reporting by Zach Kruse, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
