DETROIT – There was one goal the Green Bay Packers prioritized above all else entering this season.
They could not repeat the debacle of going 1-5 against NFC North teams. The Packers were especially bad in 2024 against the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings, losing all four. They were close. A year ago, the Packers lost by only a field goal in Detroit. Close is not good enough in the NFL.
The Packers have not been close against the NFC North this season. It’s certainly been good enough.
With a 31-24 win against the Lions in Detroit on Thanksgiving, the Packers remain undefeated against their division opponents in 2025. They won their first two NFC North games by a combined score of 50-19. The final margin was tighter in Detroit, but the Packers led throughout, including four leads of double digits.
It’s the second time in three seasons the Packers have beaten the Lions in Detroit on Thanksgiving. In 2023, their 29-22 win propelled them to a late-season run that ended in the NFC divisional round during Jordan Love’s first season as a starting quarterback. It remains to be seen how much momentum the Packers will glean from this victory, but winning division games is the first block in creating a Super Bowl season.
Here are some highlights:
Matt LaFleur gives Dan Campbell a dose of his own fourth-down medicine
It’s Lions coach Dan Campbell who is known for his aggressive approach to fourth down. A year ago, before the Packers traveled to Detroit, Campbell told his offense it would go for it on fourth down every time. The Lions converted 4 of 5 on fourth down in a 3-point win.
Matt LaFleur let Campbell know what it’s like to be on the other side in the first half this year.
The Packers offense wasn’t efficient, but it was effective in the biggest moments. Twice, LaFleur passed on a field goal for a fourth-down attempt. Love delivered on both, a 22-yard touchdown pass to Dontayvion Wicks and 2-yard touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs. Both scores allowed the Packers to play from a lead in the opening 30 minutes.
Love warmed up after a slow start, completing 18 of 30 passes for 234 yards and four touchdowns in the game for a 124.2 passer rating. LaFleur kept putting the ball in his quarterback’s hands instead of running back Josh Jacobs’ in short-yardage situations. Love responded with pinpoint accuracy on a fade down the left sideline to Wicks, whose trailing right foot was down when he caught the football, and left foot touched inbounds. Love fired a laser on an out route to Doubs, who made a strong-hands catch at the goal line. Though his fourth touchdown pass wasn’t on fourth down, it came on an action fake to Jacobs at the 1-yard line, leaving Wicks open for his second score.
It was the third time in Love’s career he’s thrown four touchdown passes in a game.
Dan Campbell’s fourth-down attempts not as successful
Campbell couldn’t help but call a couple of fourth downs of his own. They both backfired, and the first came in maybe the game’s biggest turning point.
On the opening drive of the second half, the Lions were near midfield when running back Jahmyr Gibbs was stuffed for a 1-yard loss on third-and-2. Campbell kept his offense on the field, and Gibbs was stuffed for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-3. The Packers scored on a 51-yard touchdown pass from Love to Christian Watson two plays later, allowing them to continue playing with the lead.
It was enough for a defense that often looked off balance against the Lions’ high-octane offense. The Packers had four quarterback hits on Jared Goff on the Lions’ first two possessions. The Lions had 10 net yards on those drives. They didn’t hit Goff again until the fourth quarter, and the Lions quarterback found his rhythm.
Goff finished the first quarter 0 for 3 passing with a sack. He completed his next 15 passes, until another fourth down early in the fourth quarter. Lions receiver Jameson Williams was open on a crossing route at the marker, but he dropped a pass that was a little behind him. The Packers were forced into a three-and-out on their next possession, but they still led by 10.
Goff finished 20-of-26 for 256 yards and two touchdowns for a 132.9 passer rating, but those fourth-down plays are always important when the Lions are on the field.
Micah Parsons continues to be Packers’ closer on way to making history
Once the fourth quarter came, Micah Parsons called game.
The Packers’ closer had a pair of sacks with the Lions trailing by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter. After his first, cornerback Keisean Nixon’s illegal-contact penalty on a third-down stop continued the possession.
The Lions drove to the Packers’ 4-yard line. On third-and-goal, Parsons sacked Goff again to force a field goal, preserving a touchdown lead for the Packers with 2 minutes, 59 seconds left.
With a split sack in the first quarter, Parsons finished with 2.5 sacks on Goff. That increased his season total to 12.5, making him the first player in NFL history with at least a dozen sacks in each of his first five seasons. He was previously tied with only Reggie White for the most dozen-sack seasons to start a career, but White had 11 sacks in his fifth season.
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Matt LaFleur successful in matching Lions’ aggressiveness in Packers’ 31-24 win
Reporting by Ryan Wood, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Packers News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
