Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur handed out three game balls from the victorious visitor’s locker room inside Ford Field following the 31-24 win over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
Instead of one player from each phase getting a game ball, two players on offense and one from the defense rightfully got the time-honored recognition.
Before hitting the locker room, several players took part in an on-field Thanksgiving feast following the win as FOX handed out the “Madden Thanksgiving MVP” award to Jordan Love.
“How’d that (expletive) turkey taste?” LaFleur said to open the locker room speech. “That is how you compete. That was playoff football. It took all 60 minutes, all three phases, give it up for yourselves men. That’s what it’s going to take moving forward.”
The Packers took an early 10-0 lead and never trailed. At every step along the way, LaFleur’s team made clutch plays, including in the final five minutes with the game on the line.
Here’s who got game balls from LaFleur:
QB Jordan Love
From LaFleur: “He threw four tuddy’s on the day, J Love!”
Love was incredible, completing 18 passes for 234 yards and four touchdown passes without an interception or a sack taken. His passer rating was 124.2. On three different fourth downs, Love found the conversion, including twice for touchdowns. He was efficient, productive and clutch — everything you want from a quarterback in a big game. In his mini-speech after getting a game ball, Love celebrated the offensive line not allowing a sack.
DE Micah Parsons
From LaFleur: “This next guy had 2.5 sacks, and in doing so, becomes the first guy in NFL history to have 12 plus sacks in his first five years.”
LaFleur is right — Parsons became the first player in NFL history to have at least 12 sacks in his first five pro seasons. An incredible feat worth celebrating. Parsons feasted again on Thanksgiving Day, producing 2.5 sacks, four quarterback hits and 10 pressures, per Next Gen Stats. He truly is a transformational player who impacts the game in a variety of ways on almost every single snap.
WR Dontayvion Wicks
From LaFleur: “This last guy. This guy had 6 for 94…”
LaFleur couldn’t finish his sentence because the locker room erupted in celebration for Wicks, who caught six passes for a season-high 94 yards and two scores. He added another touch that was deemed a 6-yard run, giving him an even 100 total yards. Wicks made a few of the game’s biggest plays, including a 22-yard touchdown catch on fourth down, a 30-yard catch, a 2-yard touchdown catch and the win-sealing 16-yard catch on fourth down. Finally healthy, Wicks was a difference maker.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Who got game balls from Matt LaFleur following Packers’ win over Lions on Thanksgiving?
Reporting by Zach Kruse, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
