Rapid Rewind: Lions clinch playoff berth in slugfest with franchise-record 11th straight win
Detroit — Billed as a heavyweight fight between two of the top teams in the NFC, the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers went toe-to-toe in a thrilling slugfest Thursday night at Ford Field.
The Lions controlled the first half and went into the locker room with a 10-point lead, but it was gone less than four minutes into the third quarter after the Packers struck quickly for a touchdown to open the frame and scored a second shortly after Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw an interception on the ensuing drive.
Detroit would settle down as the sides traded the lead three times until the Packers tied the game with under four minutes remaining with a short field goal.
But the Lions had the answer. Goff connected on four consecutive passes, pushing the team into field goal range at the two-minute warning.
Facing fourth-and-1 with under a minute remaining, the Lions opted to go for it. Goff stumbled taking the snap, causing the home crowd to gasp, but the QB got it into the belly of running back David Montgomery while falling to the turf. The back managed to convert and after a kneel down, kicker Jake Bates drilled the 35-yard game-winner to give the Lions the 34-31 victory.
With the victory, the Lions clinched a playoff berth and set a franchise record with 11 consecutive wins, moving to 12-1 on the season. The Packers fell to 9-4 with the loss.
Game ball
The interception was ugly, but Goff responded to the mistake in a big way, throwing two touchdowns in the second half and orchestrating the game-winning drive.
Scoring summary
First quarter
● 9:41 — Taking the opening kickoff, Detroit put together an 11-play drive, converting a trio of third downs along the way. The last one came via an illegal contact penalty deep in the red zone, setting up Montgomery’s 3-yard scoring run. LIONS 7, PACKERS 0
Second quarter
● 13:01 — Taking over near midfield after a turnover, the Lions worked into field goal range with a 10-yard pass to Sam LaPorta and an unnecessary roughness penalty against Packers linebacker Quay Walker before stalling. Kicker Jake Bates made certain the Lions came away with points, knocking home a 43-yard field goal. LIONS 10, PACKERS 0
● 5:35 — The Packers drove 70 yards, picking up 61 on the ground, including a 14-yard scramble by quarterback Jordan Love. The Lions appeared to squash the threat with an interception in the end zone after Terrion Arnold deflected a throw that was corralled by Carlton Davis III, but the rookie was flagged for pass interference on the play. That set up first-and-goal from the 1-yard line and running back Josh Jacobs punched it in the next snap. LIONS 10, PACKERS 7
● 0:11 — Massive response by the Lions, driving 70 yards in 12 plays, and just as importantly, they used nearly all the remaining clock. Leaning on a balanced attack, the Lions needed four tries once inside the 5-yard line, finally accomplishing the feat with a 2-yard touchdown toss to running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who ran an angle route out of the backfield. LIONS 17, PACKERS 7
Third quarter
● 13:15 — The Packers came out swinging after the break, connecting on a 59-yard deep shot to Christian Watson, who beat the coverage of Davis down the right sideline. Three snaps later, despite tight coverage by the veteran corner, Love threaded a needle to tight end Tucker Kraft for a 12-yard touchdown. LIONS 17, PACKERS 14
● 11:15 — Three plays after taking over in the red zone via an interception, the Packers were back into the end zone, grabbing their first lead of the night. It was Jacobs for the second time in the contest, running it in from 6 yards out to put the Packers in front. PACKERS 21, LIONS 17
● 5:02 — A gutty response, the Lions converted a fourth-and-1 near midfield with a QB sneak, got into a first-and-goal situation when Gibbs narrowly avoided being tackled behind the line before turning the handoff into a 20-yard gain, and Tim Patrick put a bow on the series with a 3-yard touchdown catch on fourth-and-goal. LIONS 24, PACKERS 21
Fourth quarter
● 14:20 — The Lions’ aggression finally came back to bite them. Coughing it up on downs after getting stopped on a fourth-down try from their 31-yard line, the Packers cashed in on the short field. Most of the damage was done on a 21-yard pass to Tucker Kraft, but it was Jacobs getting his third touchdown, slicing through heavy traffic for the 4-yard score. PACKERS 28, LIONS 24
● 8:39 — Goff completed all five of his passes for 50 yards on the possession, culminating with a 1-yard touchdown to Patrick out of play-action on third-and-goal. LIONS 31, PACKERS 28
● 3:38 — The Lions gave up two big passing gains when Jack Campbell overran the pocket on a blitz on one and Brian Branch missed a tackle on another. The Packers appeared to have a go-ahead touchdown, but it was wiped off the board by an offensive interference infraction against Watson, leaving them to settle for a short field goal. LIONS 31, PACKERS 31
● 0:00 — Bates hit the game-winner after an 11-play drive. LIONS 34, PACKERS 31
Turnovers
● On the first snap of the second quarter, Packers receiver Christian Watson took the ball in space and attempted to hurdle a defender, but Davis was able to poke the ball free from behind. The fumble was recovered by linebacker David Long Jr.
● After Green Bay sliced Detroit’s lead to three to start the third quarter, the home team coughed it up three plays into their response. Goff attempted to force the ball to Patrick, but the throw was undercut by Keisean Nixon, who brought it back to Detroit’s 16-yard line.
Key stats
● Goff completed 32-of-41 for 283 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
● Jameson Williams paced the Lions with five catches for 80 yards.
● Montgomery and Gibbs combined for just 94 yards with 29 carries, but added 63 with 11 combined receptions.
● The Packers finished with only 298 yards of offense. Campbell paced the unit with eight tackles. Za’Darius Smith recorded the lone sack, on the Packers’ first offensive snap.
Notable
● With several injuries along the defensive front, Brodric Martin made the first start of his career. Also starting for the Lions was newcomer Jonah Williams.
By the end of the first half, the team had used 19 different defenders with each logging at least four snaps.
● Gibbs and Montgomery became the first backfield tandem in team history to each score 12 touchdowns from scrimmage in a season.
● Gibbs also went over 1,000 rushing yards for the season.
Injuries
● Defensive tackle Alim McNeill missed most of the first quarter while being evaluated for a concussion. He returned for the second quarter, but was eventually ruled out during the half.
● Guard Kevin Zeitler had to briefly exit in the first quarter, leading to the first offensive snaps of rookie Christian Mahogany’s career.
Inactives
Most of Detroit’s inactives were easy to predict after the team ruled out offensive tackle Taylor Decker, nose tackle DJ Reader, and defensive linemen Josh Paschal and Levi Onwuzurike earlier in the week.
Also not dressing on Thursday were offensive tackle Giovanni Manu, guard Kayode Awosika and cornerback Emmanuel Moseley. All three were healthy scratches.
Next game
The Lions get a delayed mini-bye ahead of welcoming the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills (10-2) to Ford Field on Sunday, Dec. 15, at 4:25 p.m.
Really impressed by this Lions team. They are clearly all in on Campbell and his trust in him, and with as much as they were missing on defense and as well as Jordan Love played tonight, that was as close to a signature win as you can get in the regular season.
I genuinely cannot believe what I am watching guys