GREEN BAY – It was a big test for the Detroit Lions Sunday outdoors for the first time this season in rainy and windy elements in the hostile environment that is Lambeau Field. They passed with flying colors.
A mistake-free game coupled with another complete team effort from all three phases resulted in a 24-14 win as Detroit maintains first place in the NFC North and the No. 1 seed in the NFC, pushing their record to 7-1. The Lions are 2-0 in the division with impressive road wins at Minnesota and Green Bay.
Green Bay opened the scoring on their first drive of the game, marching 63 yards in 14 plays but they had to settle for a Brandon McManus 30-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Detroit countered with an impressive 13-play, 70-yard drive capped off by a 3-yard Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown touchdown on 4th & goal. It’s the sixth straight game in which St. Brown has caught a touchdown pass, tying the franchise record set by Herman Moore in 1984 and giving Detroit a 7-3 lead.
Midway through the second quarter with the Packers facing a 2nd & 20 at their own 38-yard line, Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw an incomplete pass to Bo Melton but Lions safety Brian Branch was flagged for unnecessary roughness for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Melton. Branch was ejected for the hit and flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the way out, which gave Green Bay the ball at the Detroit 32-yard line. Green Bay eventually missed a 46-yard field goal to end the drive.
Detroit pushed the lead to 10-3 in the final minute of the first half on a Jake Bates 27-yard field goal.
HIGHLIGHT: St. Brown pirouettes for toe-tap TD catch on fourth down
Then came the biggest play of the game for Detroit’s defense.
The Packers were trying to score late, but safety Kerby Joseph stepped in front of a Love pass intended for running back Josh Jacobs at the Packers’ 27-yard line and returned it for a touchdown with just 26 seconds remaining in the half. It was Joseph’s sixth interception of the season, tying the NFL lead and becoming the first Lions safety to log at least six interceptions and a pick-six in a single season since James Hunter in 1976.
Detroit received the second-half kickoff and marched 71 yards in nine plays and capped it off with a 15-yard Jahmyr Gibbs touchdown run on a 4th & 1 play that pushed the Lions’ lead to 24-3. Green Bay added a field goal late in the third quarter to cut the lead to 24-6.
The Packers trimmed the lead to 24-14 with just under four minutes remaining on an Emanuel Wilson 2-yard touchdown run and a Love to wide receiver Christian Watson two-point conversion.
The subsequent onside kick went out of bounds and Detroit took possession and ran the clock out from there.
QB comparison: Goff started the game 11-for-11 despite the conditions, and finished 18-of-22 passing for 145 yards with a touchdown, no interceptions and a 109.3 passer rating.
Love completed 23 of his 39 passes for 273 yards with no touchdowns, one interception and a 69.7 rating.
Big moment: Trailing 10-3 late in the first half the Packers were trying to move themselves into field goal range to chip into the Lions’ lead but ended up making a huge mistake.
Love was being pressured by Alex Anzalone and Levi Onwuzurike on a 2nd & 2 play and tried to dump the ball off to Jacobs, but Joseph stepped in front of it and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown with just 26 seconds left on the clock to give Detroit a 17-3 lead.
Detroit received the second-half kickoff and scored again on a Gibbs touchdown run for a massive 14-point swing from the end of the second quarter to the beginning of the third.
HIGHLIGHT: Gibbs’ fourth-down TD boosts Lions’ lead
Key stats:
1. Detroit’s defense was terrific on third down. They entered the game No. 1 in the NFL on third down, holding teams to just a 30.7 percent conversion rate. Green Bay was just 3-of-12 Sunday afternoon.
2. Detroit’s offense was 2-for-2 on fourth down with both conversions being touchdowns on a St. Brown 3-yard catch and a Gibbs 15-yard run.
Injury report: Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (shoulder) left the game in the fourth quarter but did return.
