Week 13 vs Detroit

Detroit entered their annual thanksgiving game with a 7-4 record, good enough for 3rd place in the NFC North. The Packers were a spot ahead of them in 2nd, with a 7-3-1 record. This game carried pressure for both teams. Detroit was looking to stay in the hunt for the division title, prevent a season sweep from the Packers after their week one loss, and avenge their home loss two years ago to Green Bay on Thanksgiving Day. Also, with their Thanksgiving win last year vs Chicago, the Lions were looking to win their first back-to-back Thanksgiving games since 2015-2016. The Packers were also looking to stay a step behind Chicago and get revenge by completing the season sweep of the team that beat them twice last year. Along with it being a division matchup and a known rivalry, there are also personal connections between these two teams. Former Detroit OC Ben Johnson stated, “I kind of enjoyed beating Matt Lafleur twice a year.” Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has also been seen wearing a “Green Bay sucks” sweatshirt around. Between this and various comments from other players, these teams were not on good terms. 

The Packers started with the ball and opened up the game with a few good deep passes, a sight Packer fans were happy to see after weeks of conservative playcalling. Detroit's defense finally brought them to a halt, and Green Bay settled for a 45-yard field goal to open up the scoring. Green Bay’s defense would come up with a stop thanks to Micah Parsons' first sack of the day, giving the ball right back to the offense. Green Bay’s offense took advantage and drove down their field before being brought to a 4th and two on Detroit's 21-yard line. In a rare act of aggression from Matt Lafleur, he decides to go for it, where Jordan Love would take a shot to the endzone to Dontayvion Wicks for a touchdown. Wicks barely got both feet in, and a video review was needed before confirming this spectacular touchdown. 

With Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta out for the game, the Lions' offense was going to need to find other guys to go to, and they did. Anthony Firkser caught a pass, his first reception since 2022, and Ross Dwelley got his first reception of the season for the Lions. Jameson Williams also stepped up in a big way after having zero catches last week. He had a huge catch and run to help keep the Lions' drive moving, where they would end up in the endzone and score after handing it to David Montgomery three straight times. This touchdown would bring the score to 10-7. The Packers immediately clapped back, driving down the field before coming up on another 4th down situation. It was 4th and one on Detroit's 3-yard line, and again, Matt Lafleur would choose to go for it. When the Packers were lining up, an offensive lineman jumped early, but the refs controversially ruled that LaFleur was calling a timeout before that happened. This led to no penalty being called and a touchdown on that 4th down play. With two minutes left in the 1st half, Detroit would walk down the field, where Jameson Williams would catch a screen pass and run through multiple weak Green Bay tackle attempts before getting into the endzone. The teams would go to the locker room with the Packers leading 17-14.

Green Bay would open the 2nd half with a stop, before Jordan Love would air out an absolute bomb to Christian Watson for a 51-yard touchdown to bring the score to 24-14. The two teams would exchange touchdowns in the 3rd quarter, with Goff finding Isaac Teslaa and Love giving Wicks his 2nd touchdown of the day. We entered the 4th quarter with a score of 31-21. The Lions would drive into the red zone, but after a dropped first-down catch by Jameson Williams, they failed to put any points on the board as a result. They got the ball back quickly after a Green Bay three-and-out, and would get within Green Bay’s five-yard line, but would be held to a field goal after Micah Parsons found Goff on third down. Down seven and with three timeouts, the Lions still had a very good chance to send it to overtime. The Packers had to go out and win this game, as two first downs would secure it. They got the first with an out route to Christian Watson, and they then were stopped three straight plays to bring up 4th down. In perhaps his riskiest call of the season, Matt Lafleur decides to go for it on 4th and 3 and risk giving the ball back to this explosive Lions offense. Love dropped back to pass and delivered a beautiful strike to Wicks to finish the game once and for all. The Packers came into Ford Field and completed the season sweep. 

Green Bay’s offense played its best game since week 8 vs Pittsburgh. They were throwing it aggressively downfield and finding success with it. They also did well at establishing a run game, even with Josh Jacobs seemingly still taking limited snaps. The defense struggled more than usual, missing tackles and getting exposed in zone coverage. The Lions were missing two of their biggest playmakers, and were still finding success in the passing game. The Lions offense is top-notch, and the Packers defense has been solid all year, so I’m not very worried about their performance. 

Overall, this was a very satisfying win, especially with all the taking their fans were doing after they swept us last year. It was one of the most complete games Green Bay played on both sides of the ball all year, and a perfect time for this team to hit its stride. Their next game is a long-anticipated matchup with the Bears. This is the first time in a while that both teams look elite, and with so many playoff implications heading into this game, it should be nothing short of amazing.