Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) eats a turkey leg after leading his team past the Detroit Lions, 31-24, Thursday.
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The path to NFC North supremacy has run through Detroit in recent seasons.
The Lions have won two straight division titles. Detroit also went 2-0 against Green Bay in both 2024 and 2022.
So here’s how the Packers approached their Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit Thursday.
“Those guys beat us twice last year. One time at the crib and then one time at (their) house,” Packers safety Javon Bullard said. “No matter how we get that (expletive) done, we gotta get it done.”
They did.
Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw four touchdowns — including two to Dontayvion Wicks — and Green Bay had a festive holiday with a 31-24 win over the host Lions.
The Packers defeated the Lions for the second time this year and improved to 3-0 in the NFC North. Green Bay improved to 8-3-1 (.708), swept Detroit for the first time since 2020, and are now just percentage points behind first place Chicago (8-3, .727).
Detroit fell to 7-5.
“Was there ever a doubt?” Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur joked afterwards. “No, that was a great football game. I mean, to come in here against a really quality opponent. I mean, they got great players, great coaches. I’ve got so much respect for what they’ve been able to accomplish the last few years.
“It’s going to be a battle every time you come in here. But I was really proud of our players. This was a playoff type atmosphere, and to be able to come in and win on the road is big for us.”
Here’s the ‘Good, Bad and Ugly’ from Green Bay’s win.
THE GOOD
JORDAN LOVE: Love is playing through an AC joint sprain in his left (non-throwing) shoulder. That injury certainly didn’t slow him down Thursday.
Love had one of the best days of his career, throwing four touchdowns, no interceptions and posting a 124.2 passer rating. Love threw two touchdown passes to Dontayvion Wicks, and one to both Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs.
It marked the third time in Love’s career he’s thrown four TDs in a game.
“That’s who he is,” Packers defensive end Micah Parsons said of Love. “He’s gonna show up. Injured, hurt, he’s gonna fight for his guys and play at the highest level. J-Love’s the ultimate competitor. There’s not too many quarterbacks that fight like him, through everything he’s going through – all the injuries. He just comes in and he works. It’s starting to show off. The jump he’s making this year is night and day.”
DONTAYVION WICKS: The Packers’ third-year wide receiver had his best game of the year, hauling in a pair of touchdowns.
Wicks had six receptions for 94 yards and had TD receptions of 22- and 1-yard. Wicks’ season-high for catches had been four (done twice) and his high-water mark for receiving yards was 44 (vs. Washington in Week 2).
“He stepped up, and obviously today he had a really big day,” Love said of Wicks. “Two touchdown catches. I’m happy for him, very proud of him, but it’s all the work he’s put in. He’s kept his head down. Kept grinding and I think everything is paying off for him.”
Wicks also made one of the biggest plays of the game, hauling in a 16-yard pass from Love on fourth-and-3 with 1:55 left. With the Lions out of timeouts, that play essentially ended the game.
“It feels great,” Wicks said. “(Love) taking a chance and me being able to seal the game, knowing that it was man coverage. Man, we put it in all the work for this. Not just this week but last week building up to this week. We knew we had a short week, so we knew them practices from last week was going to build into this week. We knew it was going to be a tough battle but we knew we got what it takes to come out and win.”
FOURTH DOWN MAGIC: Wicks’ grab to seal the game wasn’t Green Bay’s only big play on fourth down.
The Packers went for it on two fourth downs in the first half — and scored touchdowns on both plays.
On the first score, Green Bay had a fourth-and-3 when Love connected with Wicks for a 22-yard TD in the left corner of the endzone. Love lofted a perfect pass, Wicks broke away from safety Brian Branch and did a masterful job of getting both feet down to give Green Bay a 10-0 lead.
“That was a call we had,” Love said. “Something that we got a look earlier that we came back and kind of made an adjustment off that earlier call and yeah, just like I said, another play where it’s man coverage and guys gotta go win. And Wicks did a good job on the route and then obviously to be able to make that catch with a safety coming at him and getting the hit on him was — it was awesome.”
On the second fourth down score, the Packers had a fourth-and-1 from the Lions’ 2-yard line. Romeo Doubs beat cornerback D.J. Reed to the left corner of the endzone, and Love delivered another strike that gave Green Bay a 17-7 advantage.
Detroit head coach Dan Campbell is notorious for going for it on fourth down. LaFleur was 3-for-3 on third downs Thursday, and it paid off in spades.
“I’d rather go down swinging, similar to how we did in Arizona,” LaFleur said. Sometimes it can bite you absolutely, and you’ve just got to deal with the consequences that come along with that.”
CLOSING TIME: Green Bay’s pass rush was quiet most of the day, but the Packers had three sacks in the fourth quarter.
Micah Parsons had two of those sacks, part of a huge day where he had eight pressures, four quarterback hits, three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Parsons now has 12.5 sacks this year and he’s posted at least 2.0 sacks in three straight games.
“Not caring no more,” Parsons said. “Just letting go. I just feel like I’m at the point of my career where I didn’t know what to expect, I didn’t know what to expect. I feel like going into the offseason, it was supposed to be my year, my year to be the best player and just trying to live up to that.
“Obviously not having camp, it took me a little more of a while to get into a rhythm. It’s just really being championship football games, division games. I just have to step up my level of play and just be the person they brought me in to (be).”
HUGE STOP: Trailing, 17-14, early in the third quarter, Detroit drove to Green Bay’s 46. On third-and-2, Isaiah McDuffie and Edgerrin Cooper dropped star running back Jahmyr Gibbs for a 1-yard loss.
Then on fourth-and-3, Micah Parsons and McDuffie gobbled Gibbs up for a 2-yard loss, giving Green Bay the ball at its own 49.
Two plays later, Love hit Watson with a 51-yard TD pass that gave the Packers a 24-14 lead.
“Yeah, our defense, I mean, we knew going into the game, Dan (Campbell’s) always been aggressive, and we knew it was going to come down to that,” LaFleur said. “And I think really, when you look at it, both sides of the ball, the fourth down was the difference in the game.”
THIS AND THAT: Green Bay picked up a pair of third-and-ones on its opening drive, which led to a 45-yard field goal by Brandon McManus. … Micah Parsons and Kingsley Enagbare combined for a sack on Detroit’s second possession. … Tight end Luke Musgrave made a diving catch for a 23-yard reception late in the first half. That catch helped set up a 2-yard TD pass from Love to Doubs.
THE BAD
CARRINGTON VALENTINE: Green Bay’s third-year corner was largely responsible for a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams late in the first half.
On a third-and-3, quarterback Jared Goff threw to Williams behind the line of scrimmage. Valentine closed quickly and had Williams dead to rights, but missed the tackle. Williams broke loose, then waltzed to the endzone for a 22-yard TD that helped the Lions pull within 17-14 at halftime.
DOWN A PAIR: Rookie wideout Matthew Golden (wrist) and linebacker Quay Walker (neck/stinger) — two key starters — were both inactive for a second straight game. The other inactives included: defensive linemen Lukas Van Ness and Karl Brooks (ankle), cornerback Nate Hobbs (knee) and offensive lineman Donovan Jennings.
THIS AND THAT: Romeo Doubs fumbled inside the Lions’ 5-yard late in the third quarter, but left tackle Rasheed Walker recovered. Two plays later, Love and Wicks hooked up on a short touchdown. “I just saw the ball, and I got the ball,” Walker said. “Everything worked out how it’s supposed to.” … Kitan Oladapo was flagged for holding on the opening kickoff, forcing Green Bay to start from its own 17-yard line.
JAMESON WILLIAMS: The Lions lost standout wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown early with an ankle injury. Williams stepped up, though, and the Packers had no answer for him.
Williams had seven receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown when the Packers couldn’t tackle him.
THE UGLY
TOUGH LOSS: Green Bay’s win came with a cost.
Defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt suffered a leg injury late in the game and left on a cart. Afterwards, Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur offered a grim outlook.
“It doesn’t look good, guys,” LaFleur said. “I’m sick for him, I’m sick for us. I mean, that’s a critical loss for our football team, for our defense obviously.”
Wyatt is the Packers’ best defensive lineman, a position where Green Bay’s depth is mediocre, at best. Wyatt entered the day third on the team in sacks (4.0) and fifth in tackles for loss (5.0).
In 2024, Wyatt was second on the team in sacks (5.0), quarterback hits (9.0) and tackles for loss (9.0), despite missing three games with an ankle injury. He also had two fumble recoveries.
The Packers picked up Wyatt’s fifth-year option in May, and his salary for 2026 will be $12.938 million.
“I mean, I can’t say enough great things about him in terms of watching him mature not only as a football player, but as a person,” LaFleur said of Wyatt. “I’ve got a lot of love for Devonte Wyatt and I think the whole locker room does, too. So, it’s a little bittersweet I would say in regards to, yeah, we’re happy about the win but we’re sick about what happened to him.”
Rob Reischel, Contributor
