Jake Bates kicked a 22-yard field goal as time expired to give the host Detroit Lions a 20-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Ford Field.
Jared Goff directed the Detroit offense with 303 passing yards and two touchdowns, both connecting with Jameson Williams. Amon-Ra St. Brown contributed heavily in the passing game with nine receptions for 153 yards, while Williams hauled in five catches for 91 yards. On the ground, Jahmyr Gibbs shouldered a heavy workload, rushing for 116 yards on 29 carries as the Lions improved their record to 4-2.
For Green Bay, which dropped to 4-3 and saw its three-game winning streak snapped, Jordan Love threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns. Josh Jacobs made his season debut for the Packers after being activated off the NFL’s exempt list, finishing with 36 rushing yards and adding five receptions for 55 yards, including a touchdown.
The game’s decisive sequence unfolded in the final minute, when the Lions marched 71 yards to set up Bates’ game-winning kick. The drive featured an 18-yard reception by Sam LaPorta, a 15-yard run by Gibbs, and a crucial first-down conversion by Gibbs.
Action opened with missed opportunities on both sides. Green Bay came up empty on the game’s opening possession when Trey Smack missed a 26-yard field goal wide right. The Lions quickly responded, needing just six plays to cover 80 yards, capped by Goff finding Williams for a 16-yard touchdown.
The Packers answered with a methodical 12-play, 74-yard drive that culminated in Love throwing a 14-yard scoring strike to Tucker Kraft. Detroit reclaimed the advantage before intermission when Bates converted a 40-yard field goal with 12:36 remaining in the second quarter, making it 10-7. The Lions squandered a chance to extend that lead late in the half when an 85-yard drive ended with Gibbs losing a fumble on the Packers’ 8-yard line.
Green Bay capitalized immediately after the break. A Goff fumble on the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter handed possession to the Packers, who promptly converted when Love hit Jacobs with a 25-yard touchdown pass to give the visitors a 14-10 lead, their only advantage of the contest.
Detroit answered on the ensuing possession, moving 80 yards before Goff connected with Williams on a 10-yard touchdown pass over the middle. The Lions later missed chances to pull away. Head coach Dan Campbell opted to go for it on fourth-and-5 from the 6-yard line after driving deep into Green Bay territory, but Goff’s pass intended for Williams fell incomplete.
Smack later atoned for his earlier miss by converting a 43-yard field goal with 7:01 remaining, knotting the score at 17-17. Detroit’s subsequent gamble on fourth-and-1 from its own 24-yard line failed when Gibbs was tackled for a 2-yard loss by Keisean Nixon.
The Lions defense stood firm following the turnover, and D.J. Wonnum managed to get a fingertip on Smack’s subsequent 35-yard field goal attempt, sending it wide right with 3:21 left on the clock and setting the stage for Bates’ final heroics.
