The Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers 20-17 at Ford Field on a Jake Bates field goal with no time left. Green Bay turned only 1 of 4 red-zone trips into a touchdown.
Detroit outgained Green Bay by nearly 100 yards and averaged about 6 yards a play to the Packers' 5. The Lions lost 2 fumbles and still won.
How It Happened
Detroit struck first. Jared Goff found Jameson Williams for a 16-yard touchdown with 7:00 left in the first quarter. Green Bay answered with 58 seconds left in the quarter when Jordan Love hit Tucker Kraft from 14 yards out to tie it.
Bates added a 40-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Neither offense scored again before the break, and Detroit took a 10-7 lead into halftime.
Green Bay grabbed its only lead early in the third. Love found Josh Jacobs for a 25-yard touchdown at 12:14 to make it 14-10. Detroit took the lead back at 6:33, with Goff and Williams connecting again, this time from 10 yards, for a 17-14 edge.
Trey Smack tied the game at 17 with a 43-yard field goal at 7:10 of the fourth quarter. Detroit then got the last word. Bates converted from close range as the clock hit zero to win it.
Key Performers
Jameson Williams (DET): 2 receiving TD – 16 YDS, 10 YDS
Jake Bates (DET): Field goals of 40 YDS and 22 YDS (game-winner), 2 extra points
Jordan Love (GB): 2 TD passes – 14 YDS to Tucker Kraft, 25 YDS to Josh Jacobs
Detroit passing: 22-32, 296 net YDS, 9.0 per attempt, 0 INT
Green Bay passing: 27-45, 264 net YDS, 5.7 per attempt, 1 INT
The passing lines tell the story of the game. Detroit got about 9 yards every time it threw. Green Bay threw far more often and still finished with fewer yards.
Green Bay's ground game gave Love little help. The Packers ran for 60 yards on 19 carries. Detroit leaned on the run more, with 119 yards on 33 attempts.
What It Means
Detroit moves to 4-2 and remains unbeaten at home at 3-0. Away from Ford Field, the Lions are 1-2. It took every second of this one to keep that home record clean.
The Lions also showed they can win when they hurt themselves. They lost 2 fumbles, went 0 for 2 on fourth down and still controlled the yardage. That is a sign of a team whose margin comes from moving the ball, not from luck.
Green Bay falls to 4-3, and 2-2 on the road. The Packers kept drives alive by converting 3 of 4 fourth downs, but they were undone by finishing. Coming away without a touchdown on three red-zone trips cost them in a game decided by a field goal.
Penalties hurt too. Green Bay was flagged 8 times for 81 yards against Detroit's 5 for 50. In a three-point game, that is a lot of yardage to give away.