DETROIT – The Detroit Lions are in the driver’s seat for another division title after a dominant win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
Once again, the Lions were clearly the better team in this one, jumping out to an early 7-3 lead and never looking back.
Jared Goff enjoyed another efficient outing, completing 18 of 22 pass attempts for 145 yards and a score. His only touchdown pass went to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who caught seven passes for 56 yards.
David Montgomery rushed 17 times for 73 yards, while Jahmyr Gibbs had 76 total yards and a score on 11 carries and a catch.
This was Detroit’s third-straight victory at Lambeau Field, dating back to the win that closed out the 2022 season, eliminated the Packers from the playoffs, and marked the end of the Aaron Rogers era in Green Bay.
Lions take early lead
It didn’t take the Lions long to seize control of the game. After the Packers took nearly eight minutes to go 63 yards for a field goal on their first drive, the Lions responded with a 13-play, 70-yard march of their own.
On the first play of the second quarter, the Lions drew the Packers offside on fourth down and goal from the 5-yard line. On the next play, Goff hit St. Brown with a perfectly placed back shoulder pass to go up 7-3.
Brian Branch ejected
After the two teams exchanged punts, the Lions had to overcome a bit of adversity. Star safety Brian Branch got ejected for an illegal hit that cost the Lions 15 yards, and then picked up another 15-yard penalty for gesturing toward fans on his way off the field.
That gave Green Bay a first down at Detroit’s 32-yard line, but the defense forced a long field goal attempt, which missed wide left in the raging rain and wind.
The Lions responded by driving 55 yards on 10 plays to set up a Jake Bates field goal. They led 10-3 with a minute left until halftime.
Kerby Joseph pick-6 changes game
The key play of the game came on the penultimate possession of the first half, with Green Bay trying to cut into that seven-point deficit.
Jordan Love was flushed from the pocket on second down and made an ill-advised attempt to dump the ball off to Josh Jacobs.
The pass was picked off by Kerby Joseph and returned for a touchdown to give the Lions a 17-3 lead at the break.
When the Lions opened the second half with a nine-play, 71-yard touchdown drive, it felt like the nail in the coffin, even though the Packers had nearly 25 minutes left to play.
Fourth-down stop
The Lions officially put the game away with 10 minutes left.
Green Bay marched 74 yards in 11 plays to get to a second down and 1 at the 9-yard line. A pair of incomplete passes, including one to a wide-open Dontayvion Wicks in the end zone, set up a fourth down.
Love handed to Jacobs, who was stuffed by Trevor Nowaske and Jack Campbell to give the ball back to the Lions offense.
The Packers scored a meaningless touchdown late, thanks to an Amik Robertson unsportsmanlike penalty on fourth down. But all it did was make the final score a bit more respectable.
Pleasantries exchanged
These two division rivals clearly don’t like each other.
The banter started earlier in the week, when Packers safety Xavier McKinney said he doesn’t respect that the Lions try to “embarrass” teams.
St. Brown then showed up to the stadium in a “Green Bay sucks” sweatshirt on Sunday.
The Branch hit obviously got both sides fired up, because it was a hit on a defenseless player. Then, the hand gestures toward Packers fans certainly weren’t designed to play peacekeeper.
After the Lions scored their third touchdown to go up 24-3, Packers coach Matt LaFleur was seen on the TV broadcast screaming some not-so-kind words toward the Lions sideline.
These are two of the best teams in the NFC, and they‘re very familiar with each other, so it’s not surprising that such a high-stakes game got heated.
Division standings
With this win, the Lions have already picked up key road victories against division rivals Minnesota and Green Bay.
At 7-1, the Lions have the best record in the conference, and they’re well-positioned to win their second-straight NFC North title.
Next week, the Lions head to Houston for a Sunday Night Football matchup with the Texans.
