‘It was all God’: Detroit Lions unsung hero honors father with stellar performance on TNF

DETROIT – The Detroit Lions are rolling into their extended break after miraculously taking down the Green Bay Packers 34-31 inside Ford Field.

The talk of the night was how head coach Dan Campbell made gutsy calls in the second half, which hindered the team in the third quarter but later sealed the victory with a Jake Bates field goal as the clock expired.

With the victory, the Lions improved to 12-1 on the season.

They extended their winning streak to 11 consecutive, breaking a 90-year streak while setting a franchise record, thanks in part to the usual suspects on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Jared Goff made key contributions to the Lions.

However, wide receiver Tim Patrick propelled them to the nailbiting victory as he was one of Goff’s favorite targets on the night.

Goff connected with Patrick six times, tied for the most on the team, for 43 yards and two touchdowns on seven targets.

The two touchdown receptions were the most for Patrick since the 2021 season.

Patrick dealt with a plethora of injuries that left him out of the league for the past two seasons, but Detroit knew they needed a third receiver, so they signed him to the practice squad back in August ahead of the 53-man roster cuts, which has been a blessing in disguise.

“It felt amazing to get two touchdowns, as my dad’s birthday is tomorrow,” said Patrick. “He passed, so it was all him. It was all God. I’m blessed. Very blessed.”

Patrick spoke after the game about the gutsy play calling and how they didn’t want to give Packers quarterback Jordan Love, running back Josh Jacobs, and their offense the ball with any time remaining.

“We knew it was going to be on us as we have a lot of injuries on defense,” Patrick said. “We knew we were going to have to take control of the game, and that’s why we went for it on fourth down at the end. We wanted the game to end with the ball in our hands, and that’s exactly what we did.”

Tim Patrick, Sr. passed away after a battle with Sarcomas, which is a rare cancer that develops in a person’s bones and their soft tissues, which include fat, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, deep skin tissues, and fibrous tissues.

Patrick Jr. honored his father during the My Cause My Cleats initiative in 2020 vs. the Kansas City Chiefs when he represented the Sarcoma Foundation of America.

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Patrick Jr. missed 2022 due to a torn ACL he suffered in training camp with the Denver Broncos. He then tore his Achilles tendon during training camp in 2023.

Prior to making a name for himself with the Lions, Patrick had stops in Baltimore with the Ravens and in San Francisco with the 49ers in 2017.

However, both franchises waived him before he showed grit and made it onto the Broncos practice squad and then the main roster from 2018 to 2022.

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In his career, he accumulated 143 catches for 2,009 yards and 12 touchdowns in 55 games before the 2024 season.

This season, the 6′5″ 210-pound seven-year veteran has caught 27 passes for 349 yards and two touchdowns on the season and will look to keep continue to be a mainstay in the city of Detroit, especially after the way he balled on Thursday (Dec. 5).