Live Updates: Lions at Packers on ‘Thursday Night Football’
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers trailed 27-3 at halftime of their big NFC North showdown against the Detroit Lions on Thursday at Lambeau Field. Can they pull off a second massive rally in a week? Follow along all night for updates.
Final Score
Lions 34, Packers 20
The Detroit Lions delivered an emphatic statement by beating the Green Bay Packers 34-20 to take the NFC North with their 3-1 record.
Fourth Quarter
Lions 34, Packers 20 (2:52 remaining)
Keisean Nixon’s 34-yard punt return gave the Packers the ball at the Lions’ 35. Green Bay couldn’t take advantage, though. Anders Carlson’s 50-yard field goal made it a two-score game.
Lions 34, Packers 17 (4:05 remaining)
And that’s that. With the Packers clinging to hope, Jordan Love threw his second interception of the night. With Love extending the play, Romeo Doubs was open over the middle. Doubs took the route upfield just as Love was throwing the ball. The result was an easy pick for Jerry Jacobs.
Lions 34, Packers 17 (6:00 remaining)
Quay Walker’s penalty for trying to jump over the field goal on a field goal probably put the final stake in Green Bay’s coffin. David Montgomery plowed through Walker on fourth-and-goal from the 1 for the touchdown. The scoring drive was 15 plays for 75 yards and 8:52 off the clock. The penalty by Walker gave the Lions four more points while allowing them to consume an additional 2:10.
Lions 30, Packers 17 (8:10 remaining)
Riley Patterson’s 30-yard field goal put the Lions up by two touchdowns. A big-time catch for 20 yards by Josh Reynolds put the Lions in the red zone. Colby Wooden’s stop of David Montgomery on second-and-7 helped keep the Lions out of the end zone.
Lions 27, Packers 17 (14:52 remaining)
What a sequence to end the third quarter. The first play of the series was a gain of 3 by Aaron Jones. Rather than going to the fourth quarter, Jordan Love rushed the offense to the line and uncorked a picture-perfect bomb to Jayden Reed, who made an outstanding catch for a gain of 44 to the 9. Was the clock at 0:00 when the ball was snapped? It was, but that’s not reviewable. One play later, Love could have tumbled like a tumbling tumbleweed on a quarterback draw. Jon Runyan had a downfield block, though it probably wasn’t needed. On the two-point play, Love was stopped on the keeper. So, it’s a 10-point game rather than a one-score game.
Third Quarter
Lions 27, Packers 11 (54 seconds remaining)
Karl Brooks’ second-down sack helped the Packers get off the field. During the commercial break, a “Go Pack Go!” chant started.
Lions 27, Packers 11 (4:53 remaining)
How do you kill a rally? By throwing a backward pass that dribbled out of bounds for a loss of 11. That’s how Green Bay’s drive started, with Jordan Love’s screen to Romeo Doubs well off the mark.
Lions 27, Packers 11 (6:16 remaining)
The Packers overcame a 17-0 in the fourth quarter to beat the Saints last week. They can’t do it again, can they? Well, the Packers just forced a three-and-out. Quay Walker swallowed up a swing pass to Jahmyr Gibbs for a loss of 5 on second down.
Lions 27, Packers 11 (8:17 remaining)
Packers coach Matt LaFleur told the Amazon Prime broadcast team at halftime that he wanted to see some fight. Well, he got it. The Packers drove 86 yards for the touchdown. On the touchdown, Christian Watson lined up in the slot and got wide open on a rub route. He double-caught the ball but held on for the score. On the two-point play, Jordan Love rolled right and found Jayden Reed in the back of the end zone for the score. Before the touchdown, the Packers converted a fourth-and-9 when Romeo Doubs found a big hole in the Lions’ zone.
Injury update: TE Luke Musgrave is out with a concussion.
Halftime
Lions 27, Packers 3
The score is ugly. So are the numbers.
Yards: 284-21.
First downs: 15-3.
Rushing yards: 121-7.
Passing yards: 163-14.
Second Quarter
Lions 27, Packers 3 (34 seconds remaining)
Riley Patterson kicked a 37-yard field goal. The Packers at one point gave up three consecutive first downs: a 14-yard completion to Amon-Ra St. Brown in which he broke three tackles on third-and-10, an 11-yard pass to tight end Sam LaPorta and a 12-yard run by David Montgomery.
Lions 24, Packers 3 (5:34 remaining)
The Packers got their initial first down of the night a mere 22 minutes into the game. From there, AJ Dillon lost 3 when Tucker Kraft didn’t block anyone and Love was sacked by Alim McNeill for minus-8 when he beat Royce Newman and Rasheed Walker. At that point, the Packers had minus-1 yard of offense.
Injury update: Packers TE Luke Musgrave is being evaluated for a concussion.
Lions 24, Packers 3 (11:38 remaining)
Aaron Jones finally got the ball and the crowd cheered after a 5-yard gain. On second down, Jones was crushed on a quarterback option, a play that should be run through the paper shredder, used for birdcage liner and then burned. On third down, Jordan Love’s pass to Christian Watson was broken up. The crowd booed.
Lions 24, Packers 3 (13:19 remaining)
The Packers are getting embarrassed. Yes, that’s repetitive. On first down from the 10, Jordan Love’s throw to Christian Watson was deflected by linebacker Alex Anzalone and intercepted by Jerry Jacobs. His 20-yard return gave the Lions the ball at Green Bay’s 7. Two runs by David Montgomery made it a 21-point game.
By the numbers, it’s …
206 to 1 in yards.
114 to minus-6 in passing yards.
Love is 1-of-6 passing with a 0.0 passer rating.
The Lions have 20 interception yards while Love has 9 passing yards.
0 touches for Aaron Jones and Christian Watson.
Lions 17, Packers 3 (14:07 remaining)
The Packers are getting embarrassed. Starting at their 25, the first play was a 26-yard completion to Josh Reynolds, who made a tremendous catch against tight coverage by Carrington Valentine. On the next play, Kalif Raymond got the ball on a double-reverse. Outside linebacker Kingsley Enagbare had no semblance of contain and inside linebacker Quay Walker pursued all the way to the opposite hashmarks before realizing what had happened. With the teams flipping sides for the quarter, the Packers got a stop and forced a 33-yard field goal by Riley Patterson.
In the first quarter, Aaron Jones and Christian Watson had a combined zero touches.
First Quarter
Lions 14, Packers 3 (1:20 remaining)
Well, at least the Packers ran the ball. Just not very well. Two runs by AJ Dillon gained 7 yards and Jordan Love sailed his third-down pass over Romeo Doubs. The Packers absolutely need a stop.
By the way, there is a lot of blue in the bleachers tonight.
Lions 14, Packers 3 (2:54 remaining)
The Packers stormed back to beat the Saints last week but this seems like a much bigger challenge. The Lions are just cruising. On third-and-3, Jared Goff hit Josh Reynolds for a catch-and-run gain of 23 against Rasul Douglas. Two runs, an 11-yard scramble by Goff, and two more runs got the Lions in the end zone. David Montgomery cruised in from the 3 as Preston Smith, Devonte Wyatt and Quay Walker were easily blocked on the scoring play.
Lions 7, Packers 3 (7:10 remaining)
Good luck to Green Bay winning this way. On the opening series, after Aidan Hutchinon’s sack made it third-and-18. On this series, Isaiah Buggs sack made it third-and-16. On third down, right guard Jon Runyan was called for holding, Runyan and left tackle Rasheed Walker were on the ground and Love had to throw it away.
In two series, the Packers have minus-6 yards on six plays – all passes.
Lions 7, Packers 3 (8:16 remaining)
Jared Goff’s little shoulder fake had Rasul Douglas sprinting toward slot receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for the pick. One problem: Goff didn’t throw the ball. With Douglas slipping and falling, St. Brown was wide open for a 24-yard touchdown. One play earlier, on third-and-5, Goff hit red-hot rookie tight end Sam LaPorta for a catch-and-run gain of 35. LaPorta used his power to shrug off Douglas for an additional 22 yards.
Packers 3, Lions 0 (11:59 remaining)
The Packers wasted a golden opportunity. Jordan Love didn’t have anyone open on first or second down. On second-and-10, Aidan Hutchinson eventually overpowered guard Jon Runyan for a sack. Ultimately, the Packers settled for a 34-yard field goal by Anders Carlson.
Packers 0, Lions 0 (13:34 remaining)
After Preston Smith stuffed David Montgomery and Rasul Douglas buried a pass to Kalif Raymond for minus-2, Rudy Ford undercut a pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown for the interception. His 21-yard return gave the Packers the ball on Detroit’s 16.
Packers-Lions Pregame Notes
- The No. 1 offensive line will be the same as last week: Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Royce Newman at left guard, Josh Myers at center, Jon Runyan at right guard and Zach Tom at right tackle. Tom, who was questionable for the game following last week’s knee injury, is wearing a brace for warmups.
- The Packers placed left tackle David Bakhtiari on injured reserve following his latest surgery. The Lions will have their veteran left tackle, Taylor Decker, in the lineup following a Week 1 ankle injury.
- It appears Carrington Valentine, despite last week’s biceps injury, will start for a second consecutive week in place of Jaire Alexander.
- It was wide right, but rookie kicker Anders Carlson had plenty of distance on a 59-yard attempt to the south end.
The scene at Lambeau Field.
Bill Huber/Packer Central
Interesting Take on Jordan Love
Last year, Dan Campbell’s Lions swept the two games against the Aaron Rodgers-led Packers. What has he seen from Jordan Love?
“I feel like there’s a lot more system, if you will, more than probably audibles, checks at the line,’ Campbell said this week. “They’ve got plenty of that, believe me. They’re going to get in the right play. But I think there’s a little bit more it’s ‘this’ or ‘that’ and ‘Here we go. Here’s the look and let’s run it.’ That way he can play fast and do what they do well. We’ll have our hands full.”
With Love, the Packers are pushing the ball downfield more than any quarterback in years.
“I think that what you really see is, man, he’s making some of these shot throws. He’s pretty accurate downfield, and if it’s not that, then he’s giving his receivers a chance to make a play or draw a penalty. So, he’s pretty accurate downfield. He’s a good enough athlete in space to make things happen with his feet. I think he’s running the ship pretty good over there right now, and when you play good defense and you can run the ball and play-action off of it, I think that makes him pretty tough.”
Big Night for Rookie Tight Ends
In a strong draft class of tight ends, Sam LaPorta was the second off the board as the 34th overall pick by the Lions. The Packers made Luke Musgrave the fourth tight end selected with the pick acquired in the Aaron Rodgers trade, No. 42 overall.
Both players could have central roles on Thursday night.
LaPorta is off to a record-setting start. With 18 receptions, LaPorta has the most catches by a tight end in his first three games in NFL history. Only Aaron Hernandez has more yards than LaPorta’s 186. He’s caught at least five passes in all three games, the longest streak by a rookie tight end since Hernandez in 2010.
Musgrave is tied for the Packers’ lead with 11 receptions. He had a 37-yard gain in Week 1 at Chicago and six catches last week against New Orleans.
Detroit’s defense has been Charmin-soft against tight ends. The last two weeks, the Seahawks’ tight ends caught nine passes for 131 yards and Atlanta’s tight ends caught 11 passes for 88 yards.
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