Live Updates: Packers vs. Lions To Clinch Playoff Berth
GREEN BAY, Wis. –The Green Bay Packers are hosting the Detroit Lions on a cold Sunday night with a trip to the NFL playoffs at stake. Follow along all night for updates.
Final Score: Lions 20, Packers 16
The Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers 20-16. Here is our quick story, game ball and more.
Fourth Quarter
Packers 20, Lions 16 (3:27 remaining)
Kerby Joseph has struck again. On third-and-10, Aaron Rodgers went deep to Christian Watson but the rookie safety – who picked off Rodgers twice at Detroit – made the grab along the sideline. The Packers are in deep, deep trouble, and the fans in Lambeau Field are sitting in stunned silence.
Lions 20, Packers 16 (5:55 remaining)
Jamaal Williams scored from the 1 to give the Lions the lead and the Packers’ playoff hopes will hang on the next 6 minutes. Detroit drove 75 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. Jared Goff his Amon-Ra St. Brown for 3 yards on fourth-and-2. D’Andre Swift ran for 11, then caught a screen for 2 in which he was whacked in the head by Jarran Reed’s forearm. As medical personnel examined Swift, linebacker Quay Walker shoved a member of the Detroit staff for a penalty and second ejection of the year.
Packers 16, Lions 13 (7:24 remaining)
Quay Walker was just ejected for shoving a Lions coach or trainer as running back D’Andre Swift was being examined after being hit in the head by Jarran Reed. It’s the rookie’s second ejection of the season. He was ejected at Buffalo for shoving a member of the Bills' practice squad.
Third Quarter
Packers 16, Lions 13 (2:18 remaining)
On third-and-5, defensive coordinator Joe Barry sent both of his inside linebackers. Quay Walker got there and forced an incompletion.
Packers 16, Lions 13 (3:17 remaining)
The Packers needed something. Anything. They got it on a 45-yard deep shot from Aaron Rodgers to Christian Watson, who made a great catch at Detroit’s 14 despite pass interference by cornerback Amani Oruwariye. One play later, Rodgers faked the handoff to AJ Dillon and had his choice of Allen Lazard and Watson. He went to Lazard for a 13-yard touchdown against cornerback Jerry Jacobs. The Packers are about 18 minutes from the playoffs.
Lions 13, Packers 9 (8:05 remaining)
You play with fire long enough, you get burned. The Packers wasted too many opportunities to take control. Now, they’re trailing. On a beautiful play, Jared Goff went play-action, booted a bit to his left and threw it deep to the right to Kalif Raymond, who made the grab against Rudy Ford for a gain of 43 to within about a foot of the goal line. Jamaal Williams tied Barry Sanders’ franchise record with his 16th rushing touchdown on the next play.
Packers 9, Lions 6 (9:32 remaining)
The Packers are flirting with disaster. On third-and-7 from Detroit’s 35, Romeo Doubs was open on a post for what should have been a first down at the Lions’ 20. Instead, Aaron Rodgers’ pass was low and Doubs couldn’t make the play. Mason Crosby drilled the crossbar from 53 yards. Unlike last week, when his 56-yarder bounded over the metal pipe, this one bounced into the end zone. It will be Lions ball at the 43.
Packers 9, Lions 6 (13:13 remaining)
The Lions went three-and-out. On fourth-and-2, Green Bay kept its defense on the field to prevent a fake. Defensive tackle T.J. Slaton rumbled toward punter Jack Fox and knocked him over, but no flag was thrown for a penalty that would have given the Lions a first down.
Halftime
Packers 9, Lions 6
The Packers are 30 minutes from the playoffs but they’re going to need to play better than they did in the first half. The key numbers: Green Bay was 1-of-6 on third down, had one turnover and gave up two sacks to Aidan Hutchinson.
Christian Watson has 67 of Green Bay’s 138 yards.
It will be Lions ball to start the second half.
Second Quarter
Packers 9, Lions 6 (0:00 remaining)
Rasul Douglas just took an all-time bad penalty. With the Lions lining up for a 48-yard field goal, coach Matt LaFleur called timeout. Douglas walked between the teams’ lines and knocked the ball away from the snapper. One of Detroit’s blockers, offensive tackle Dan Skipper, got in Douglas’ face and Douglas smacked him. The 15-yard penalty made it a 33-yard field goal.
Packers 9, Lions 3 (1:16 remaining)
The Packers wasted an opportunity to take a two-score lead into halftime. A quick screen to running back Aaron Jones, who was lined up at receiver, turned into a fumble when hustling defensive lineman John Cominsky chased down Jones and knocked the ball loose. Robert Tonyan almost got to the ball but it was recovered by Will Harris just before rolling out of bounds. It’s Jones’ career-worst fifth fumble of the season.
Packers 9, Lions 3 (6:13 remaining)
Michael Badgley missed a 46-yard field goal wide right to keep it a six-point game. What an eventful drive. On third-and-1, the Lions dialed up a flea flicker, with Jared Goff completing a 66-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams. Darnell Savage had a chance for the interception but failed to make a play on the ball. As the Lions celebrated, defensive tackle Jarran Reed was signaling a penalty for offensive holding. He was right, an obvious call against extra lineman Matt Nelson. The Lions converted a third-and-11 (on a missed tackle by Savage) and a third-and-6 but the Packers got the stop, with Savage tripping up D’Andre Swift for minus-4.
Packers 9, Lions 3 (12:56 remaining)
The Packers extended their lead on Mason Crosby’s 49-yard field goal. As the ball floated through the crisp night air, Crosby extended both hands to the sky to celebrate. Green Bay started at its 45, though, so this wasn’t a great offensive triumph. Bad drops by Allen Lazard and AJ Dillon didn’t help. On third-and-5, Aidan Hutchinson beat right tackle Yosh Nijman with an inside move for his second sack.
End of First Quarter
Packers 6, Lions 3
Matt LaFleur won a big challenge. On third-and-3, Amon-Ra St. Brown made a diving catch. LaFleur challenged and won, as the ball got between St. Brown’s hands and hit the turf. Keisean Nixon’s 16-yard punt return gave the Packers the ball at their 45.
First Quarter
Packers 6, Lions 3 (1:54 remaining)
Mason Crosby booted a 49-yard field goal to put the Packers on top. The snap was low – like it was the first time – but Crosby kicked it, then exchanged high-fives with holder Pat O’Donnell with the ball in the air. Turns out, the ball barely made it over the crossbar. On third-and-5 from the 20, Aaron Rodgers was sacked by Aidan Hutchinson. The No. 2 overall pick was being blocked effectively by right tackle Yosh Nijman. Right guard Jon Runyan came over and gave Hutchinson a shove, which appeared to free up the rookie for the sack.
Packers 3, Lions 3 (7:00 remaining)
Green Bay’s defense got a big stop after it turned over the ball on downs on its end of the field. An 11-yard completion from Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown moved the ball to the 20, but D’Andre Swift gained 1 yards and Goff’s next two passes were incomplete – including a big third-and-9 breakup by Darnell Savage.
Packers 3, Lions 0 (8:32 remaining)
Matt LaFleur gambled and lost. Big time. On fourth down at his own 33 and needing about a foot, LaFleur ran an end-around to Allen Lazard, who was stopped cold by Alex Anzalone. It was a bad decision. Being aggressive is great but, even if the Packers got the first down, they were still about 35 yards from being in field-goal range.
Packers 3, Lions 0 (10:27 remaining)
Jared Goff threw a pair of errant passes as the Lions went three and out. The Packers started with three defensive linemen, one outside linebacker (Preston Smith), two inside linebackers and five defensive backs.
Packers 3, Lions 0 (11:21 remaining)
The Packers struck first, but only a 22-yard field goal by Mason Crosby after getting first-and-goal at the 5. An end-around to Christian Watson, a run by Aaron Jones and a bootleg toss to Watson moved the ball close to midfield. On the next play, Aaron Rodgers went deep to Allen Lazard, whose arm was held by cornerback Jerry Jacobs resulting in a 45-yard penalty for interference. The drive stalled, though. Of note, Jones jogged off the field a bit gingerly on first-and-goal from the 5. On third down, Rodgers got out of harm’s way but he and AJ Dillon weren’t on the same page on the pass.
Kickoff Weather
It’s colder than expected, with a kickoff temperature of 21 and a wind chill of 14. Temperatures are expected to hold steady.
The Lions won the toss and have deferred.
Latest from NFL Playoff Race
The Seattle Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams in overtime, so the Lions are eliminated. They have nothing to play for from that perspective but plenty to play for as they search for respect.
If the Packers beat the Lions, they will face a familiar foe in next week's wild-card round.
Last Lambeau Hurrah for Aaron Rodgers?
It’s possible this will be the final game at Lambeau Field for Aaron Rodgers. The 39-year-old quarterback this week said he’s going to “take some time after the season” before deciding his playing future.
Rodgers admitted the possibility that this will be his final game in front of the home fans will be on his mind.
“For sure,” he said, “just because you don’t know what the future holds, but when I think about that, it’s nothing but gratitude. Not remorse or sadness, just gratitude for the time that I’ve been here, the amazing memories that I’ve had on this field. Been a lot of great moments, but still undecided. We’re all undecided about the future and just going to enjoy Sunday night and hopefully have some more to play for.”
In 114 regular-season appearances at Lambeau, Rodgers has thrown 252 touchdown passes. He’d like to throw a few more before turning his attention to the playoffs.
“I’ve got a lot of great memories here at Lambeau and, hopefully, can add another one on Sunday,” he said.
Packers-Lions Inactives
As expected, Packers tight end Josiah Deguara is active. He didn’t practice on Thursday due to a calf injury but practiced on Friday and was listed as questionable. His availability is a big deal. As the team’s unofficial fullback, he’s played a key role on a lot of explosive runs by Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon.
“Josiah has been doing that since we got here as rookies,” Dillon said this week. “I remember seeing him do that in [training] camp [as rookies in 2020]. I think he was the first one in that rookie class to move up to the one team during training camp. He’s been doing that for a long time. It’s really cool to see him get credit along with Cedes [Marcedes Lewis], Allen (Lazard), the receivers on the edge.
“We have a great blocking unit. That’s something I know Jonesy is talking about a lot and everybody else. You gotta give credit. They spring a lot of runs on the outside for us. You saw it highlighted in that last game we just played against the Vikings. Josiah does a lot of good stuff for us in the run game. He really deserves all the credit. He opens up a lot of holes for us.”
Who’s inactive? Cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles, rookie offensive tackles Rasheed Walker and Caleb Jones, receiver Bo Melton and rookie defensive tackle Jonathan Ford.
Ford was inactive for all 17 regular-season games. The Packers will have only four players – Kenny Clark, Jarran Reed, TJ Slaton and Devonte Wyatt – up front to grapple with Detroit’s running game.
For Detroit, starting cornerback Jeff Okudah and backup defensive lineman Michael Brockers are inactive.
‘It’s Everything You Want’
There’s a lot at stake on Sunday night. And that’s just how running back AJ Dillon wants it.
“It’s just a normal game,” he said. “It’s been win-or-go-home the last few weeks. I think, if anything, it’s the best situation for us. If anything, playing at home for this situation, it’s exactly how we would want it. It’s exactly how I would want it. I’m looking forward to it. You know we’re going to get their best shot. We always do. We’re going to give them our best shot, too. NFC North teams, playing at Lambeau, under the lights in the playoffs, it’s everything you want in football. You want to compete. I’m excited.”
The Packers have won four in a row to put themselves in position. Cornerback Rasul Douglas thought it was too easy for the team at times last season, so the struggle this year has made the team stronger.
Coach Matt LaFleur didn’t disagree.
“I think any team that goes through some adversity usually comes out stringer. And I think the same can be said for Detroit,” LaFleur said of the Lions, who have won seven of nine following a 1-6 start. “So, certainly, we know we’re going to have to go out there and play our best ball. I feel like the preparation up to this point has been really good and we’ve got to make sure we continue to build upon that leading into the game.”
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