Jake Bates kicked a 22-yard field goal as time expired to give Detroit a 20-17 win over Green Bay, after Dan Campbell's failed fourth-down gamble and two missed Packers kicks.
Jake Bates kicked a 22-yard field goal as time expired to give the Detroit Lions a 20-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Ford Field, closing a finish that swung on a failed gamble, a blocked kick and two missed field goals.
Detroit coach Dan Campbell went for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 24 with just under five minutes to play, and Jahmyr Gibbs was stopped for no gain. Green Bay took over in prime position but gained nothing from it: one play after Jordan Love put a pass on Josh Jacobs' hands for an incompletion in the end zone, rookie Trey Smack missed a 35-yard field goal after D.J. Wonnum got a finger on the ball. Smack had already missed from 26 yards in the first half, becoming the first kicker since 2019 to miss two field goals from 35 yards or closer in the same game, according to Sportradar.
Given the ball back, Jared Goff drove Detroit 71 yards in 10 plays, helped by a late hit on the quarterback and an offside penalty on Green Bay. Gibbs, who rushed for 116 yards on 29 carries, twice went down short of the goal line rather than score, because Green Bay did not want to tackle him, and Bates kicked the winner on the final play. 'That was as good as it gets at clock management,' Goff said. Campbell defended the gamble, saying he believed Detroit would convert and knew the Lions would get the ball back if they did not.
Goff completed 22 of 32 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns, both to Jameson Williams, while Amon-Ra St. Brown caught nine passes for 153 yards. Love threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns for Green Bay, and Packers coach Matt LaFleur said his team had premier field position and did not take advantage. Two late roughing-the-passer penalties on Green Bay also drew criticism from broadcasters and former players, including Fox analyst Tom Brady.
The win moved Detroit to 4-2, winners of two straight for the first time this season, in third place in the NFC North behind Minnesota at 6-0 and Chicago at 5-2, while Green Bay fell to 4-3 and last place in the division after a three-game winning streak ended. Detroit's next test is the one the standings demand: the undefeated Vikings visit on Sunday.