Packer Central

Live Updates: Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions

The Green Bay Packers (13-3), the No. 1 seed in the NFC secured, are facing the Detroit Lions (2-13-1) on Sunday at Ford Field. Follow along all day for updates.

Bill Huber

DETROIT – The Green Bay Packers (13-3) will close the regular season on Sunday at Ford Field against the Detroit Lions (2-13-1). Follow along all day for updates.

Final Score

Lions 37, Packers 30

Here is our early game story.

Fourth Quarter

Lions 37, Packers 30

Jordan Love completed a pass for 15 yards to Equanimeous St. Brown to the 40 with 28 seconds to go. He was pressured into an interception on the next play to clinch the game.

Lions 37, Packers 30 (48 seconds remaining)

After Jordan Love’s pass was deflected by linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin and intercepted by C.J. Moore, Riley Patterson tacked on a 27-yard field goal to make it a seven-point game.

Lions 34, Packers 30 (1:54 remaining)

Detroit raced right down the field with a 13-yard reverse by Kalif Raymond, a 28-yard catch by Amon-Ra St. Brown in which he took a big shot by Henry Black and broke loose for 15 more yards, and a 15-yard pass to tight end Brock Wright to the 14 at the 2-minute warning. On the next play, D’Andre Swift flew inside of outside linebacker Tipa Galeai, raced past cornerback Isaac Yiadom and scored to make it 34-30 with 1:54 to go.

Packers 30, Lions 27 (4:49 remaining)

Jordan Love’s 62-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Deguara has put the Packers in front. It was a screen. Deguara juked one defender, got a pancake block from Lucas Patrick, broke a tackle at the 47 and raced the rest of the way. Amari Rodgers had a nice downfield block, too. Going for two and a three-point lead, Love faked the handoff to Patrick Taylor and strolled into the end zone on a keeper.

Lions 27, Packers 22 (6:39 remaining)

Riley Patterson’s 36-yard field goal made it a five-point game, meaning Jordan Love is going to need to drive the backup offense to a touchdown if the Packers are going to win. One key play was a third-and-7 in which Amon-Ra St. Brown broke wide open on a crossing route for a gain of 15 yards. Cornerback Chandon Sullivan was irate after the play. The scoring drive, coming mostly against Green Bay's No. 2 defense, took 7 1/2 minutes off the clock and puts the pressure on Love, who is 5-of-9 passing.

Lions 24, Packers 22 (14:12 remaining)

Patrick Taylor had a spectacular drive, which he capped with a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 24-22. Jordan Love was pressured into an incompletion on the two-point play. Taylor carried eight times for 40 yards on the drive and added a 3-yard reception on third-and-2.

Third Quarter

Lions 24, Packers 16 (7:38 remaining)

Mason Crosby made a 36-yard field goal. On third-and-11, Jordan Love fired a slant to Amari Rodgers, who was leveled by A.J. Parker for an incompletion. Tight end Josiah Deguara was just a few yards from Rodgers and got crushed, too, by Tracy Walker. A 26-yard completion to tight end Dominique Dafney got the drive going, and AJ Dillon added five carries for 24 yards.

Lions 24, Packers 13 (12:50 remaining)

After Juwann Winfree’s fumble gave the Lions the ball at Green Bay’s 36, Detroit struck quickly with another trick play. This time, it was a double-reverse flea-flicker, with Jared Goff finding tight end Brock Wright streaking down the field for a 36-yard touchdown.

Lions 17, Packers 13 (14:31 remaining)

Aaron Rodgers' season is complete. He has been replaced by Jordan Love. After the Week 1 debacle vs. the Saints, Rodgers threw 37 touchdowns and two interceptions.

Injury update: Marquez Valdes-Scantling (back) is out.

Second Quarter

Lions 17, Packers 13 (0:02 remaining)

Riley Patterson booted a 34-yard field goal just before halftime to cap a 10-play scoring drive. The big play came on fourth-and-1, with Jared Goff connecting with Josh Reynolds on a sprintout against Eric Stokes for 8 yards and a first down.

Assuming Aaron Rodgers' day is complete, he will finish with a seventh consecutive game with two-plus touchdown passes and zero interceptions, breaking a tie with Don Meredith for the second-longest streak in NFL history. Tom Brady had a nine-game streak in 2010.

Lions 14, Packers 13 (2:34 remaining)

Aaron Rodgers threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Allen Lazard. It was a superb throw by Rodgers, just over linebacker Derrick Barnes. Mason Crosby missed the extra point, though. Rodgers is 14-of-18 for 138 yards and two touchdowns, good for a 135.6 passer rating.

Of note, left tackle David Bakhtiari was replaced by Yosh Nijman after the third play of the series. After the commercial break, Bakhtiari walked over to Rodgers near midfield and embraced. There does not seem to be any concern, as viewed from the seventh-floor press box across the field. He played 27 snaps, a rather odd number if he was on a snap count; coach Matt LaFleur will fill us in after the game.

Lions 14, Packers 7 (7:00 remaining)

On fourth-and-goal from outside the 2, Jared Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for the touchdown. The Packers have had no answers for St. Brown, who had catches of 9, 17 and 21 yards before the touchdown. On the play, St. Brown motioned in from the right against Kevin King. At the snap, King and safety Adrian Amos jumped one receiver and left St. Brown open for an easy score.

Packers 7, Lions 7 (12:44 remaining)

Detroit’s defense made a big stand. On third-and-4, rookie corner Ifeatu Melifonwu broke up a deep pass to Davante Adams. On fourth-and-4, Aaron Rodgers’ only choice was a pass in the flat to tight end Josiah Deguara, who was tackled well short of the sticks by safety Tracy Walker. On the first play of the drive, Davante Adams broke Jordy Nelson’s single-season receiving record.

First Quarter

Packers 7, Lions 7 (1:29 remaining)

The Lions are clearing out their playbook. This one was a winner. Quarterback Jared Goff gave an inside handoff to standout receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who handed the ball to Tom Kennedy on a reverse. The running back on the play was receiver Kalif Raymond, who was wide open. Wide open being an understatement. He caught the ball at the 48 and could have hopped, skipped and jumped the final 52 yards for the tying touchdown.

Packers 7, Lions 0 (2:57 remaining)

Green bays offense failed to take advantage of excellent field position. On third-and-9, Jessie Lemonier broke free and sacked Aaron Rodgers. It appeared right guard Lucas Patrick was late to switch assignments.

Packers 7, Lions 0 (4:29 remaining)

Special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton said his team would be ready for fakes. And they were. Following Dean Lowry’s sack on third-and-5, Lions punter Jack Fox – who was 2-of-2 passing this year – fired a pass on fourth-and-13 to Godwin Igwebuike. Outside linebacker Tipa Galeai was ready and had excellent coverage. The pass was perfect but Igwebuike failed to make the play. The Packers will take over at Detroit’s 35.

Packers 7, Lions 0 (7:42 remaining)

The Packers’ fourth third-down conversion of the opening drive resulted in a touchdown. Aaron Rodgers extended the play a bit to his right and hit Allen Lazard for the score. Rodgers surpassed 4,000 passing yards on the first play of the game, a 28-yard catch and run by Lazard. He converted a third-and-5 and a third-and-10 with completions to Davante Adams and a third-and-3 with a pass to Lazard. Adams needs 6 yards to break Jordy Nelson’s single-season franchise record for receiving yards. The new offensive line, which implemented David Bakhtiari and Josh Myers into the lineup, provided superior pass protection.

Bakhtiari, Myers Appear Set to Start

In his season debut, David Bakhtiari will start at left tackle. In his return to the lineup, Josh Myers will start at center.

That’s how the Packers lined up for warmups. It makes sense. With those players coming off long absences – a year for Bakhtiari and almost three months for Myers – it makes sense to get them through warm-ups and then into the lineup rather than through warm-ups and to the bench.

The Packers lined up with Bakhtiari at left tackle, Jon Runyan at left guard, Myers at center, Lucas Patrick replacing Royce Newman at right guard and Dennis Kelly at right tackle.

Meanwhile, with De'Vondre Campbell inactive, it appears it will be Oren Burks and Krys Barnes at inside linebacker.

Packers-Lions Inactives

Aaron Jones and De'Vondre Campbell are out for the Packers.

Scrimmage Stars

Taken on their own, Packers running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon have not had spectacular seasons. Combined, though, they’ve been excellent.

Jones enters Sunday ranked 10th with 1,190 yards from scrimmage and Dillon 19th with 1,049 yards from scrimmage. Combined, that’s 2,239 yards. Among tandems, that trails only the 2,643 yards by Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor (2,076) and Nyheim Hines (567), the 17-game total of 2,350 yards by Denver’s Javonte Williams (1,219) and Melvin Gordon (1,131) and the 17-game total of 2,345 yards by Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliott (1,289) and Tony Pollard (1,056).

If will be up to Dillon to add to that total with Jones inactive.

This marks the first time in almost five decades in which the Packers had two backs with at least 1,049 yards from scrimmage. In 1971, John Brockington (1,203) and Donny Anderson (1,058) combined for 2,261 yards in a 14-game season. In 1972, Brockington (1,270) and MacArthur Lane (1,106) combined for 2,376 yards in a 14-game season.

The Packers’ record for most scrimmage yards by a two-back tandem is safe. Ahman Green (2,250) and Najeh Davenport (458) piled up 2,708 yards in 2003.

Rodgers, Adams Will Start vs. Lions

From the moment the Packers walked off the field after dispatching the Vikings last week, LaFleur and stars Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams said it would be important to play against the Lions.

The chance to break Jordy Nelson’s single-season franchise receiving record – Adams needs only 22 yards to accomplish it – is just one small factor for Adams.

“The biggest part for me is just not being out two weeks before going into a heated playoff matchup, Adams said on Wednesday. “I just don't like having that type of time off going into a game like that. Obviously, we're going to have a great team coming in to play us at Lambeau.”

The gamble from LaFleur’s perspective is weighing the desire to keep his players sharp vs. the fear of injury.

“Obviously, there's risk, but there’s risk going across the street, so at this point, you can't run from it,” Adams said. “If you’re scared, go to church and just do what you’ve got to do. We’re not thinking too much about it. Just want to keep the wheels turning and get ready for playoffs.”

Not all starters will play. Running back Aaron Jones and linebacker De'Vondre Campbell are inactive due to injuries.

The Return of Bakhtiari

Barring a pregame setback or change in plans, five-time All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari appears poised to make his season debut on Sunday. It’s been a long, frustrating comeback since the ACL tear sustained at practice on Dec. 31, 2020. The injury kept him out of last year’s playoffs – would the Packers have advanced to the Super Bowl with Bakhtiari on the field vs. Tampa Bay? – and his return for this season has been derailed twice.

It was noteworthy that he was full participation on Friday – a first in his on-again, off-again comeback.

“I thought he looked really good, but we’ll see how he comes in tomorrow and see how he’s feeling before we totally commit to that, whether or not he’s playing,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Friday.

Presumably, Bakhtiari will make his first start since Dec. 28, 2020, vs. Tennessee, shake off some of the rust and gain additional confidence in the knee, and then give way to Yosh Nijman, who has capably kept Bakhtiari’s seat warm the past five weeks.

What Channel for Packers vs. Lions?

TV: Fox (Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen and Pam Oliver).

Stream: You can stream the game on FuboTV. Get a 7-day Free Trial.

Coverage Map: Check out the map at 506Sports.com to see if the game will be broadcast in your neighborhood.

Radio: Packers Radio Network (Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren).

Satellite: Sirius: 119 (GB), 135 (Det.). XM: 384 (GB), 229 (Det.). SXM App: 811 (GB), 810 (Det.).

Packers at Lions Betting Information

The Packers are 3-point favorites with a 44.5-point total at SI Sportsbook. Green Bay is a 3.5-point favorite in the first half and a 2.5-point underdog in the second half.

Packers-Lions History Lessons

Including a 35-17 victory in Week 2 in which Aaron Jones scored four touchdowns, the Packers lead the series 103-72-7. It’s their most wins against any franchise, one more than they own vs. Chicago. They’ve also won both playoff matchups.

Green Bay is 5-0 vs. Detroit under coach Matt LaFleur, including wins at Ford Field in 2019 and 2020. In the 2019 finale, the Packers needed a win to earn a first-round bye. The Lions, behind backup quarterback David Blough, led 14-0 late in the first half. The Packers tied the score on Allen Lazard’s 28-yard touchdown catch with 5:19 remaining and won the game on Mason Crosby’s 33-yard field goal on the final play. In 2020, the Lions struck first and forged a 14-14 tie at halftime before the Packers pulled away a bit for a 31-24 win.

The Lions are 2-1 in their last three home games, with a two-point loss to Chicago, a two-point win over Minnesota and a 30-12 drubbing of Arizona.

“Despite what I would say the public opinion is, it’s not a meaningless game” LaFleur said. “I told you guys exactly what we told our players. We want to keep the momentum going. You have to approach it like you do every other game, because if you don’t go out and play your best, you’re going to get your butt whooped. We saw it a couple of weeks ago (when) Detroit destroyed Arizona.”

LaFleur Looking for Historic 40th Win

Last week, LaFleur became the first coach to win 39 games in his first three seasons and the first to lead his team to three consecutive 13-win seasons. This week, LaFleur is looking to tie Chicago Bears legend Mike Ditka for most wins in a three-season span by any coach in NFL history. There will be a bit of an asterisk on the accomplishment, of course. Not only would LaFleur be benefiting from a 17th game this season, but Ditka only coached in 15 games in 1987 due to the strike.

Pregame Reading

Published
Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.

Home/Game Day