DETROIT \u2013 The Packers went into Ford Field and ruined the Lions’ Thanksgiving with a 31-24 victory Thursday.<\/p>\n
Here are five takeaways from the big triumph:<\/p>\n
Twice early on, Green Bay faced fourth downs in scoring territory and refused to settle for field goals.<\/p>\n
First, on fourth-and-3 from the 22, QB Jordan Love<\/a> went for broke on a boundary shot to the end zone for Dontayvion Wicks<\/a>, who made a great play to get both feet down for the score.<\/p>\n “That’s the kind of look we saw earlier on a different play we ran, and we felt like we could take advantage if we run a different route,” Love said. “It’s fourth down and you’ve got to make a play anywhere. To be able to make one in the end zone and come away with seven there is huge.”<\/p>\n It gave the Packers a 10-0 lead, but they weren’t done on fourth down. Not by a longshot.<\/p>\n After a Lions TD, Green Bay’s next drive came down to fourth-and-1 from the 2 \u2013 after Detroit was called for 12 men on the field on third down to move the Packers closer \u2013 and Love fired outside toward the pylon where Romeo Doubs<\/a> snagged it for a 17-7 margin.<\/p>\n “The only way you come into this place, which is not an easy place to play, is you’ve got to be aggressive,” Head Coach Matt LaFleur said.<\/p>\n The Lions scored late in the first half to get within 17-14 and then had the ball to start the third quarter, getting across midfield.<\/p>\n But on fourth-and-3 from the Green Bay 47, the defense led by Micah Parsons<\/a> and Isaiah McDuffie<\/a> swarmed a run by Jahmyr Gibbs. Two plays later, Love fired deep to Christian Watson<\/a> for a 51-yard touchdown to restore Green Bay’s 10-point lead.<\/p>\n Love said that was a shot play discussed at halftime, and when the Lions stuck with their man coverage on the outside, the Packers kept attacking it.<\/p>\n “That’s everything we’ve been hoping for and trying to get,” Love said of the offense capitalizing on a big defensive stop. “Great job by Christian, great job by the O-line. That’s the complementary ball we have to keep trying to stack and keep trying to build upon.”<\/p>\n Then in the fourth quarter, another fourth-down stop required a little luck. After safety Evan Williams<\/a> shot into the backfield to stop Gibbs for no gain on third-and-3 from the Green Bay 21, QB Jared Goff rolled right on fourth down and hit Jameson Williams in the hands, only to have him drop it.<\/p>\n Detroit could’ve made it a one-score game there with a field goal, but the fourth-down failure kept the Packers up by 10.<\/p>\n The Lions put together a long drive that stalled in goal-to-go thanks to a Parsons sack on third down, giving him 2\u00bd sacks in the game. Detroit kicked the field goal this time to get within seven points.<\/p>\n “Certainly you felt Micah Parsons today,” LaFleur said. “He had a helluva performance.”<\/p>\n Added Love: “He’s a problem out there. Definitely fun to watch.”<\/p>\n That gave the Packers 2:59 to kill on offense, and they picked up one first down on a third-down pass to Watson. Three plays later, with the Lions out of timeouts, it was third-and-3 from the Detroit 45.<\/p>\n LaFleur had decided during the two-minute warning he was keeping the game in his offense’s hands.<\/p>\n “I told Jordan, hey, we’ve got two downs here,” he said. “Gotta get one of the two. Our guys just made a play.”<\/p>\n It came on the second one, after a third-down toss to Watson was dropped. On fourth-abnd-3, the Packers initially tried to draw the Lions offside and called timeout.<\/p>\n On the re-rack, Love found Wicks over the middle, once again versus man coverage, and he leaped for a 16-yard reception to ice the game.<\/p>\n “Was there ever a doubt?” LaFleur quipped, though he certainly acknowledged the risk of giving the Lions the ball back near midfield in a seven-point game.<\/p>\n “It is what it is. I’d rather go down swinging, similar to how we did in Arizona. Sometimes it can bite you, absolutely, and you just have to deal with the consequences.”<\/p>\n Love threw four TD passes and posted a 124.2 rating, joining Brett Favre as the only Packers QBs to throw four TDs in a Thanksgiving game.<\/p>\n Meanwhile Parsons now has 8\u00bd sacks in five career Thanksgiving games.<\/p>\n\n
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