The Green Bay Packers completed a season sweep of the Detroit Lions after winning in Detroit, 31-24, on Thanksgiving Day.
As has been the case for Green Bay this season, Micah Parsons continued to play All-Pro level football in this game. Parsons finished the game with eight tackles, three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Playing in Dallas for the start of his career, dominating on Thanksgiving is nothing out of the ordinary for Parsons. In five Thanksgiving games, Parsons has recorded 8.5 sacks.
“I just think it is the whole factor,” said Parsons, on his history of success on Thanksgiving. “Just community life, family life, my family watching me, family in town, kids. Any time my son is in town, he expects a certain level of dominance out of me, or I am going to hear from him.”
Led by Parsons, Green Bay continued to ride its powerful defensive unit, stifling Detroit’s strong run game. Jahmyr Gibbs, who was coming off a 219-yard, two-touchdown performance the previous week against the New York Giants, was held to just 68 rushing yards on 20 carries in this game.
With Gibbs not having a strong game on the ground, the Lions used the arm of quarterback Jared Goff to move the ball in this game. Goff finished the game completing 20-of-26 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns.
With superstar wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown getting injured at the start of the game, Jameson Williams was the main benefactor of Goff’s day passing. The Alabama alum recorded seven receptions for 144 yards and one touchdown.
While the passing numbers for the Lions look good, the Packers defense was able to hold the Lions out of the end zone when it mattered most — on fourth down. Finding itself on fourth and short twice, Green Bay’s defense came up and stopped Detroit on both attempts.
On the flip side, when Green Bay was faced with fourth down plays, it converted all three attempts, giving the offense the extra chances that it needed to continue to score points.
Two of those three fourth-down conversions for Green Bay came by way of Dontayvion Wicks. After dealing with injuries and inconsistent play all season long, Wicks was finally put into a featured role. He finished the game with 94 receiving yards on six receptions and two touchdowns.
One of his touchdowns came on one of those aforementioned fourth downs, as up 3-0 on fourth-and-3 from the Detroit 22-yard line, coach Matt LaFleur elected to go for the first down. Jordan Love took the snap and threw a deep pass down the left side line. Wicks was able to control the catch and get both of his feet down to score the game’s first touchdown.
Wicks’ second fourth-down conversion came at the biggest moment of the game. Looking to close the game out, Green Bay — up 31-24 with 1:55 left and facing a fourth-and-3 from the Detroit 45-yard line — elected to attempt the first down rather than punt the ball back to Detroit. Love dropped back and threw a jump ball on a crossing route. Wicks jumped and made the catch, even with his shoe falling off, and thus iced the game for Green Bay.
“He made critical plays all game,” said LaFleur. “The touchdown on fourth down (and) obviously the fourth down conversion there at the end — I am just really proud of him and just his mental toughness to stay with it, because he is a (great) player. He is a tough guy to cover, and he came up big for us today.”
Along with Wicks, Love registered one of his best games of the season. Love completed 18-of-30 passes for 234 yards and four touchdowns.
Christian Watson added to the receiving game, as he recorded 80 yards and a touchdown on four receptions. Romeo Doubs caught Love’s other touchdown pass as he finished with 20 yards and a touchdown on four receptions.
Back from his leg injury, Josh Jacobs led the Packers run game in this one, as he totaled 83 yards on 17 carries. Coming off of his big day against the Vikings, Emanuel Wilson added another 14 rushing yards in this game.
With the win over the Lions, the Packers now sit at 8-3-1 with a great path at making the playoffs. The Packers also hold a 1.5 game lead over the Lions in not only the division but also the playoff picture.
“This was a huge win. This was the division champs last year,” said Parsons, on the magnitude of beating Detroit. “You know who (Detroit) has on their team; you know what they bring. It is a team that fights to the end. It is a battle. We are all banged up. That was a 12-round boxing match. This was a big win for where we want to go — win the division, playoffs. That was a playoff game.”
With the Chicago Bears beating the Philadelphia Eagles this week, the Packers sit a game behind in the division. That sets the stage for two very important matchups, as the Packers take on the Bears in two out of the next three weeks — including this coming week.
