I don't think this game could've gone any better. The Packers limped onto Ford Field missing many key players but they still pulled off the major upset against the Lions on Thanksgiving. For years I've despised the Lions playing every Thanksgiving and always laughed when they lost. This year I was nervous given their success vs ours so far, but in the end, the Packers got the last laugh.

Minus a few tough incompletions here and there, Jordan Love played absolutely lights out in this one leading this offense to victory. The Packers offense came out fighting right out of the gate for the second straight game and they didn't let up scoring 14 points on their first two drives mainly through the air. Christian Watson also had his best game of the season with five catches for 94 yards and a touchdown which helped pave the way. 

This may have been the best game of the season for the defense as they stopped the Lions on downs several times and got points on the scoreboard as well after a fumble return. 

This could possibly be called the Packers' first complete game of the season as a team. Special Teams pinning the Lions deep on punts, the defense getting stop after stop, and the offense turning those stops into points, you can't ask for much more than that. Well maybe less points for the Lions in the second half, but we won't be too greedy, it's a day to be thankful for what we have after all. 

Let's get to the recap:

First Quarter:

The Packers won the coin toss and elected to receive to start out the game on offense. Starting out from their own 25-yard line after the touchback on the opening kick, Jordan Love let it rip immediately with a 53-yard pass to Christian Watson to the Lions’ 22-yard line. The ball was a little underthrown, but Watson was able to come up with it for the big play. After an AJ Dillon run led to a first down, on 2nd and goal, Jordan Love found Jayden Reed in the middle of the field for a 10-yard touchdown catch. An outstanding start for the Packers offense as they got out to a 7-0 lead on the first drive of the game with 12:16 remaining in the opening quarter. 

Detroit came out for their first drive of the game at their own 27-yard line. After two runs went only for three yards, on third down Jared Goff found Jameson Williams for a 13-yard gain and the Lions’ first first down. After almost a good start for the Packers’ defense, a pass-interference call on Quay Walker got the Lions to the Packers’ 38-yard line and then a big pass to Sam LaPorta took the Lions to first and goal at the Packers’ 7-yard line. Two plays later Jared Goff found Sam LaPorta in the end-zone for the Lions’ touchdown. LaPorta was just a mismatch for Corey Ballentine in the red zone and walked right in front of him for the catch. The extra-point attempt from McQuaide however, would be no good sailing wide-right. This would put the score at 7-6 Packers with 8:30 to play in the first.  

The Packers started their second drive of the game from their own 25 after the touchback. A nice 16-yard pass to Malik Heath got the Packers moving to around mid-field and facing third down Love found Christian Watson for the second time in this game for a 9-yard first down catch into Lions territory. A check-down to AJ Dillon picked up another first down quickly and an end-around to Jayden Reed led to back-to-back first downs as he took the carry 15 yards to the Detroit 18-yard line. The Packers cooking again on their second drive as another short catch from Christian Watson and a run to AJ Dillon led to 3rd and short where Jordan Love hit Tucker Kraft on an easy pitch and catch right into the end-zone for Kraft’s first career touchdown. After the extra point, the Packers would go up 14-6 with 3:08 remaining in the opening quarter. With the offense cooking, this is where I want to see some complimentary football from the defense in forcing a Detroit punt.  

The Lions would take over from their 25 to start their second drive of the game after the touchback on the kickoff. A Jared Goff scramble would net positive for Detroit but they’d move backward after an offsides call. On 2nd and 12 after the offsides call, Jared Goff would be hit by Rashan Gary while trying to pass, the ball would be recovered by Jonathan Owens who took it 27 yards for the touchdown. It would be ruled a touchdown on the field and would fall under review, the play would stand after the review, touchdown Packers. A huge touchdown, however, we can’t have nice things yet again as Anders Carlson missed the extra point putting this one at 20-6 with 2:12 remaining in the first quarter. 

The Lions' third drive would start from their own 16-yard line after Benny Sapp would make a huge tackle on the kick return. The Lions would then face third down after two minimal plays where Jared Goff fumbled the ball on a scramble when tackled by Karl Brooks, the ball was recovered by Brooks and another huge play for the Packers' defense gave the ball right back to the Packers offense at the Detroit 23-yard line. 

The Packers offense would take over at the Lions’ 23 with 1:20 remaining in the first quarter. A short Jayden Reed carry, a 2-yard scramble by Love, and a 6-yard pass to Tucker Kraft would lead to fourth and short where the first quarter would expire. 

Second Quarter:

Starting the second quarter with fourth and short from the Detroit 14-yard line, the Packers would attempt an AJ Dillon run for the first but Dillon would run right into Jordan Love and be stopped in the backfield. The Lions would take over at their own 14.  

After a big fourth down stand on defense, the Lions took over and got out to a nice start on the ground with David Montgomery picking up 20 yards on four carries. A few short passes later the Lions were at mid-field, but Jared Goff would miss Sam LaPorta on a third down conversion pass setting up a punt on fourth down.  

After the punt, the Packers offense would take over at their own 15-yard line with 10:38 remaining in the half. The first play of the drive on a check-down pass AJ Dillon would hurdle a defender to take the pass 22 yards to the 36-yard line. That hurdle reminded me of William Henderson back in the early 2000’s hurdling defenders after a catch. After an encroachment penalty moved the Packers forward and a catch by Romeo Doubs the Packers were at midfield. Another catch by Doubs took the Packers to the Detroit 29-yard line but that is around where the drive would stall as the Packers would settle for a 43-yard Field Goal taking the score to 23-6 Packers with 5:56 remaining in the half. 

Detroit would take over at their own 27 where two plays in Rashan Gary would sack Jared Goff for his second sack of the game and on third down there would be an incomplete pass but the Packers would be called illegal contact on Isaiah McDuffie giving the Lions a first down. No idea what they were calling there as there didn’t seem to be too big of contact by McDuffie but the Lions’ drive continues. On 3rd and 2 Goff would find Kalif Raymond for a 20-yard gain to the Packers’ 40-yard line to continue the drive. An intentional grounding call pushed the Lions backward and they then faced 4th and 4 after being unable to get the first down. On that fourth down attempt Jared Goff would get hit by Preston Smith forcing the incompletion and the Packers would take over on downs at their own 35-yard line with 1:58 remaining in the half. 

The Packers would take over running a two-minute offense and get off to a tough start as a Jayden Reed WR screen would be stopped in the backfield for a loss of a yard. This would be overcome on the next play however when AJ Dillon would rumble for 17 yards to the Detroit 49-yard line. Unfortunately, this was all they’d get as the Lions' defense would force a punt after the Packers would try to draw the defense offsides on fourth down.  

The Lions would begin their final drive of the half from their own 16-yard line with 35 seconds left on the clock of the first half. Two incompletions would force the Lions' offense to third down where Sam LaPorta would get the first down on a catch, however, the Lions would be called for an illegal shift pushing them back to 3rd and 15. On that third down play, the Lions would run an embarrassing flea flicker that just sailed out of bounds before the Lions would punt the ball on 4th down. 

The Packers would attempt a quick pass to Jayden Reed and call a quick time out with one second left before attempting a 63-yard field goal which would be missed just short and returned by Detroit before eventually being tackled taking us to halftime with the Packers up 23-6. 

Third Quarter:

The Lions would receive the second-half kickoff and start the half at their own 28-yard line. The Lions would start off their drive with a big 23-yard run immediately into Packers territory at the GB 49. The next play Goff would then hit St. Brown for a 28-yard gain to the Packers 21-yard line. Three plays later Montgomery would take off on a 21-yard touchdown run but the Lions would be called for holding negating the touchdown. Unfortunately, that would only delay the inevitable as two plays later Montgomery would take it in for 6. The Lions would go for a two-point conversion and convert it putting the score at 23-14 Packers with 11:46 remaining in the third quarter.  

After the touchdown the Packers would start their first drive of the second half at their own 25-yard line. After two AJ Dillon runs the Packers would be faced with 3rd and 2 where Jordan Love would hit Jayden Reed for the first down on a 14-yard gain to the Packers’ 47. A false start call on Jon Runyan would push the Packers backward but it would be nearly overcome with a big Malik Heath catch where Jordan Love had all the time in the world in the pocket, but a drop by Romeo Doubs on third down would force the Packers to a punt. An excellent play by the special teams corp keeping the ball out of the endzone on the punt would pin the Lions deep at their own 3-yard line to begin the next drive with 7:37 remaining in the 3rd quarter.  

Detroit’s second drive of the half started with two plays getting them out of the shadow of their own endzone with a run and a contested catch by St. Brown on Carrington Valentine. This would be the only highlight of the drive though as on third down Goff would sail an incomplete pass over the head of St. Brown. The Lions would attempt a fake punt run with a direct snap to the fullback but would be stopped short with the Packers taking over on downs at the Lions' 23-yard line with 5:27 remaining in the third quarter. A big stop for the Packers' defense on a questionable call by the Lions.  

With excellent starting field position, the Packers' offense started a little rough with a holding call on Elgton Jenkins pushing them back on a Jordan Love run. But this was overcome quickly with a Romeo Doubs 14-yard catch on second down and then on 3rd down Jordan Love hit Christian Watson for a 16-yard touchdown. The Packers went for two and seemed to call a Philly special with Romeo Doubs becoming the Quarterback but this was spoiled by Detroit and the conversion failed. The Packers would still go up 29-14 with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter. 

The Lions would start at their own 25 after the score and hit Kalif Raymond immediately on a 15-yard gain to the 40-yard line. The Lions would then take off on the move and a first down run by Gibbs to the Green Bay 34-yard line would wind down the quarter.  

Fourth Quarter:

With 1st and 10 from the Packers’ 34-yard line, the Lions would only move forward three yards before attempting a fourth-down conversion where Rashan Gary would sack Jared Goff for his third sack of the game. Goff would fumble on the play with Gary recovering but it would still result in the Packers taking over at their own 39-yard line with 13:32 remaining in the game. Huge stop for the Packers' defense and hopefully the offense can capitalize to put this game out of reach. 

The Packers would start off the drive with a big 1st down conversion by Jordan Love to Malik Heath on a 13-yard gain to the Detroit 48. Unfortunately, this would be about as far as it would go as the Packers would be forced to punt from the Detroit 43. A purposeful delay of game penalty would push the punt back 5 yards, but Detroit would call a fair catch on the kick and take over at their own 9-yard line with 11:52 remaining on the clock. 

Starting the drive deep in their own territory, the Lions got a first down two plays in to retreat from their own endzone. Two plays later Goff hit Jameson Williams for a 38-yard gain to the Packers' 39-yard line. Goff hit Raymond again two plays later with a deep 24-yard pass to the Packers 15-yard line. The Lions would then go three plays and turn over the ball on fourth down with another incomplete pass as the Packers would take over on downs their own 12-yard line with 6:46 remaining in the game. 

Deep in their own territory, the Packers offense needed to get a couple of first downs and run the clock some on this one. That’s exactly what they did as two AJ Dillon runs set up 3rd and 1 where Jordan Love kept the ball himself for a 37-yard run down to the Detroit 42-yard line. Outside of running the clock, this was about all the Packers would get as they’d have to punt it away again and pin the Lions again at their own 9-yard line with 2:46 remaining in the game. 

Down 15 with just over 2 ½ minutes remaining in the game, the Lions would take over and get a few gifted short passes to their own 40-yard line before the 2-minute warning would hit. The defense was willing to give all the short passes possible to run the clock. After the two-minute warning, the Lions took 55 seconds to get 11 yards only to be called for holding and pushed right back to the 42-yard line negating that minute. However, they would get it back with a 23-yard pass to St. Brown, and then another 23-yard pass to Raymond would take the Lions to the Packers’ 12-yard line with 0:46 remaining on the clock. Goff then hit Reynolds for a 12-yard touchdown pass and went for the two-point conversion that they converted taking the score to 29-22 Packers with 0:41 seconds on the clock. The following kickoff would be an onside attempt that would be unsuccessful with the Packers recovering and Jordan Love would kneel the ball to end the game. 

The Packers would defeat the Lions 29-22 to move to 5-6 on the season. 

Offensive Player of the Game:

The offensive player of the game in this one is undoubtedly Jordan Love. 22 for 32, 268 yards, and 3 touchdowns led the way for this Packers offense. He also had three carries for 39 yards including a 37-yard scamper that helped the offense run a little more clock and pin the Lions deep for their final drive. Honorable mention going to Christian Watson for his big game as well, nearly hitting 100 yards receiving and a touchdown. 

Defensive Player of the Game:

Rashan Gary is an absolute animal. Gary returned to the spot his season ended last year with an ACL injury to be a brutal force in getting his revenge at Ford Field. There's no doubt he gets these honors with his three-sack game including two forced fumbles one of which went for six points for the Packers. I'm glad we paid that man as he is going to be a monster for this team further down the road. 

What Went Right:

Honestly, nearly everything went right in this one. As I said before this was the most complete game we've seen from the Packers this season maybe outside the season opener. Complimentary football all around from Special Teams to Defense to Offense. The Packers didn't turn over the ball at all, with no major offensive or defensive flaws, this was a statement game for the Packers as they rose to the occasion. 

What Went Wrong:

The two-point conversion the Packers ran I feel was Matt LaFleur trying to show off. The ball changed hands what, three times turning Romeo Doubs into a Quarterback? It seemed to be an attempt at a Philly Special to get the ball to Jordan Love in the endzone but it was just executed poorly as the Lions easily blew it up.

Anders Carlson with another extra point miss. He's a young kicker, I get it, but we're getting into crunch time on the season where extra points matter. Hopefully, Carlson will get better at these attempts after today and they won't be an issue moving forward. 

Looking Forward:

After their Thanksgiving match-up, the Packers will have a much-needed abbreviated Bye week. We won't see the Green & Gold until Sunday Night Football on December 3rd against the Kansas City Chiefs. That's right, the Swifties will be invading Green Bay in hopes of seeing their queen in a Lambeau Field luxury box. And hey, outside of window searching, there will be a football game as well! The Chiefs will be coming off their Sunday afternoon match-up in Las Vegas with a rejuvenated Raiders team. Considering the injury woes that have piled up as of late for the Packers, an abbreviated Bye could be just what the doctor ordered before taking on the defending Super Bowl Champions.  Despite their standing, the Chiefs haven't been all that big of a powerhouse this season. Their defense has been the main key to their success as their offense hasn't seemed to be as explosive as in years past. What does that mean for the Packers? Well, the Chiefs are pretty much in the middle of the pack for red-zone scoring percentage on offense and have had some issues while the Packers' defense ranks 7th in the league in red-zone scoring. Even though the Packers' defense has given us some headaches this season, I have to admit, they've been pretty good at forcing field goals when the opposition gets on the other side of the 50-yard line. The Chiefs' offense also ranks dead last in second-half scoring while the Packers' offense ranks first. It's going to be a tall task regardless against a great Chiefs team, but if the defense can hold them to majority field goals in the first half and the offense can piece together at least a few scoring drives, there is a chance this game could go a little better than the blowout most will be expecting. Got to keep the hopes up. Until then, Go Pack Go.