Jordan Love threw three touchdowns as the Green Bay Packers upset their division rival Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving at Ford Field on Thursday.
The Lions headed into the NFC North clash at 8-2, looking to keep pace with the Philadelphia Eagles in their pursuit of the NFC’s number one seed.
But the Packers, previously 4-6, dominated from the very start, opening the game with a five-play 75-yard drive that ended in a Love touchdown throw to Jayden Reed.
The Lions responded with a quick touchdown drive, but the Packers hit back themselves, Love finding Tucker Kraft in the endzone before Jonathan Owens ran back a Goff fumble to put Green Bay 20-6 up within the first quarter.
#PACKERS WIN!#GBvsDET | #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/U0BAcfepYZ
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 23, 2023
The teams headed into the locker rooms for half-time with the scoreline at 23-6, and with the Lions desperately needing a response, they got exactly that with a swift drive to kick off the second half that ended with David Montgomery running one to haul Detroit back into it.
The hosts failed to kick on with that momentum, though, as the Packers took advantage of a failed fake punt and some more lax defense to give Love his third touchdown pass of the day, this time picking out Christian Watson.
That seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Lions, who could not muster the same magic that saw them overturn a 12-point deficit late on against the Chicago Bears last week, though they did cause a few late nerves with a Josh Reynolds touchdown catch inside the two-minute warning.
The Packers held on, though, to move up to 5-6, still very much in the hunt for an NFC playoff spot, while the Lions could end Week 12 with just a game-and-a-half lead at the top of the NFC North, with the 6-5 Minnesota Vikings hosting the Bears on Monday.
