Detroit Holds Onto Valuable Win: 3 Takeaways From The Lions' Win Over The Packers

Ford Field (DETROIT) – During the pregame festivities, the big screen inside Ford Field showed a hype video of a pack of Lions tearing at a Packers jersey. The home crowd roared. By the time the game wrapped up, the Lions’ faithful were indeed happy — even if it wasn’t as dramatic as the video suggested it would be. Detroit hit a chip-shot field goal in the final second to top the Green Bay Packers 20-17 on Sunday. The game had a little bit of everything. Two quarterbacks playing at a high level, some controversial calls, and elite playmakers delivering in the clutch, as Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs did with 37 of his 116 rushing yards on their final drive of the game. Here are my takeaways: Yes, Brock Purdy and Josh Allen are on a tier of their own in the MVP race at the moment. Jared Goff deserves to at least be in the conversation. He’s been that good. Against Green Bay, he completed 22-of-32 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns to continue a stellar start to the season. Through seven games, he has 14 touchdowns to zero (!) interceptions. That's tied for the most touchdown passes thrown without an interception in a team's first six games of a season in NFL history, per FOX Sports Research, showing that Goff’s operating in a flow state in first-year coordinator Drew Petzing’s offense. Goff certainly benefits from having a superstar running back in Jahmyr Gibbs and one of the league’s top wide receiver tandems in Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, but he consistently puts Detroit’s top playmakers in a position to succeed, keeps the offense on schedule and delivers timely chunk plays. The Lions had the NFL’s worst pass defense through six weeks, and the expectation in Detroit is that the secondary play will get better with the return of Brian Branch. The 2024 Pro Bowl safety/nickel made his 2026 debut Sunday after missing the first six games of the season while on PUP, recovering from an Achilles injury suffered in December. It wasn’t perfect, but we saw signs of progress from the Lions’ back end against the Packers. Early in the fourth quarter, Branch picked off a deep pass from Jordan Love intended for Christian Watson in the middle of the field. The interception immediately followed an impressive pass breakup from backup cornerback Khalil Dorsey on a Love deep shot to Bo Melton. Detroit left much to be desired in pass defense, though. The Lions gave up several chunk plays on third and fourth down. Green Bay turned a fourth-and-5, fourth-and-2 and fourth-and-3 into completions of 22, 27 and 28 yards, respectively. On a third-and-long in the final minute of the first quarter, Jordan Love also hit a wide-open Tucker Kraft in the end zone. But Sunday was a step in the right direction. It was a sign that plays could be made by the secondary to help out an Aidan Hutchinson-led pass rush and one of the league’s best offenses. And remember, Week 7 marked Branch’s first game in 10 months. He was on a snap count. It could only get better for him and the Lions’ defense. With Josh Jacobs off the commissioner exempt list, the Packers’ hope is that their run game — which has been the NFL’s worst through six weeks — can finally get going. His season debut did nothing to support those dreams. The three-time Pro Bowl selection had 11 carries for just 36 yards, including eight rushing yards at halftime, as part of a Green Bay rushing attack that went nowhere once again with just 60 rushing yards. Through seven games, the Packers have yet to reach 100 net rushing yards. Of course, Jacobs wasn’t expected to light it up in his return. He couldn’t even practice during his stay on the commissioner's exempt list, so this past week marked his first team work since training camp. So this could just be a short-term thing as Jacobs gets his legs under him. A big-time positive was his 25-yard catch-and-run touchdown, where he broke a couple of tackles near the sideline to reach the end zone. But if Jacobs’ rushing performance wasn’t a blip, the Packers’ upside will continue to be limited. Between a lackluster running game and coach Matt LaFleur’s recurring game mismanagement issues, which showed up again Sunday (going for a touchdown on fourth-and-4 at the Lions’ 7 late in the second quarter and turning the ball over on downs when a chip-shot field goal would’ve tied the game), Green Bay can’t be seen as an elite offense. NFC North play continues next week for the Lions, who’ll host the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday. Minnesota remained undefeated with a 16-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 7, but it has three quality teams on its tail in the division. The Packers, meanwhile, will have a quick turn, returning home to Green Bay to host the Carolina Panthers (3-3) on Thursday Night Football.