Lions retain control of NFC North with late victory over Packers

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions firmly positioned themselves to repeat as back-to-back champions of the NFC North with a gutsy 34-31 win over the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field on Thursday night.

The Lions have now won 11 consecutive games, which is the longest streak in franchise history, despite falling behind 28-24 in the fourth quarter and overcoming a plethora of defensive injuries.

The Lions haven’t lost to Green Bay since Nov. 23, 2023, which was 378 days ago, and their lone loss this season came against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 15.

Here are the most important things to know from Thursday night for both teams:

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Promising trend: Detroit’s “Sonic & Knuckles” duo of running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery continued to feast Thursday. Montgomery, aka “Knuckles,” helped the Lions score first with a 3-yard touchdown on the opening drive. Gibbs, nicknamed “Sonic,” gave the Lions a much-needed halftime boost with a 2-yard receiving touchdown from quarterback Jared Goff with 11 seconds left in the second quarter. Gibbs and Montgomery also made history Thursday, becoming the first Lions running back duo to both log at least 12 scrimmage touchdowns in a single season.

Troubling trend: Lions rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold has now been called for pass interference seven times this season, which is the most in the league. On Thursday, he was flagged in the end zone while covering Packers receiver Christian Watson with 5:49 in the second quarter, setting up a Josh Jacobs rushing touchdown on the next play.

Most surprising performance: Lions WR Tim Patrick. Patrick continued to find a role within Detroit’s high-powered offense with six catches for 43 yards against Green Bay. He caught his first receiving touchdown as a Lion off a 3-yard pass from Goff at 5:02 in the third quarter then caught his second touchdown off a 1-yard toss from Goff with 8:39 remaining in the fourth. They were Patrick’s first NFL touchdowns since 2021, when he played for the Denver Broncos. Patrick, who missed the 2022 and 2023 seasons with knee and Achilles injuries, was signed to Detroit’s practice squad in August before being signed to the active roster on Sept. 24 ahead of Week 4. — Eric Woodyard

Next game: vs. Buffalo Bills (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday, Dec. 15)

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It sure looks like the Packers are out of the NFC North race, but if Thursday’s loss to the Lions was any indication, they won’t concede anything quite yet.

The Packers (9-4) fell three games behind the Lions (12-1) with four games to play. The Vikings (10-2) are sandwiched in between the two.

The problem for the Packers is they got swept by the Lions, who won earlier this season in convincing fashion at Lambeau Field. This time, however, they took the Lions to the brink in what was a tie game when the Lions took over with 3:38 to play.

The Packers are now 1-3 in the division and still have to go to Minnesota in Week 17 before closing with the Bears — the only NFC North team they’ve beaten this season.

Pivotal play: In a game with so many twists and turns, ultimately it came down to whether the Packers’ defense could get one final stop to give them a chance for a last-minute drive or overtime. And it couldn’t. On second-and-17 from the Packers’ 37-yard line, the defense allowed Goff to hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for 16 yards on a crossing route. Even though Packers backup safety Zayne Anderson stopped Montgomery for no gain on third-and-1 at the 21-yard line, Montgomery converted on fourth-and-1 — even as Goff stumbled before he handed it off — to set up the game-winning field goal.

QB breakdown: Jordan Love had a grand total of 31 yards passing in the first half. That changed in a hurry after halftime. He nearly doubled that on his first throw of the second half — a 59-yard deep completion to wide receiver Christian Watson. That led to a 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tucker Kraft that cut the Lions’ lead to 17-14 less than two minutes in the second half. The deep ball to Watson went 42 yards in the air for Love’s fourth completion this season of 40 or more air yards. Only Washington’s Jayden Daniels (with five) has more such completions this season. Love finished the night 12-for-21 for 206 yards and a touchdown pass.

Most surprising performance: How often do an NFL head coach and a fan on the field get into a shouting match before the game? Packers Matt LaFleur did. The Packers coach lost his cool before the game even started. He was caught on camera jawing with a Lions fan who was part of the group holding the American flag during the national anthem. Speaking of LaFleur, he fell to 0-for-5 on replay challenges this season after he lost one in the second quarter. He threw the red flag to question the spot of the ball on a 4-yard gain by Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs on a third-and-4 play from his own 17-yard line. — Rob Demovsky

Next game: at Seattle Seahawks (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday, Dec. 15)