Dan Campbell’s bold decisions paid off.
Detroit went for it on fourth down for the fifth time to set up Jake Bates’ 35-yard field goal as time ran out. Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes, and the Lions secured a playoff spot with a 34-31 win over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.
Campbell has been one of the most aggressive coaches in the NFL since taking over a struggling team in 2021, but he stepped up his game against the Packers, wanting to keep his short-handed defense off the field.
“That was how I wanted to play that team with where we are at,” Campbell said.
The Lions (12-1), the best team in the NFC, set a franchise record with their 11th straight win — including two against the Packers (9-4) — and stayed ahead of Minnesota (10-2) in the competitive NFC North.
“This will be one of those you’ll never forget,” Campbell said.
With 43 seconds left, Campbell kept his offense on the field on a fourth-and-1 at the Packers’ 21-yard line. David Montgomery ran for 7 yards, barely taking a handoff from Goff after the quarterback got his feet tangled and nearly fell.
“It’s a bad feeling,” Goff said.
The play allowed the Lions to attempt a field goal without giving the ball back to Green Bay, and Bates made his third game-winning kick of the season.
“I just felt like we needed to end it on offense,” Campbell said. “I did not want to give the ball back, and I believed we could convert. I trust the O-line. I trust David.”
Goff threw two touchdown passes on fourth-and-goal, one to Tim Patrick, who caught two TD passes. Goff also threw an interception in the third quarter, which led to one of Josh Jacobs’ three touchdown runs.
Goff found Jahymr Gibbs open in the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown pass on a fourth down with 11 seconds left in the first half to put Detroit ahead 17-7. Later, Goff connected with Patrick for a 1-yard touchdown to give the Lions the lead in the fourth quarter.
Green Bay took advantage of the only time Campbell’s risk didn’t pay off, stopping Gibbs on a fourth-down run late in the third quarter from the Detroit 31-yard line.
Jacobs scored his third touchdown on a 3-yard run during the next drive.
“The risk was there,” Campbell said.
Brandon McManus kicked a 32-yard field goal with 3:38 left to tie the game at 31-all, after four lead changes earlier in the second half.
“That’s exactly the kind of game we expected,” Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur said. “It was tough and it went back and forth. There were just a couple plays that didn’t go our way.”
The Lions’ final drive began with a 19-yard pass from Goff to Jameson Williams. He also connected with Amon-Ra St. Brown for 16 yards on the key possession. Goff finished 32 of 41 for 283 yards, and six Lions players had at least five receptions, making it the first time in NFL history that has happened, according to OptaSTATS.
“They have great playmakers and they just get them the ball,” LaFleur said. “Jared Goff is an excellent quarterback, and we gave him time to throw.”
Jordan Love was 12 of 20 for 206 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft early in the third quarter.
“They have a really good offense, but so do we,” Love said. “I don’t think there was any extra pressure on us. We just got off to a slow start.”
