By Roy J. Akers — www.skyviewsports.net
Detroit, Mi. — The Lions and Packers met in the season opener at Lambeau, and the Pack won 27-13. The rematch finds both teams over .500, but both teams are trailing the Bears for the NFC Divisional lead. The Lions are outside the playoff hunt at (7-4) and the Packers on the edge of making the playoffs at (7-3-1).
The Lions are kicking off…
Lions One Up- Jameson Williams sighting
After Williams’ o-fer against the NY Giants, Williams catches three first-half passes. One of them was an 11-yard TD grab with under a minute to go in the first half. Amon-Ra St. Brown left the field being wadded up by a Lions player early in the game. Williams was over the 100-yard mark by the end of the third quarter. His dropped pass on fourth down inside the 12-minute mark was a nail in the coffin.
Lions Two Up
David Montgomery has been an afterthought in the Lions’ offense this season. The playcalling by Lions coach Dan Campbell was tilted toward Jahmyr Gibbs to start the game, but with Gibbs unable to get untracked, Monty was called on and he gained tough yardage between the tackles, including a first-half three-yard TD run. The Packers keyed on the Lions’ running game all game long. Then he disappeared from the offense. Detroit was far more effective the last two years when Ben Johnson alternated play calls between Gibbs and Montgomery.
Lions Three Up
With Amon-Ra St. Brown leaving the game early in the first quarter with an ankle injury, the rest of the receiving corps stepped up. Williams had seven receptions for 144 yards. It was Kennedy, TeSlaa that also made up some of the slack.
All Photos: Detroit Lions Jeff Nguyen via AP
NFL Team Leaders
Lions One Down- Green Bay stymies Lions
The Green Bay Packers entered the Thanksgiving game against Detroit as the fourth-ranked NFL defense. The offense does a good job of keeping the D off the field and then the Packers go to work. Detroit was held to an opening three-and-out and ran eight offensive first-quarter plays against this speedy defense. The Lions were held to ten yards agains the GB defense. For the half, The Pack outgained the Lions 198-140, with most of the Lions yardage occuring on the last two first-half drives. The Lions fed the ball on the opening drive in the second half to Gibbs and the Pack stuffed him.
The Lions are no slouch on defenses rated tenth and the NFC cellar-dwelling Vikings are 11th.
Lions Two Down- Amik Robertson is toast
The long TD throw from Jordan Love to Christian Watson occurred after the Lions failed to make a fourth down and three near midfield. Love liked the look downfield and saw Robertson in single coverage. Watson had an easy catch, and Robertson has not had the best 2025 season. Robertson defended two passes, but he is not a corner to count on against No. 1 receivers. Robertson, according to Pro Football Focus, is 85th out of 110 scored cornerbacks in the NFL this season.
Defensive Pics from the game
Lions Three Down- 4th Down Blues
The difference in the game. Green Bay scored two TD’s on fourth down, and Detroit was 0-2 in converting the same down. The Lions are no longer extraordinary at making this play work from anywhere on the field. I thought Dan Campbell would go for it again on fourth down inside the Packers’ 15 with just under 3 minutes to go, but thankfully, he let Jake Bates boot it through from 31 yards out.
Extra Point
Detroit controlled 31 minutes of the game clock. That were even in passing and rushing, but did you feel like the Lions were in the game? Love had four TD passes. Goff had two. The Packers found little more running room than Detroit had. Still, the ten point advantage they built early in the game held up. GB is 8-3-1 and Detroit is 7-5 and out of the playoffs but there are still five games to go in the 2025 season.
Roy J. Akers covers the NFL and the Detroit Lions for www.skyviewsports.net
