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DETROIT – Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love and Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff combined for 395 passing yards in the first half but it’s only a 10-7 Lions lead at halftime at Ford Field.
In a seismic play, the Lions were in the red zone with a chance to take a 17-7 lead at the break when star running back Jahmyr Gibbs fumbled. Officially, Isaiah McDuffie forced the fumble; in reality, it was Lions lineman Cade Mays. Brenton Cox recovered for a pivotal turnover, considering the Lions will get the ball to start the second half.
It is all Love for Green Bay. He’s 16-of-26 for 191 yards. Josh Jacobs has five carries for 8 yards as the running game contributed 25 yards on 11 attempts.
Here are some first-half studs and duds.
The Packers got a first-and-goal at the 6 on the opening series. The Lions, with arguably the worst defense in the NFL, were one of only three teams without a goal-to-go stop. So much for that, Josh Jacobs gained 3 yards on first down and was stuffed on second down. On third-and-goal from the 3, backup center Jacob Monk missed his block and nobody blocked Levi Onwuzurike, who chased Jordan Love out of the pocket and forced an errant throw to set up what should have been a chip-shot field goal.
After the opening drive stalled, Trey Smack made a 21-yard field goal, but the kick was nullified by a delay-of-game penalty – inexcusable but meaningless, right?
After the penalty, Trey Smack was wide right from 26 yards.
Detroit took advantage of the missed field goal to race 80 yards for the opening touchdown. Jared Goff was 3-of-3 for 68 yards, including two completions for 40 yards to Jameson Williams. First, Williams was wide open on a crossing route against Green Bay’s zone defense for a gain of 24 to the 16. On the next play, Williams motioned to the wing on the right, sprinted across the formation, caught a pass at the 17 and raced past the defense. He left Javon Bullard in the dust and beat Xavier McKinney to the pylon to make it 7-0.
The Packers answered with a critical drive to tie the game at 7. On fourth-and-2, Jordan Love hit Tucker Kraft just beyond the first-down marker. He broke a tackle and gained 17 yards after the catch for a gain of 22. Then, on third-and-9 from the 14, Kraft broke free as Jordan Love escaped the pocket. Right when it looked like Love was going to scramble for a potential first down, he fired a pass into the end zone for his second touchdown of the season.
With a tenuous pocket and without starting center Sean Rhyan (ankle) and backup Jacob Monk (quad), Jordan Love was 10-of-14 passing for 122 yards and one touchdown in the first quarter. That included a 27-yard completion to Savion Williams on fourth down and the aforementioned passes to Kraft on fourth and third down.
On the first play of the second quarter, with the Lions approaching the red zone, Dani Dennis-Sutton beat all-world offensive tackle Penei Sewell. He missed the tackle on running back Jahmyr Gibbs but Karl Brooks was there to clean up the mess for a pivotal loss of 5 yards.
One penalty and one completion later, the Lions had a third-and-5 from the 20. A receiver screen to Jahmyr Gibbs was blown up by cornerback Brandon Cisse for a loss of 2. That held Detroit to a field goal and a 10-7 lead.
On the first play of the ensuing possession, Jordan Love tried a play-action fake to Savion Williams. With the penchant for giving the ball to Williams on those sorts of plays, it was a decent idea. However, Aidan Hutchinson ducked under left tackle Jordan Morgan. By the time Love was done with the fake, he was being tossed to the turf for a loss of 10.
A good pass defense is the combination of pressure and coverage. So far, the Packers have had neither. Jared Goff is lighting up Green Bay’s secondary because he’s mostly had time to eat lunch and answer some texts. Good things come when there is pressure, though, including Anthony Campbell being credited for a sack and strip to essentially kill a drive early in the second quarter.
The Lions’ defense entered the game ranked 31st in the league in the red zone, with opponents scoring touchdowns on about 81 percent of their opportunities. Green Bay’s offense was a woeful 23rd with a 50.0 percent touchdown rate. So far, the Lions have won by limiting Green Bay to one touchdown in three tries. On third-and-4 from the 7 late in the first half, Jordan Love had nowhere to go and was almost intercepted. On fourth-and-4, Love completed a pass into the flat to Matthew Golden, who didn’t have a prayer.
All the misdirection stuff doesn’t work for Savion Williams. What does work is using him as a receiver. He had two catches for 47 yards in the first half – a 27-yarder on a fourth-and-5 in the first quarter and a 20-yarder on third-and-9 in the second quarter.
Here are a few excellent notes from Stats Perform’s Opta data and other sources
The Packers have beaten the Lions 106 times. The only teams with more victories over an opponent are the Packers’ 109 wins over the Bears and the Giants’ 107 wins over the Commanders.
How close has the series been of late? It’s 207-207 over the last eight games. Jordan Love has a 110-plus passer rating in four of the last five meetings, including a 123.4 mark in his three starts at Ford Field.
The NFC North entered Week 7 with a combined record of 16-6. That’s the best mark in the league. Because everyone is good, the Packers could end the day in second place or last place.
The Packers entered the game having not allowed a play of 25-plus yards for its last 204 snaps. That’s the longest streak for any team this season and Green Bay’s longest streak in the last 30 years.
Matthew Golden is one of the NFL’s breakout stars. He entered the day averaging 83.5 receiving yards per game. That’s 57.7 more yards compared to last year. That’s the largest year-over-year improvement by an NFL player since the Browns’ Josh Gordon was plus-67.3 from 2012 to 2013.
The Packers have intercepted multiple passes in three consecutive games. That’s tied for their longest stretch since a four-game run in 2014. They have seven interceptions the last three games, as many as they had all of last season.
The Lions are 3-2 despite allowing 20 touchdowns. They are the first team in NFL history to allow 20-plus touchdowns in the first five games but have a winning record.
How should the Packers operate on offense now that running back Josh Jacobs is officially back? My 2 cents. ⬇️https://t.co/MzdtgPoXk4
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 25, 2026
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