The Detroit Lions once again found a way to win.
Despite all the injuries limiting the availability of key players, the Lions relied on their depth and carved out a way to win through aggressiveness and big plays in key moments. Detroit converted four-of-five fourth downs, including a fourth-and-1 with under two minutes to go, to secure a 34-31 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Here are grades for each position group based on performance in Thursday's game.
Quarterback: B+
Jared Goff made some big throws over the course of Thursday's game, including the biggest to Amon-Ra St. Brown for 17 yards on the final drive to set up the team's game-clinching first down. After a questionable holding call on Frank Ragnow on first down, Goff threw a second-down dart to get near the sticks.
The veteran had three touchdown passes, including a pair of red zone fourth-down conversions. He did have a bad interception when he threw in Tim Patrick's direction without seeing Keisean Nixon, but he bounced back to lead the team down the field.
Mistake aside, Goff was a solid 32-for-41 for 283 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He made all the big throws he needed to make, and was pristine on the team's final drive to lead them to the win.
Running backs: B
Detroit's run game had some pops early, but the Packers allocated plenty to making sure that Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery had a tough time getting free. Montgomery seemed to be in a rhythm early in the game, scoring on the team's first drive of the game.
However, Montgomery and Gibbs notched just 3.6 and 2.9 yards per carry, respectively. Gibbs had a 20-yard run, and contributed six catches for 30 yards, but was held to a season-low in yards per attempt.
The second-year back did catch a touchdown before the half, and surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career with a 20-yard run in the third quarter. Montgomery, meanwhile, had the game-winning fourth-down conversion to set up Bates' field goal as time expired.
Wide receivers: B+
With the Packers clearly hoping to slow Amon-Ra St. Brown down, the Lions got solid performances from Jameson Williams and Tim Patrick. St. Brown was quiet for most of the night, but had a massive 17-yard catch to help the Lions overcome a holding penalty on their game-winning drive.
Williams led the team with 80 receiving yards on five catches, including an impressive display of concentration on a toe-tap grab near the sideline on the last series. He also set up the first touchdown with a 28-yard catch to put the Lions at the Green Bay 10-yard line.
The breakout star of Thursday's game, however, was wide receiver Tim Patrick. It has been a whirlwind last two seasons for Patrick, who missed the entire 2022 and 2023 campaigns with injuries. On Thursday, he caught his first two touchdowns since the 2021 season.
Patrick has been a reliable member of the Lions' receiving corps throughout the year, and made several big plays in a six-catch, 43-yard performance.
Tight ends: A-
Sam LaPorta had a solid showing, including a nice leaping grab over the middle of the field. He finished with five catches for 54 yards. While he had a drop, he made up for it with his performance as a run blocker on Montgomery's touchdown run.
Shane Zylstra also had a key block as well on Montgomery's scoring run. Brock Wright had one target and did not record a catch, but was utilized throughout the game as a run blocker in his typical role.
Offensive line: B
The Packers' defense did a good job combating the Lions' offensive line on run plays, as Detroit struggled to get going at points on the ground. However, the group allowed just one sack despite not having Taylor Decker.
Dan Skipper started once again in place of Decker and had his best performance of the season, allowing just one pressure. He also helped push a drive forward by drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Packers linebacker Quay Walker.
Elsewhere, Penei Sewell had a nice lead block on a clever end-around for St. Brown amongst a series of key blocks throughout the night. Frank Ragnow was whistled for a questionable holding penalty and missed a block that led to a third-down run being stopped. Skipper and Graham Glasgow were also called for holding throughout the night.
Defensive line: B+
Despite the numerous injuries to Detroit's defensive front coming into the game, there was no holding back from a pass rush perspective. Za'Darius Smith sacked Jordan Love on the first play of the game, and the unit as a whole was getting after the quarterback early.
Veteran Pat O'Connor had a solid showing working on the interior, as the Lions lost Alim McNeill four plays into the game with a head injury causing a need for others to step up. McNeill would return in the first half, but was ruled out after halftime.
Newcomer Myles Adams recorded three tackles, including two solos. Green Bay was able to get some life on the ground in the first half, and Josh Jacobs scored two touchdowns, but Detroit held the Packers under 100 yards as a team on the ground.
Linebackers: B+
Like the defensive line, the Lions had to rely on a number of options at the linebacker position. Jack Campbell was a mainstay, but the defense rotated a number of other options in along with him. Ezekiel Turner had a pressure to force an incompletion, then added a crucial open-field tackle to force a field goal when Love tried to scramble.
Jamal Adams and Kwon Alexander both made their Lions debuts. Adams started the game and played a total of eight snaps in blitz packages, while Alexander played 17 snaps. David Long, another recent addition, recovered a fumble.
Secondary: B-
If not for some big plays conceded by coverage busts, the Lions would've had an all-around solid performance on Thursday. Brian Branch was whistled for pass interference, and Carlton Davis and Kerby Joseph were beat for big gains, but allowed just 206 passing yards to a potent Green Bay passing attack.
Terrion Arnold was whistled for pass interference in the end zone, but had a big third-down stop on Christian Watson. Davis did give up a big play, but also had a phenomenal punch out on Watson to force a fumble.
Special teams: A
With the Lions attempting five fourth-down conversions, Jack Fox just punted twice with an average of 46 yards per attempt. Jake Bates made both of his field goal attempts, including the game-winning 35-yard boot, to improve to 21-for-22 on the year.
Coaching: B+
The Lions made it clear that they weren't going to let opportunities pass them by. Dan Campbell's alter-ego, 'Dan Gamble,' was on full display as the Lions attempted five fourth-down conversions. Each of their red zone fourth-down attempts resulted in touchdowns.
One fourth-down attempt backfired, as the Lions elected to go for it on their own 30-yard line and were stuffed for a loss. That directly led to a Packers touchdown, as they went the ensuing 30 yards in four plays.
Campbell wears the blame for that, and while the play-call was not ideal for the situation, his confidence is hard to fault with the Lions' offensive line being what it is and the team's ability to succeed in those moments previously.
I agreed with Campbell's decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 late in the game, as a conversion ensured that the Packers would not get the ball back. With the Lions needing only a yard, trusting the offensive line showed the Lions were playing to win the game rather than playing not to lose.
Ultimately, the coaching staff deserves props for the shuffling it has had to do in the midst of all the injuries, and they coached the game as if it were a playoff game. In the Lions' biggest game to date, they made enough plays to secure a pivotal win on their journey to acquiring their desired goal, which is the top seed in the NFC for the postseason.
