The Green Bay Packers on Thursday got an unexpected extra chance to stop the Detroit Lions’ offense night, but could not do it.
With 43 seconds left in a 31-31 tie, the Lions faced fourth-and-inches from the Packers 21. They were in easy field-goal range for Jake Bates, but coach Dan Campbell decided he did not want to leave Green Bay any time on the clock, so he kept his offense on the field.
If the Packers had gotten a stop, they would have had a chance at a shocking victory.
Photo: Lon Horwedel / Imagn Images
“That maybe surprised me a little bit, but that’s how Dan has been throughout his career,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said.
David Montgomery sliced through the line for a 7-yard gain. Two plays later, Bates kicked a 35-yard field-goal as time expired to give the Lions a 34-31 win.
“They gave us an opportunity and we didn’t take it,” LaFleur said. “Hats off to them.”
Since a 2-2 start, the Packers have gone 7-2.
However, both of those losses were against the National Football Conference North rival Lions (12-1), likely putting a division title out of reach.
The Lions’ win assured them of a spot in the playoffs.
Green Bay’s earlier two defeats came against the other top teams in the NFC: the Philadelphia Eagles and division rivals the Minnesota Vikings.
This time, Jordan Love led Green Bay to 24 second-half points and two four-point leads: 21-17 and 28-24. The defense just could not get off the field.
The Lions had two possessions in the fourth quarter — a 70-yard touchdown drive to take a 31-28 lead and a 53-yard game-ending drive after the Packers had it. Jared Goff was 10-of-10 for 105 yards and a touchdown on those possessions.
“We gave him a ton of a time to throw at the end,” LaFleur said. “They ran a ton of screens today and it really hurt us.”
On the first fourth-quarter drive, Goff completed passes of 11 and 14 yards. On the final possession, he had completions of 19, 11 and 16 yards.
“I’m sure there are things we could do differently, but Jared is a great quarterback and they have great playmakers on offense,” LaFleur said. “He gets them the ball and they get their yard-after-catch machine rolling.”
Love did not blame his teammates.
“Obviously, we’d love to see the defense get the stop at the end and give us the ball back with a chance to win or get to overtime, but we put them in a 17-7 hole in the first half — we got off to such a slow start,” he said.
Love completed three of seven passes for 31 yards in the first half and also took a sack. He was great after the intermission — nine-of-13 for 175 yards and a touchdown — but he was not happy about his performance.
“I just didn’t make enough plays early on,” he said. “They’ve got a really good offense, and I think we are just as good, but that slow start hurt us.”
The Packers could get a third shot at the Lions in the post-season.
“That’s a long way away, but I do think we have a really good ball team,” LaFleur said.
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about ￡2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Less than a week after splashing out a world-record fee for Naomi Girma, Chelsea has spent big again to bring England midfielder Keira Walsh back to the English Women’s Super League. Walsh left European champions Barcelona after more than two years to join Chelsea for a reported ￡400,000 (US$496,000) on Friday. Walsh was the world’s most expensive player for two years after moving to Barcelona from Manchester City for a reported ￡400,000 in 2022. That status now belongs to Girma, the US defender who cost Chelsea a reported ￡900,000 to sign from the San Diego Wave. Still, it means 27-year-old Walsh — a technically
Ousmane Dembele on Wednesday scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain romped to a 4-1 win at VfB Stuttgart and qualified for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. PSG were at risk of elimination after a disappointing league stage, with three losses and a draw, but were utterly dominant against an outclassed Stuttgart side as they confirmed their place in the playoffs. With six minutes gone, Bradley Barcola headed PSG in front after Desire Doue stood a cross up at the back post following a corner. Stuttgart probed for an equalizer, but PSG hit on the counterattack, Dembele tapping a Barcola pass into an
RSS