Lions Send Packers Packing: What to Expect for the Remaining Games

When the Green Bay Packers came to Ford Field, it was up to the Detroit Lions to prove why they were leading the division. The Lions proved why they were the best in the division by beating the Packers 34-31. The Lions record is now 12-1 and they have four games remaining.  The Lions should continue to dominate for the remainder of the season. If they play their best, they should finish as the best in the NFL.

The Last Stand

During their Thursday Night Football win over the Packers, the Lions were at their own 30-yard line with 3:38 left in the fourth quarter, when Jared Goff found Jameson Williams for a 19–yard pass. This took the Lions to their own 49-yard line.  Then Jared Goff dropped back and threw the ball to Tim Patrick for 11 yards. The time was 2:48 and now the Lions were in field goal range at the Packers 40. The Lions continued to milk the clock and gained ten yards in the process. It was first and 10 at the Packers 30. With 1:55 left in the game, the Lions were taken from the Packers 30 to their 40 due to a holding penalty. The play on first and 20 went nowhere, only getting three yards. The Lions were now on the Packers 37. On a second and 17 play, Jared Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown on a drag for 16 yards. On third and one with 1:27 left the Lions tried to run it with David Montgomery but it didn’t work. It was now fourth and one with 43 seconds left.  Any other coach would have taken the field goal and left Jordan Love with time but Dan Campbell went for it. On fourth and one, Jared Goff went to hand the ball off to David Montgomery and Goff tripped to his knees but was still able to get the ball to his running back. Montgomery ran seven yards up the field. It was a first down, Green Bay had no timeouts, and the Lions had a good kicker. Jake Bates made the field goal. The game was over 34-31.

Stats 

In this game, Jared Goff was 32 for 41 with 283 passing yards and three touchdowns. Jordan Love went 12 for 20 with 206 yards and one touchdown.  David Montgomery had 51 yards and one touchdown. Josh Jacobs had 66 yards and three touchdowns. Jameson Williams had 80 yards receiving. Christian Watson had 114 yards receiving. 

The Remainder of the Season

There are four games and four teams remaining that the Lions will have to face. Only one of them poses a threat. The Lions have dominated 12 out of the last 13 teams that they have played. I have no doubt that they will continue to dominate for the remaining games left in the season.

Buffalo Bills

Out of all four teams listed in the next four weeks, the Bills pose the biggest threat. Josh Allen is an MVP-level quarterback with one of the best offenses in football. The defense of Buffalo however does not present anything phenomenal.  The Lions are a run-heavy offense. Buffalo's defense currently allows 4.8 yards per carry. This is a terrible statistic for the Bills and suggests that the Lions could run the ball on the Bills all day.

Chicago Bears

The Bears have absolutely no shot to beat the Lions. They had a shot on Thanksgiving day but blew it because of terrible coaching and clock management. They fired their coach last week. They have had an interim coach step up. The Chicago Bears are a dumpster fire that will lose to the Lions.  

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers are terrible this year. They can’t even succeed in the worst division in football, the NFC West. They could not beat a mediocre Cardinals team when they needed to most. Brock Purdy is having the worst season of his career. Deebo Samuel has become insignificant to the offense.  There is simply not a shot that the 49ers beat the Lions.

Minnesota Vikings

The Lions have already beat the Vikings in Week 7 of the season 31-29. In that game, the Lions made lots of mistakes but were still able to come out on top. They will come out on top again in this next game. Jared Goff has been in positions where he needed to finish off a season to be in a good position in the playoffs. Sam Darnold has never had to get his team in a good position in the playoffs because they are usually already eliminated towards the end. The Lions will take this game because they know the Vikings’ weaknesses and they have the winning veteran quarterback.

The Lions took care of business against the Packers. I expect the Lions to continue to take care of business for the rest of their schedule. There is simply not a team as dominant as the Lions in 2024. That being said, the Lions could play terribly and lose any of these games. However, if the Lions play their best version of football they should end 16-1.