Jake Bates kicked a 22-yard field goal as the clock hit zero at Ford Field on Sunday, October 25, 2026, and the Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers 20-17 in a divisional game that neither team led by more than four points.
Detroit moved to 4-2, and to 3-0 at home, on its first two-game winning streak of the season. Green Bay, which had won three in a row, dropped to 4-3 and to last place in the NFC North — a standing produced less by the quality of the division's teams than by how tightly packed they are.
Three points, all afternoon
The scoring stayed symmetrical. Green Bay took the first quarter 7-7 even, Detroit added a field goal in the second, both scored a touchdown in the third, and both kicked in the fourth.
Jordan Love's 25-yard touchdown pass to Josh Jacobs put the Packers ahead 14-10 — the largest lead either side held. Jared Goff answered with a 10-yard touchdown to Jameson Williams, who caught two scoring passes for the second straight week.
Green Bay had the chance to go in front late. Trey Smack's 35-yard field goal attempt failed after D.J. Wonnum got a finger on the ball.
The final drive
Detroit's winning possession turned on two plays and one penalty. Gibbs broke a 15-yard run, Goff found Sam LaPorta for 18 yards, and a late hit by Green Bay's Karl Brooks — who was also flagged for being offside on the drive — moved the ball closer. Gibbs carried twice more to set the angle, and Bates kicked it from 22 yards.
The numbers
- Goff: 22 of 32, 303 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions
- Love: 27 of 45, 274 yards, two touchdowns, one interception
- Gibbs: 29 carries, 116 yards
- Amon-Ra St. Brown: nine catches, 153 yards
- Jameson Williams: five catches, 91 yards, two touchdowns
- Total yards: Detroit 415, Green Bay 324
- Penalties: Green Bay eight for 81 yards, Detroit five for 50
- Turnovers: Detroit lost two of three fumbles; Love threw one interception
The turnover column is the reason the margin stayed at three. Detroit had committed one turnover all season before Sunday and gave the ball away twice, each time after driving into position to stretch a three-point lead.
Jacobs made his season debut for Green Bay after being removed from the commissioner's exempt list, finishing with five catches for 55 yards and a touchdown and 11 carries for 36 yards.
Dan Campbell twice chose aggression and twice came up empty: a fourth-and-1 from Detroit's own 24, where Gibbs was stopped for no gain, and a fourth-and-5 from the Green Bay 6, where Goff's pass fell incomplete. Neither cost the game.
Green Bay also lost two centers to injury — starter Sean Rhyan with an ankle problem and backup Jacob Monk with a quad — which pushed John Williams into the first offensive appearance of his career as a snapper. Detroit cornerback Ennis Rakestraw hurt an ankle during the game.
The Packers host Carolina on Thursday night. The Lions host the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Reporting from ESPN and CBS Sports.
