DETROIT – Despite a banged-up roster and several starters sitting out, the Packers pulled off quite the holiday surprise, knocking off the NFC North-leading Lions on Thanksgiving at Ford Field, 29-22.

Here are five takeaways from the big road triumph:

1. The game couldn't have started any faster for the Packers.

In a change of pattern, Head Coach Matt LaFleur took the ball when winning the opening coin toss, and he had a deep shot from Jordan Love to Christian Watson dialed up for the very first play.

It was a call he had pondered quite a bit, apparently.

"As a matter of fact, I almost changed the first play call. I was mulling it over quite a bit," he said. "I texted Jordan this morning and told him I was going to change it to something else, and he said he wanted this call.

"So I told Christian right before the game, hey, there's a good chance this play is going to go to you. Just go up and attack the football, and he did exactly that."

The 53-yard gain was the first of several clutch contested catches by the receiving corps. It also put the Packers in scoring territory right away and sparked a huge first quarter for the team.

2. The lead got to two touchdowns quickly.

Love finished the offense's first drive with a pinpoint slant pass to Jayden Reed for a touchdown. The Lions responded with a TD of their own, but then Love took the offense right back down the field for another score, this one to rookie tight end Tucker Kraft for his first NFL touchdown.

A couple of snaps into Detroit's next drive, Packers linebacker Rashan Gary hit Lions QB Jared Goff as he threw the ball, and with some players pulling up, safety Jonathan Owens scooped up the ball and returned it 27 yards to the end zone.

Replay upheld the call on the field of fumble instead of an incomplete pass, and the Packers were suddenly up 20-6 less than 13 minutes into the game. It marked the first time the Packers had 20 points on the board in the first quarter in nine years.

The big play from the defense foreshadowed several more to come.

3. Fourth down was Green Bay's down on defense.

The Packers wound up with four defensive stops on fourth down as the Lions repeatedly stayed aggressive in trying to rally.

The biggest of those fourth-down stops came in the third quarter, when the Lions tried a fake punt from their own 23-yard line. Rookies Lukas Van Ness and Karl Brooks tackled the up man who took a direct snap, and three snaps later, the Packers were in the end zone again on a 16-yard TD pass to Watson for a 29-14 lead.

Obviously, the Packers were not surprised by the attempt at a fake punt.

"We just know how aggressive they are, and we were kind of alerting for that," LaFleur said, crediting special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia for preparing the unit and assistant QB coach Connor Lewis upstairs calling to defend the fake.

"That obviously was a very critical play in the game. It was the epitome of complementary football … a really important sequence in the game."

Among the three other fourth-down stops, all in Green Bay territory, Gary had another sack and forced fumble, giving him a three-sack day, his second such game this season.

Returning to the stadium in which he tore his ACL last November, Gary gave himself a much better memory this time around.

"RG had a big day," LaFleur said. "Last year was a very emotional experience. He experienced a different kind of emotion today."

4. The Packers closed a rather wide gap in two months, particularly in the trenches.

Back in Week 4, on a Thursday night at Lambeau Field, the Lions took it to the Packers and practically buried them by halftime with a 27-3 advantage that turned into a 14-point decision.

LaFleur stressed that was just one game, but the rematch showed just how far the Packers have come since late September.

"I think the game was won up front today on both sides of the ball," LaFleur said. "Anytime you drop back against Detroit and throw 30-plus passes and come away with zero sacks … and conversely, what we were doing up front on the other side of the ball, that was really the difference."

While getting contributions up and down the roster for a banged-up team that had several key players out on a short week, the Packers' front lines were the most intact units health-wise and they came through big-time.

The Lions had rushed for 200-plus yards in the first meeting, a number that was reduced to 140. On the other side, star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson wasn't heard from much.

"The O-line balled out," said Love, who put up a 125.5 passer rating (22-of-32, 268 yards, three TDs, no INTs, no sacks). "It's huge. It's a testament to how dedicated the O-line was."

5. The hope is this win truly changes the course of the season.

A month ago the Packers were 2-5 and really struggling. Now they've won three of four and were one play in Pittsburgh away from possibly a four-game winning streak.

Progress has been evident. It's now also been substantial.

"Just part of the process," Love said. "Just taking it week by week right now. We need to win every week is the mindset we have. This was a huge win that we needed."

The Lions still sit in first place in the NFC North at 8-3, but with the Packers at 5-6 and six games to go, there's suddenly a lot more to pay attention to around the conference.

"Hopefully we gave Packers fans a lot to cheer about today," LaFleur said. "That was a hard-fought win against a really, really good football team. I can't say enough about our guys in terms of their belief in one another.

"Guys were juiced up and ready to play. They're supported one another though all the ups and downs, and hopefully we're starting to catch our stride a little bit."