GREEN BAY – The Packers hung on for a 34-27 victory over the Lions on Sunday at Lambeau Field to improve to 2-1 on the young season heading into a bye week.
For the Packers, QB Aaron Rodgers finished 15-of-24 for 205 yards with four TDs. WR Jordy Nelson had six catches for 101 yards and two TDs, while RB Eddie Lacy had 17 carries for 103 yards.
For the Lions, QB Matt Stafford was 28-of-41 for 385 yards with three TDs and one INT. WR Marvin Jones had six catches for 205 yards and two TDs.
Here's a quarter-by-quarter recap of the action.
Fourth quarter:
The Lions began the fourth quarter with a 17-yard pass to Jones on third-and-8, but a holding penalty and a sack by Packers LB Nick Perry forced them to try a long FG. K Matt Prater was good from 50 yards out, cutting the Packers' lead to 34-20 with 12:32 to go.
Lacy ran three times for 20 yards on the next drive, but the Packers stalled there. P Jake Schum's punt pinned the Lions on their own 13.
Detroit couldn't do anything with it, though, as LBs Kyler Fackrell and Perry posted sacks to force the Lions to punt.
The Packers quickly went three-and-out, as rookie WR Trevor Davis dropped a first-down pass that would have moved the chains. Schum leaped to haul down LS Brett Goode's high snap on the punt and got the kick away.
The Lions got within one score moments later, as CB Damarious Randall fell down on a deep ball to Jones, who hauled in a 35-yard TD pass with 3:34 left. After Prater's extra point, the Packers led 34-27.
The Packers then faced third-and-8 after the Lions used two timeouts on running plays, and Rodgers scrambled for 11 yards to move the chains and keep the clock moving. After a 9-yard pass to WR Davante Adams, the Lions burned their final timeout with 2:18 left.
When Lacy plowed ahead to pick up the first down on second-and-1, the Packers ran out the clock.
Third quarter:
The Lions closed the gap a little in the third quarter as the Packers led 34-17 heading into the fourth on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
The Lions marched right down the field on the opening drive of the second half. QB Matt Stafford hit WR Marvin Jones for 23 yards to start it, and the drive eventually came down to fourth-and-goal from the 2. Rolling right, Stafford found WR Anquan Boldin for the TD, cutting the Packers' lead to 31-17 with 8:23 left in the period.
The Packers responded to make it a three-score game again. Four straight tosses to RB Eddie Lacy gained 30 yards, and QB Aaron Rodgers hit TE Justin Perillo for 13 more. A holding penalty knocked the Packers out of FG range briefly, but Rodgers scrambled 14 yards to set up a 46-yard FG from K Mason Crosby. The Packers led 34-17 with 3:14 left in the third.
The Lions had reached midfield and faced third-and-8 as the quarter expired.
Second quarter:
The Packers continued their offensive resurgence and onslaught in the second quarter, charging to a 31-10 halftime lead over the Lions on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
The Packers wasted no time adding to their advantage. On the first snap of the second quarter, QB Aaron Rodgers scrambled out of trouble and heaved it deep for rookie WR Trevor Davis. Lions CB Nevin Lawson was flagged for pass interference at the Detroit 2-yard line, making it a 66-yard penalty and first-and-goal. One play later, Rodgers found TE Richard Rodgers for the score, and the Packers took a 21-3 lead.
The Packers got the ball back quickly again. Two plays after QB Matt Stafford found WR Marvin Jones deep for a 38-yard gain over CB Damarious Randall, the Packers' corner stole the ball from TE Eric Ebron on a short pass over the middle and raced 44 yards the other way. The interception gave the Packers the ball on the Detroit 25.
Green Bay stalled for the first time all day, though, as Rodgers third-down pass to the end zone for WR Jordy Nelson was just out of reach, leading to a 36-yard FG by K Mason Crosby for a 24-3 lead with 10:41 left in the half.
Detroit got a good drive going but failed to cut into the lead. Stafford converted third downs with passes to WR Golden Tate and Ebron for 30 yards total, but Packers CB LaDarius Gunter broke up a throw to the end zone for Jones. Julius Peppers and Mike Daniels pressured Stafford on third down, leading to an errant throw, and then K Matt Prater missed wide right on a 43-yard FG try, keeping the score 24-3.
The Packers got it going again on a 25-yard run by RB Eddie Lacy, followed by a 9-yard pass to Nelson to move the chains. After a holding penalty on C JC Tretter, Rodgers found Nelson over the middle for 13 yards and then hit him over the top for a 17-yard TD. The score gave the Packers a 31-3 lead with 1:10 left in the half.
With four TD passes in the first half, Rodgers has accomplished the feat for the second time in his career. The other time was when he had six TDs in the first half vs. Chicago in 2014.
The Lions got their first TD just before intermission, as Jones beat backup CB Josh Hawkins down the far sideline for a 73-yard TD with 32 seconds left in the half. Hawkins was in for CB Damarious Randall, out with an unspecified injury.
The Packers did end the first half a bit banged up. In addition to Randall. TE Jared Cook (ankle), LB Blake Martinez (stitches for nose cut), and FB Aaron Ripkowski (back) have all left the game with injuries.
First quarter:
The Packers found an offensive rhythm early on Sunday, scoring a pair of first-quarter touchdowns to take a 14-3 lead over the Lions at Lambeau Field.
The Packers got on the board right away. On the opening drive of the game, a 15-yard slant pass to TE Jared Cook converted on third-and-5, and a scrambling QB Aaron Rodgers found WR Randall Cobb wide open for a 33-yard pickup into the red zone. Three plays later, on third-and-7, Rodgers hit WR Davante Adams as the hot read against the blitz for a 14-yard touchdown.
The Lions responded with a productive drive but only got a field goal. Detroit got started because LB Nick Perry was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for a throat slash gesture after a tackle for loss on the first play. Passes to WR Golden Tate and RB Theo Riddick converted third-and-shorts, and then QB Matt Stafford found TE Eric Ebron over the middle to convert on third-and-11 and get the Lions into the red zone.
The Packers' defense held there, though, as two tackles for loss on a run and screen – the fourth and fifth TFLs for the defense on the drive – preceded a near-sack by DT Mike Daniels and a throwaway, leading to a 42-yard FG with 2:45 left in the quarter.
The Packers came right back. They got the ball on their own 40 thanks to a heads-up play by WR Ty Montgomery on the kick return. With the ball bouncing near the sideline around the 2-yard line, Montgomery kept his feet out of bounds and reached out to touch the ball, making it a kickoff out of bounds.
Rodgers then found WR Jordy Nelson over the middle for 49 yards on the first snap, putting the ball on the Detroit 11. Three plays later, Rodgers found Nelson for an 8-yard TD, putting the Packers ahead 14-3 with 1:01 left in the quarter.
Green Bay's defense then got a quick three-and-out, as Stafford threw incomplete three straight plays. DB Micah Hyde nearly had an interception on first down on a pass over the middle for Ebron, with LB Joe Thomas right there as well.
