Detroit Lions can scream it loud: The NFC North runs through us!
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Wait a second! What are they doing?
It was fourth-and-3. The Detroit Lions had the ball on the Green Bay 12. Up 10 points. And they lined up to go for it. What in the world was Lions coach Dan Campbell doing?
Ah — I see — he was just trying to draw the Packers offsides. The Lions kicked the field goal and went up, 30-17.
Smart.
Then, a late penalty emerged — the kind that used to plague the Lions. But this is a new time, a new age. And the Packers were making the mistakes. Linebacker Quay Walker did a Lambeau Leap over the Lions long snapper, which happens to be against the rules.
So, the Lions went back on the field, took points off the board, ate up more clock and then Campbell risked it at the perfect time.
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David Montgomery plunged into the end zone on fourth down, effectively clinching the game.
What a wild turn of events.
Maybe after letting a huge lead slip away, after all the momentum flipped, the old Lions would have crumbled and lost this game.
But this is a new team.
They withstood the Packers' surge and held on for the win, 34-20.
So, let’s say it slowly: The. Detroit. Lions. Are. In. First. Place. In. The. NFC. North. They just went into Lambeau Field, on a short week, on national TV, and showed they are for real. They screamed loud and clear: This is our division now!
Have you paid any attention to the rest of the NFC North?
The 0-3 Chicago Bears are a complete mess — they have scored 47 while giving up 106.
And the Vikings have lost three straight, too.
It’s a two-team race for the division.
Check that. It’s Detroit and everybody else.
A perfect start
The first half was a thing of beauty for the Lions. They scored 27 points, the most they have scored in a half against the Packers. Ever.
The offense was clicking and the defense was dominating, and then the offense did some more clicking.
It was complementary football at its best. Everything was working. Everything was connected.
The Lions' rebuilt secondary clamped down on the Packers receivers, forcing Jordan Love to hold the ball, and then that Lions defensive line turned into sack machines. They had four sacks in the first half alone: Alim McNeill (1), Aidan Hutchinson (1½), Charles Harris (½) and Isaiah Buggs (1).
Was it the pressure or the secondary?
The chicken or the egg?
Ah, who cares, it was working.
At halftime, the Lions had a 27-3 lead.
It was complete domination.
And the Lions had put together six straight quarters without giving up a TD, since Seattle scored in OT.
This was old-fashioned football — pounding the ball at times — mixed with some razzle-dazzle.
Less than two minutes into the second quarter, the Lions had a 23-3 lead. It was the 13th straight game in which the Lions had scored 20 points or more, tying the franchise record set in 1995.
This wasn’t just winning a half. This was a complete domination.
Withstanding the Green Bay comeback
The most interesting part of the second half was this question: How would the Lions respond to a big lead?
Could they handle the success?
“I wanna see this team fight,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said at halftime of the Amazon Prime Video broadcast.
Just four days earlier, the Packers had rallied from a 17-point deficient in a victory over New Orleans at Lambeau — the biggest comeback in organization history.
On the Packers' first possession, the Lions started making dumb penalties.
Worse yet? Brian Branch, the dazzling rookie defensive back, went down with an ankle injury. He was helped up and walked off gingerly.
And the Packers did mount a comeback.
Yes, the Packers benefited from a ref screwup — huge surprise, right? Love hit Jayden Reed on a 44-yard pass at the end of the third quarter. And by "end," I mean, "after time had expired." The play shouldn’t have counted.
But the Lions, more than anybody, should know you have to overcome things like that.
Suddenly, the Packers had all the emotion and juice and energy.
But the Lions held on.
They did just enough in the second half — they found just enough plays — to clinch the win.
That’s all that mattered.
For your first-place Detroit Lions.
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Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions do everything right in taking control of NFC North
