Packers unleash ruthless precision on the Lions and spark a Week 13 moment fans won’t stop talking about.QQ
The Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions 31-24 on Thanksgiving, improving to 8-3-1 in the regular season and putting themselves in position to fight for the NFC North division title — something the Packers have not won since 2021. The biggest play of the game was the fourth quarter dagger to Dontayvion Wicks.
On fourth-and-3, head coach Matt LaFleur decided to go for it and ice the game. Jordan Love found Wicks, and the once-criticized young receiver made a tough catch to pull off the game-sealing conversion.
How the Packers made it happen
Kyle: This was the play of the day across all three games for me. It was good on good across the board — a gutsy call to aggressively go for the win, a perfect play-call versus Cover 1 man, a great throw, a great catch, and to be fair, great coverage. The Packers caught man coverage from Detroit on the deciding fourth-and-3 just inside the two-minute warning and aligned in a 1×3 nub formation with wide receivers Dontayvion Wicks, Christian Watson, and Romeo Doubs to Love’s right. Tight end Josh Whyle aligned to the left as the isolated eligible to the backside, and running back Chris Brooks joined Love in the backfield. The Lions showcased press man coverage across the board with their single-high safety, Thomas Harper, cheating to the right hash to defend the threat of vertical routes from all three receivers spread to the passing strength.
At the snap of the ball, the Packers ran a switch release with Doubs and Watson, opening the door for a potential rub to manufacture an easy completion. It didn’t come. Instead, Love faced fast pressure from his right, with both Alim McNeill and Aidan Hutchinson creating soft edges with power that forced Love to give extra ground from his throwing platform. McNeill, in particular, was overwhelming, quickly collapsing and turning rookie lineman Anthony Belton at right guard and bearing down on Love. A fast decision was needed. Thankfully, Love had one.
With the safety cheating to the right hash, Dontayvion Wicks, who aligned as the No. 3 in the slot, had a lot of grass to run to on his over/cross route without being capped when he won inside on Brian Branch. Detroit’s second free defender was not playing deep but instead executing a shallow spy to ensure Love didn’t break the pocket with his legs. With a win inside for Wicks against press man, no deep defender to the nub (tight end) side, Detroit’s backside defenders occupied by their own man coverage assignments, and that space to run to, Jordan Love was able to lay a throw out in front of Wicks, who had Branch securely in his pocket playing in phase.
Anything less than the perfect throw falls incomplete. Love, with McNeill’s hand in his chest and throwing off his back foot, indeed delivered the perfect throw. Ball game.
What the play means for the Packers
Wendell: This play is particularly important because it encapsulates so many narratives around the Packers. First, after some conservative games, head coach Matt LaFleur was aggressive the entire day — both on his play-call and decision-making. Second, despite some criticism, Love throwing from his backfoot and his ability to avoid sacks and generate extra time to throw is a real elite skill.
Third, how LaFleur has been effective to take advantage of what he has on the roster. Even without Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden, and Tucker Kraft, the offense was designed to maximize the available pieces, which allowed Dontayvion Wicks to have a big game. It wasn’t a coincidence that the running back on the field for that play was Chris Brooks — he’s been one of the best pass-blocking backs in the entire NFL, and with a pass-happier gameplan to face the Lions, Brooks outsnapped Emanuel Wilson as Josh Jacobs’ primary backup.
