Rastall Ramblings: Packers Reshape NFC North Race With Sweep of Lions

There is just something about Jordan Love and showing out on Thanksgiving.

For the third time in his three years as the Packers’ starting quarterback, Love was sublime in a Thanksgiving Day win — this latest one reshaping the state of the NFC North title race heading into the home stretch of the regular season.

All the way back in the opening week of the season, the Packers made an early statement with a comprehensive 27-13 win over the Detroit Lions, the two-time defending division champions, at Lambeau Field.

As the weeks wore on, however, Green Bay continued to look less and less like a Super Bowl contender, with the offense often looking disjointed, the offensive line not up to usual standards that the franchise has become used to and Matt LaFleur’s playcalling (and even job security) coming under heavy scrutiny from fans.

Wins over the Giants and Vikings got things back on track to a degree, but only so much angst can be soothed by beating the teams you’re supposed to beat. Going into Detroit on Thanksgiving against a Lions team desperate for a win and hungry to avenge that loss in Green Bay would be a much more telling test.

Love was his typical Toyotathon self, locking in after a shaky first drive to complete 18 of 30 passes for 234 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-24 win. This continued a trend of Thanksgiving success for Love. Including prior Turkey Day wins over Detroit in 2023 and Miami in 2024, Love has now completed 67.8% of his passes for 776 yards, nine touchdowns, no interceptions and a 127.8 passer rating in his Thanksgiving career.

What was more encouraging, however, was a lot of the stuff happening outside of Love. Christian Watson continues to look like he’s breaking out to be the Packers’ clear-cut No. 1 receiver, Dontayvion Wicks stepped up on a day where Green Bay was without Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden, and the team looks like it might have found something on the offensive line with Sean Rhyan at center, Anthony Belton at right guard and Aaron Banks looking a little better at left guard.

Defensively, Micah Parsons continues to be a menace who seems to always step up when it’s closing time, though a season-ending ankle injury suffered by defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt is a major blow at a position where the Packers don’t have much depth.

But more than anything last Thursday, the most promising aspect of the win may have been LaFleur’s aggression on fourth downs. In a game where the Packers and Lions were essentially even in many areas, the result was essentially decided on fourth-down success and the ability for the pass rush to get home.

The Lions failed on both of their fourth-down attempts, while the Packers converted on all three of their tries. That included the Packers scoring two touchdowns instead of settling for field goals and putting the dagger in Detroit thanks to Love connecting with Wicks for a dazzling first-down conversion that let them go into victory formation.

Given how much legit criticism has been directed at LaFleur for his occasional tendency to get too conservative, it was great to see him put his full faith in Love and the offense in key fourth-down situations and beat the ultra-aggressive Dan Campbell at his own game.

With that, the Lions’ hopes of a third straight division title are all but dashed, and they are left fighting for their playoff lives. The race for the NFC North is coming down to the Packers and the Bears for the first time since 2013 and with both teams set to square off twice over the next three weeks, the NFL’s oldest rivalry has the sort of stakes it hasn’t featured in quite some time.