The Green Bay Packers have terrible heartburn at the moment, but not because of Thanksgiving leftovers. Instead, the cause was their devastating loss to The Detroit Lions – once again. As the divisional rivals prepared to face each other, hopes for Jordan Love and Co. bagging a win were extremely high. And why wouldn’t it be?

The Lions had 13 from their defense on injured reserve ahead of the Thursday night matchup. Yet, it didn’t make a difference. Green Bay was handed a 31-34 loss after Jake Bates nailed a 35-yard field goal in the final moments. Safe to say, Matt LaFleur wasn’t happy.

One could say the Packers haven’t had a bad season so far. But there is definitely one thing that they didn’t manage yet: beat the Lions. Thursday night was the 191st meeting between the two teams, with Green Bay leading the all-time series 106-77-7. But the 2024 season has not seen the Packers win against Detroit yet. Something that made the front office of the Green and the Gold office “disgusted and embarrassed.”

The “embarrassment” stems from multiple factors. Firstly, the Lions have secured their playoff spot, while the Packers’ chance is still a big if. Furthermore, Detroit broke a franchise record with their 11th straight win. And Jordan Love failed to perform in the first half. As if that’s not all, the Packers lost to a defense that mostly had a practice squad.

The list goes on. But did Love’s team play their worst game? Absolutely not. They went up against one of the best teams and lost by a narrow margin. For both the teams, key starters were missing, making it an equally tough game. And the Lions made the best out of it. Or should we say Dan Campbell‘s fourth down calls did the trick?

The 4th down that took the game from the Packers

If Dan Campbell sees an opportunity for a fourth down, he is going for it. The most crucial one came right at the end. With 43 seconds left in the game, the score was tied at 31. What does the HC do? He decides to bypass a potential 38-yard field goal attempt and go for it on fourth-and-1. The gasps in Ford Field were as loud as one could imagine. But it worked out. The Lions converted with a run from David Montgomery and Bates helped clinch their playoff spot.

“I just felt like we needed to end it on offense,” Campbell said post-game. Almost everything was against the team on Thursday night. 13 defenders on IR, and to top that, D.J. Reader, Joshua Paschal, and Levi Onwuzurike were ruled out before the game. “I did not want to give that ball back,” Campbell added. And it was the right decision. If Love had gone for the ball instead, the results might have been different.

The Lions are now 12-1, sitting comfortably at the top of the NFC North. With their 11th straight win, the path to a Super Bowl win doesn’t seem like a distant dream. But their defensive players need to be back on the field in order to win games against strong opponents.

And who’s to say, they might even face the Packers again in the postseason if all goes well for Jordan Love’s team.