Detroit Lions felled by Green Bay Packers 29-22 on Thanksgiving Day: Game highlights

Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Lions trailed from start to finish for a 29-22 Thanksgiving day loss to the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field to extend the losing streak on Turkey Day to seven games.

This was the 22nd Turkey Day matchup all-time between the two venerable franchises, the most in NFL history. Detroit won the last matchup in 2013 but the Packers got revenge with their own convincing win a decade later to close the gap in the all-time series on the holiday.

The Lions are now 1-1 with the season with the Packers and 2-1 against NFC North teams. It was the first loss since the Week 7 blowout against the Baltimore Ravens. Detroit won the first matchup 34-20 in Week 4.

Here's how it happened with video highlights:

LETDOWN:Lions' Thanksgiving loss to Packers the most disappointing of Dan Campbell era

Lions vs. Packers game recap and highlights

Final: Detroit falls 29-22 for 7th straight Thanksgiving loss

The Lions were dominated from the start and never led. They fell behind 14-6 after allowing touchdowns on each of Green Bay’s first two drives. The Lions stayed in the rearview after that because of struggles from Jared Goff, who fumbled the ball twice in the first quarter. The Packers returned the first fumble to go up 20-6, and the lead eventually grew to 23-6 at halftime.

The lead was insurmountable for Detroit despite giving up only six more points. The Lions offense remained out of sync all afternoon and could not come up with third and fourth down conversions to get the touchdowns necessary for the comeback. The Lions gained 464 yards but were 7-for-15 on third down and 1-for-6 on fourth down, including 0-for-5 until the final drive, on top of the turnovers.

Goff was 29-of-44 for 332 yards, two touchdowns and three fumbles lost. He was under constant pressure all afternoon and was sacked three times and hit 11 times to compound some of his struggles. The running game was solid and produced 125 yards combined from David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs and one touchdown (from Montgomery) on 26 carries.

The defense delivered another underwhelming performance, giving up 29 points and 377 yards. Jordan Love was 22-for-32 for 268 yards and three touchdowns and was sacked zero times. He had plenty of time to find the holes in the secondary in the first half before the Lions came up with some third down stops late.

DAVE BIRKETT:Lions butchered by Packers 29-22 for 7th straight Thanksgiving Day loss

0:41, fourth quarter: Lions score last-second TD, trim lead to 29-22

The Lions are hoping for one of the most improbable comebacks in NFL history. Detroit drove 91 yards in 12 plays to cut Green Bay's lead to a touchdown, but had to use up nearly the rest of the clock to do so. Jared Goff had one of his best drives of the game and finished it with a 12-yard touchdown over the middle to Josh Reynolds.

6:46, fourth quarter: Lions fail on fourth down inside Green Bay red zone

That turnover on downs might be the end of Detroit's comeback hopes. The Lions moved quickly down the field on a 38-yard completion to Jameson Williams and a 24-yard completion to Kalif Raymond two plays later. Detroit had first down from the Green Bay 15-yard line, but only gained three yards and failed on fourth down. Goff had to throw a tough pass to a blanketed Sam LaPorta in the corner of the end zone while under pressure and it fell incomplete. The Lions are now 0-5 on fourth down attempts in the game.

13:32, fourth quarter: Jared Goff sacked on fourth down for turnover on downs

Detroit could not cut into the Packers lead on the next drive. On 4th-and-7 from the Green Bay 31-yard line, Jared Goff was sacked by Rashan Gary, who beat left tackle Taylor Decker around the edge. The Lions gave the ball back down two scores with time quickly running out on them.

The Lions moved quickly into Green Bay territory on a pair of first down passes to Kalif Raymond then followed it up with a series of runs before the fourth down failure.

3:30, third quarter: Jordan Love hits Christian Watson for TD, Packers lead 29-14

The fake punt led to an immediate Packers touchdown three plays later. On 3rd-and-3, Jordan Love threw a jump ball to the corner of the end zone for Christian Watson, who beat Jerry Jacobs and elevated for the easy catch and score. The Packers attempted to go up 17 with a two-point conversion but Aidan Hutchinson sniffed out the trick play with a tackle for loss to keep it a 15-point deficit.

5:27, third quarter: Lions' fake punt fails, Packers take over at Lions 23

The gambles are not working for Detroit on Thanksgiving. The Lions got a stop on defense after the touchdown but took over inside their own five-yard line. Detroit got one first down but had to punt from their own 23-yard line. Dan Campbell decided to dial up a fake punt on 4th-and-four but the Packers were ready and stuffed the run from Jaylen Reeves-Maybin.

11:46, third quarter: David Montgomery shuffles in for TD, Packers lead cut to 23-14

The Lions offense looked like a different team in the first drive of the second half. Detroit started its seven-play, 72-yard drive with a 23-yard run by Jahmyr Gibbs and a 28-yard completion to Amon-Ra St. Brown to quickly move into Green Bay territory. David Montgomery initially scored a 17-yard touchdown run but it was nullified by a holding call on Kalif Raymond. Detroit powered through the penalty and scored on a six-yard run by Montgomery two plays later. He also converted a two-point conversion by flying into a defender at the goal line and barely breaking the plane before fumbling. Montgomery limped off the field with a leg injury after the conversion.

Halftime: Packers lead Lions 23-6

The Lions are well on their way to extending their Thanksgiving losing streak to seven games after a bad first half against the Packers. Jared Goff has struggled mightily with two fumbles — putting him at five turnovers in two games ― and bad throws on third downs to ground the Lions offense. He completed 8 of 16 passes for 100 yards in the first half with multiple wobbly incompletions. Detroit scored a touchdown on its opening drive, but only gained 72 yards on five drives since.

David Montgomery had the majority of the carries in the first half with nine compared to three for Jahmyr Gibbs. Sam LaPorta is the leading receiver with two catches for 38 yards and a touchdown. Amon-Ra St. Brown has been held in check so far with two catches for 14 yards.

Green Bay's offense has gained 247 yards and has moved the ball with ease against Detroit outside of one fourth down stop. Jordan Love is 15-for-20 for 189 yards and two touchdowns to Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft. Detroit has struggled to generate any pressure on Love and stick with receivers in coverage, making it a long day for the defense in the first half.

2:00, second quarter: Lions fail on fourth down

The Lions' aggression did not pay off desperately needing a score before halftime. At the Packers' 35-yard line, Detroit's offense stayed on the field for 4th-and-four. Jared Goff dropped back and tried to throw short to the left, but was hit by Preston Smith as he threw and the ball fell incomplete. Smith came free around the right side of the offensive line for immediate pressure.

5:56, second quarter: Packers hit field goal for 23-6 lead

The Lions offense could not do anything after the fourth down stop and had to punt back to the Packers. Green Bay moved quickly into Detroit territory on a handful of Jordan Love short and intermediate completions. The Lions defense struggled to stick with receivers in coverage until Green Bay got inside the 30-yard line. The Packers started with a five yard completion, but the Lions forced back-to-back incompletions to force a field goal and stem the bleeding at a 17-point deficit.

14:55, second quarter: Lions stuff Packers on 4th down

The defense came up with a massive play at a critical moment to avoid falling behind three touchdowns. They forced a fourth down following the fumble and Green Bay kept the offense on the field for 4th-and-1. The Packers attempted to run up the middle, but Jordan Love ran into A.J. Dillon on the handoff and Detroit swarmed for the tackle for loss to regain possession.

1:20, first quarter: Jared Goff fumbles again, Packers recover in Lions territory

Jared Goff is having a repeat nightmare performance after having three turnovers last week. On third down of the next drive, Goff tried to scramble for a first down but was tackled and stripped from behind by Karl Brooks. The Packers were on top of the ball in a massive scrum to take over at the Detroit 23-yard line.

2:23, first quarter: Jared Goff strip sack returned for TD, Packers lead 20-6

Well, things couldn't be going worse for Detroit in the first quarter to break the Thanksgiving losing streak. On the third play of the ensuing drive, Jared Goff was sacked and stripped by Rashan Gary, and the loose fumble was returned for a touchdown by Jonathan Owens. Goff's arm was moving forward but the refs ruled he lost control of the football before, making it a fumble. The play was reviewed but the call on the field stood.

3:08, first quarter: Jordan Love hits Tucker Kraft for first NFL TD, Packers lead 14-6

The Lions defense is off to the worst start possible through two drives. Jordan Love sliced through the secondary again, this time finishing a drive to his rookie tight end Tucker Kraft for his first career NFL touchdown. Instead of a long shot, Love completed five passes of at least eight yards to methodically move down the field. He finished the drive with a play-action that faked out the entire defense before flipping it to Kraft for a nine-yard touchdown.

8:30, first quarter: Lions respond with Sam LaPorta TD, Patterson misses extra point, trail 7-6

The offense did not have the same sluggish opening drive as the defense. After a few pounding runs by David Montgomery to start, Jared Goff hit Jameson Williams on a crossing route for a big third down conversion. Two plays later, Goff found LaPorta on a corner route and the rookie tight end turned it up the sideline for a 31-yard gain. On 2nd-and-goal, Goff hit LaPorta on a slant for a seven-yard touchdown. Riley Patterson, who has been a model of consistency from short distances so far this year, missed the extra point to keep Detroit behind a point.

12:16, first quarter: Jayden Reed scores on opening drive, Packers lead 7-0

The Packers did not take long to strike first. On the first play of the opening drive, Jordan Love hit Christian Watson for a 53-yard deep shot to immediately move Green Bay into Detroit territory. A few plays later, Love hit former Michigan State wideout Jayden Reed in a tight window on a slant for a 10-yard touchdown.

Pregame notes

The Lions have turned into the cardiac cats with back-to-back wins that have come down to the final seconds. Two weeks ago, a Riley Patterson field goal propelled them to a 41-38 win over the Chargers. Last Sunday, the offense woke up after struggling most of the afternoon to complete a two-touchdown comeback over the Bears.

Detroit is off to its best start since 1962 after the two wins but are looking to improve play on both sides of the ball. The defense was a large part of the comeback Sunday, but still sit below league average with plenty of questions to answer on that side of the ball.

They rank 22nd in total defense (22.9 points allowed per game), and have struggled to contain strong quarterbacks like Justin Herbert, Justin Fields and Lamar Jackson. The Lions said they are preparing for a much more composed Jordan Love under center for Green Bay on Thursday.

The offense is still the engine of the show in Detroit. Even after the sloppy four-turnover performance Sunday, the Lions offense ranks second in yards (399.6 per game) and sixth in points (27.2 per game). Jared Goff threw three interceptions last week but led two perfect two-minute drives to manufacture the comeback. He is looking to bounce back with a steadier performance on the short turnaround.

The running game should be near full strength with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery for the third straight week. The two backs have combined for 421 yards and five touchdowns on 57 touches in the past two games. The offensive line is near full strength but will be missing left guard Jonah Jackson for the second straight week with a wrist injury.

The Packers will be without running back Aaron Jones, cornerback Jaire Alexander, safety Rudy Ford and linebacker De'Vondre Campbell.

The holiday game will have the full fixings too. The Lions will be wearing their throwback jerseys with Honolulu Blue jerseys, gray pants and a silver helmet with no logo. The jerseys will also have a patch honoring legendary coach and announcer John Madden. Rapper Jack Harlow will be the halftime performer.