A leap ahead at Lambeau
Lions lead never in doubt; Packers offense struggles again without star QB Rodgers
Matthew Stafford put on a quarterback clinic for the Detroit Lions at Lambeau
Field.
Aaron Rodgers could only watch from the sideline.
Stafford passed for 361 yards and two touchdowns to Marvin Jones, and the Lions snapped a three-game losing streak with a 30-17 win on Monday night over the offensively challenged Green Bay Packers.
“Matt [made] some great throws … I just did what I love to do — go out there and get them,” Jones said.
Stafford was 26 of 33, including 12 of 14 in the first half with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jones. Ameer Abdullah added a 4-yard touchdown run for Detroit (4-4).
Green Bay (4-4) finally got in the end zone on Brett Hundley’s 1-yard quarterback sneak with 9:52 left.
The Lions answered with Stafford’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Jones with 8:06 remaining, putting the game out of reach with a 17-point lead. Jones had seven catches for 107 yards.
The Packers have lost three straight games. Their once-potent offense has struggled since Rodgers broke his right collarbone on Oct. 15 at Minnesota.
Hundley finished 26 of 38 for 245 yards. Cornerback Darius Slay blanketed Jordy Nelson when the Packers did try to throw long while the game was still
competitive.
“With this one obviously it doesn’t get a whole lot better than this. We played well,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said.
Abdullah fumbled the ball away in the third quarter, but the Packers went three-and-out on the ensuing drive. Familiar problems in the red zone popped up for the Lions when they were stopped on three plays at the Packers 1, forced to settle for a field goal for a 17-point lead with 12:25 left.
But without Rodgers, the Packers couldn’t keep up with the accurate, rocket-armed Stafford.
“I believe in Brett, that’s not just a press conference statement,” coach Mike McCarthy said about Hundley.
CRITICAL PENALTY
The Lions’ opening score was set up by an unnecessary roughness penalty on Mike Daniels, after the defensive lineman appeared to head-butt Detroit center Travis Swanson. The flag negated an incompletion on third-and-15 that would have forced the Lions to punt from their own 25. Stafford connected with Jones for the touchdown pass five plays later.
STAT LINES
Lions: WR Golden Tate joined Jones over the 100-yard mark with seven receptions for 113 yards.
Packers: The team’s playmaking receivers did have more opportunities, though most came on short passes. Randall Cobb finished with 58 yards on five receptions, including a catch-and-run for a 46-yard gain that set up Hundley’s TD run. Davante Adams had seven catches for 53 yards.
“This game they were giving us the underneath stuff,” Hundley said. “You have to take what’s given.”
INJURIES
Packers S Morgan Burnett left in the third quarter with a groin injury. He had returned from a two-game absence for a hamstring injury. RT Bryan Bulaga left in the fourth quarter with a knee injury.
UP NEXT
Lions: Host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Packers: Visit the Chicago Bears on Sunday.