Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love threw four touchdown passes — including two on fourth down — to lead the Packers to a 31-24 NFL victory over the Detroit Lions.
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Love tied his career-high for TD tosses and added in a game-sealing fourth-down pass to Dontayvion Wicks with 1:55 remaining to give the Packers the Thanksgiving holiday triumph.
Love had connected with Wicks for the Packers’ first TD on a fourth down early in the second quarter.
Love found Romeo Doubs for a fourth-down touchdown before halftime and after the break hit Christian Watson with a 51-yard scoring pass before finding Wicks with a one-yarder.
He completed 18 of 30 passes for 234 yards without an interception and the Packers improved to 8-3-1, second in the NFC North division behind the 8-3 Chicago Bears, who play the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday.
There was controversy surrounding the Doubs touchdown, which came after a controversial call moments earlier when the Packers were flagged for a false start on fourth down, only for the flag to be picked up as the referees ruled that Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur had called a timeout.
Replays, however, later showed that not to be the case.
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LaFleur was shown desperately signalling for a timeout, but not before the false start actually occurred, much to the frustration of Lions coach Dan Campbell.
If the penalty stood, the Packers likely would have settled for the field goal. Instead, Love was able to find Doubs for the touchdown.
FOX sideline reporter Tom Rinaldi said LaFleur was yelling for the timeout but that officials could not hear him, prompting the Green Bay coach to race down the sideline and signal one.
“That’s the only thing,” said FOX’s rules analyst Dean Blandino.
“He may be yelling ‘timeout’ and signalling. The official obviously acknowledged it before the false start. But on the video, it looks a little bit shaky.”
In the pool report with The Athletic’s Lions reporter Colton Pouncy after the game, NFL Vice President of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth insisted the timeout came before the flag was thrown despite replays seeming to suggest otherwise.
As for what LaFleur himself thought, well the wink said it all.
Regardless, while Green Bay may have got a lucky break on that play Detroit was not without plenty of chances to win Friday’s game.
The Lions twice went for it on fourth down but failed to convert both times. They had to settle for a field goal on their final possession after Green Bay’s Micah Parsons sacked quarterback Jared Goff on third down.
Goff connected on 20 of 26 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns and David Montgomery ran for a TD, but the Lions — winners of the NFC North the past two seasons — fell to 7-5.
They are third in the division and struggling to get back into the playoff picture.
Already missing three starters, the Lions also saw star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown exit in the first quarter with an ankle injury while the Packers lost key defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt to what could be a season-ending ankle injury.
In other games on the Thanksgiving slate, the Dallas Cowboys host the Kansas City Chiefs and the AFC North leading Baltimore Ravens host division rivals Cincinnati Bengals.