Jordan Love converted a pair of fourth downs with touchdown passes in the first half and finished with a career-high four touchdowns to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 31-24 win over the Detroit Lions on Thursday.
The Packers (8-3-1) won the season series and earned a potential tiebreaker in the NFC North and are in second place in the division behind Chicago (8-3), who will play at Philadelphia on Friday.
The two-time defending division champion Lions (7-5) entered the game out of the playoffs but then fell back into the hunt with their third loss in five games.
Detroit turned the ball over on downs early in the second half and early in the fourth quarter.
Two plays after Jameer Gibbs was stopped for a loss just inside Green Bay territory on fourth down, Love threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson to give Green Bay a 24-14 lead early in the third.
The Lions went on fourth-and-3 from the Packers 21 — trailing by 10 — and Jameson Williams threw a pass.
Detroit's defense responded with a stop and the offense reached the Green Bay 4 before a Micah Parsons sack forced coach Dan Campbell to settle for a field goal and a 31–24 deficit with 2:59 left.
Parsons finished with two and a half sacks.
On the ensuing possession, Love completed a third-and-5 on an 8-yard pass to Watson and a fourth-and-3 on a 16-yard pass to Dontaivion Weeks to seal the win.
Love was 18 of 30 for 234 yards with a 22-yard pass to Weeks and a two-yard pass to Dubs for touchdowns on fourth down in the second quarter. In the third, he threw a long touchdown to Watson and a one-yard throw to Weeks, the receiver's second-highest score of the game – and the season.
Jared Goff was 20 of 26 for 256 yards with two touchdowns, a 22-yard pass to Williams late in the first half and a 17-yard pass to rookie Isaac TeSlaa in the third quarter.
Williams finished with seven receptions and 144 yards — both career highs — but he dropped a pass in the fourth quarter on fourth down.
Gibbs was kept in check, rushing for 68 yards on 20 carries and gaining 18 yards on three catches.
