Lions Win 30-17 As Matthew Stafford Dissects Packers
By Genaro C. Armas
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Matthew Stafford passed for 361 yards and two touchdowns to Marvin Jones, and the Detroit Lions snapped a three-game losing streak with a 30-17 win on Monday night over the offensively challenged Green Bay Packers.
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 star quarterback Aaron Rodgers broke his right collarbone on Oct. 15 at Minnesota.
Brett 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.
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.
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.
MILESTONE
The first scoring strike to Jones was the 200th touchdown pass in 117 career games for Stafford, the sixth-quickest in NFL history to reach the milestone. Stafford, who turns 30 in February, is also fourth in NFL history for career touchdown passes before age 30 behind Dan Marino, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre.
NOT SPECIAL
Special teams didn't help the Packers.
Working in their third long snapper of the season because of injuries, Green Bay had a 38-yard field goal blocked in the first quarter on a play that started with a low snap. Trevor Davis didn't get past the 22 on three kickoff returns in the first half.
STAT LINES:
Lions: WR Golden Tate joined Jones over the 100-yard mark with seven receptions for 113 yards. ... Abdullah had 21 carries for 48 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.
INJURIES
Packers S Morgan Burnett left in the third quarter with a groin injury. He had returned from a two-game absence with a hamstring injury. RT Bryan Bulaga left in the fourth quarter with a knee injury.
ANTHEM
It appeared that all members of both teams stood for the national anthem, with many players and coaches locking arms on their respective sidelines.
UP NEXT
Lions: Host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Packers: Visit the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
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