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Five reasons the red-hot Lions beat the Packers, 34-20, at Green Bay

With another big prime-time win, the Detroit Lions take over first place in the NFC North. Detroit rolled out to a big start in the first half and then held on in the second half to defeat the Packers, 34-20,  at Green Bay on Thursday night.

The Lions (3-1) sit atop the division alone. The Packers fall to 2-2 while the Bears and Vikings are winless.

“You’ve got to win your division games and, man, if you can get them on the road that goes a long way,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “We knew that and this is important, it’s not the end-all be-all but it is important.’’

It was Lions’  fourth straight win over the Packers. 

“Our defense continues to play well. I thought they were a force today. We talked about having energy and intensity and be able to deliver in the tough moments. I thought we did that,’’ Campbell said.

“Offensively we were able to move the football, we ran it well. We had a couple shaky spots but we closed that game out with the offense and special teams continues to play well for us,’’ the coach added.

The red-hot bunch, which has won in prime time at Lambeau and Arrowhead, has won 11 of their last 14 games.

“I’m really happy with where we’re at. I’m proud of the guys, the staff, everybody,’’ Campbell said. “That was outstanding to be able to snap back on a short week with that kind of performance. We were really good.’’

Five reasons the Lions won:

1. Detroit’s pass rush picked up where it left off in the win over the Falcons when they had 7 sacks. On two of his first four snaps, quarterback Jordan Love was sacked. It did not end there. He was sacked five times and pressured often. He rebounded a bit in the second half, but not enough. Cornerback Jerry Jacobs had his second interception with four minutes left in the game which pretty much sealed the win. He is the first Lions CB to have two INTs at Green Bay since CB Dick LeBeau on Sept. 29, 1968. “That’s what we all expected from Jerry,” Campbell said.

2. After throwing an interception on his third snap, quarterback Jared Goff shook it off and led the offense to 284 first-half yards and 401 yards total. Goff has said it’s not the big plays that make all the difference, it’s how he bounces back from a bad play. That’s exactly what he did. When the Packers were getting close in the fourth quarter, Goff led the touchdown drive. He finished completing 19 of 28 for 210 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

3. Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta just keeps getting better. His 35-yard catch on third-and-5 in the first, set up the Lions’ first touchdown. He finished with four catches for 56 yards. He also has the most receiving yards and receptions through an NFL tight end’s first four career games.

4. The Lions were able to stop the run, holding the Packers to 27 rushing yards. “It’s always important that you make a team one-dimensional, but we felt like they were going to come out and take some shots early and they did,’’ Campbell said. “They tried to throw it a little bit and see if they could make some hay on the back end. They weren’t able to necessarily do that. … It was an outstanding defensive performance.’’ Quarterback Jordan Love had a tough night. He might have a bright future, but he’s no Aaron Rodgers at this point. Love was 23 of 36 for 246 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

5. On the other side, running back David Montgomery’s return sparked the Lions 211-yard run game. He scored two first-half touchdowns and added another in the fourth. Montgomery finished with 32 carries for 121 yards. He is the first Lions player to rush for 100-plus yards and three TDs in a game since RB James Stewart did so on Oct. 19, 2000. Rookie Jahmyr Gibbs had 8 carries for 40 yards.

BONUS: Lions fans travel well and they was plenty of Honolulu blue in the crowd at Lambeau. Campbell said he could particularly hear them late in the third and early in the fourth. “It’s awesome. You feel like there’s a little piece of home no matter where you go,’’ Campbell said.

NEXT UP: Panthers (0-3) at Lions (3-1), 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8, at Ford Field.

Five things to watch as Lions face Packers at Lambeau; plus, prediction

ALLEN PARK — For years it was mostly misery when the Lions played the Packers at Lambeau Field. That changed last season. The Lions have won three straight against the Packers.       

It’s hard to forget the season-ending Lions’ 20-16 win in Green Bay which knocked the Packers out of the playoffs. Earlier on that Sunday, the Lions playoff hopes had been wrecked.

With that huge nationally televised victory, the Lions went into the offseason on a positive note

“It’s a good win on the road, a division opponent. If you can’t get in, that’s the way you’ve got to end it. You win some games, you find a little bit of a flow, it’s always good to win on the road especially in this division,’’ coach Dan Campbell said on Tuesday. “That’s the extent of it now it’s a new season, we know we can win out there. We’ve done it before but you’ve got to go earn it.’’

In a battle for the lead in the NFC North, both teams go into Thursday night’s game with 2-1 records.

It’s a short turnaround from Sunday to Thursday but, like Campbell said, the Packers are going through the same thing so it’s a level playing field.

Five things to watch:

1. Keep the pass rush working like it did against the Falcons. Don’t expect seven sacks every week, but must get pressure on quarterback Jordan Love. He is not Aaron Rodgers but he’s played well enough to get two wins so far. He’s mobile and has the second-most rushing yards on the team. Love has completed just 53.1 percent of his passes (compared to 69.9 percent for Jared Goff) but has thrown seven touchdowns against just one interception. “I think when everybody’s just doing their part and we’re staying disciplined to our responsibility, then everybody gets to eat,’’ Campbell said. “If we don’t do that and we’re not all totally in tune, it can make it hard. I’d like to believe it is sustainable.’’

2. Shut down the run again. Atlanta, which had averaged 170.5 rushing yards per game in its first two games, was held to 44. While the Packers average just 90.3 rushing yards per game. AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones (if he’s active) must be stopped.

3. If running back David Montgomery (thigh) can’t go, expect more from Jahmyr Gibbs who looked like he was finding his rhythm in the fourth quarter on Sunday. He had four runs for 41 yards in the winning touchdown drive. Gibbs said he’s always confident in running between the tackles (or anywhere) but he looked like he was in more of a groove in the fourth quarter. It’s easy to forget he’s a rookie.

4. The only thing Goff needs to work on is his vertical jump so as not to embarrass himself if he tries the Lambeau Leap like he did last week at Ford Field. Goff has a few hitches in his giddyup but not many. He said the interception he threw last week was his worst pass of his career so don’t expect we’ll see that again. He has formed quite a bond with rookie tight end Sam LaPorta who has 18 catches for 186 yards in three games. He’s second in receptions and yardage behind the consistently consistent Amon-Ra St. Brown. 

5. Improving the third-down conversion rate might not be a the top of Dan Campbell’s list but it’s somewhere on it. The Lions offense is converting just 37.5 percent of third downs. They’re almost as effective at fourth downs converting 2 of 6 (33.3 percent).

PREDICTION: Lions 31, Packers 21. Could be a close one but give the Lions an edge due to their defensive play against the Falcons.

Lions Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch up for NFL rookie of week honors

Decker, Montgomery trending to play in Green Bay

ALLEN PARK — Detroit Lions cornerback Brian Branch and tight end Sam LaPorta are among the six NFL rookies up for Rookie of the Week honors for Week 3. Both have been standouts in the first three games of their Lions’ careers.

On Sunday, LaPorta scored his first touchdown on a 45-yard pass from Jared Goff. It was one of his eight receptions for 84 yards. LaPorta was a second-round pick out of Iowa.

Branch led the defense with 11 tackles, he also had two pass defenses and three tackles for loss.

Both rookies were second-round picks. LaPorta (Iowa) at 34th overall and Branch (Alabama) at 45th overall.

“What we saw in college was, a few of the things that really caught our eye, it’s one thing to see the production in college but to know they’re very instinctive aware players,’’ coach Dan Campbell said on Tuesday. “They’re smart and they play fast. What you saw in college is what you’re starting to see here. Their instincts are there. They work extremely hard and I would say they’re both becoming pretty dependable pretty quickly.’’

They both make occasional rookie errors but Campbell said they’re growing extremely fast.

“They’re both guys who don’t make the same mistake twice. When you’re talking about rookies who can grow and develop quickly that’s what they all have in common,’’ the coach added.

While they’re getting acclaim this week, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell have also played well.

Others in the running for rookie of the week are Denver WR Marvin Mims, Miami RB DeVon Achane, Houston QB C.J. Stroud and Houston WR Tank Dell.

Votes can be cast at NFL.com/voting/rookies.

INJURY UPDATE

Left tackle Taylor Decker, who has missed two games, and running back David Montgomery, who sat out one, are trending in the right direction to play on Thursday at Green Bay according to Campbell on Tuesday.

Safety Kerby Joseph is still “wait and see” while cornerback Emmanuel Moseley, who has not played yet this season, will probably have to wait since the Lions weren’t practicing this week (just walk-throughs) due to the short turnaround time.