The NFL Thanksgiving Day slate kicked off at Ford Field with an NFC North duel between the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. Fittingly for a high-stakes matchup between rivals with playoff implications, it was a great back-and-forth battle.
Let’s dive into the winners and losers from the Thanksgiving Day matchup between the Packers and Lions, with Green Bay sweeping Detroit to move to 8-3-1 and increasing its playoff odds to 93 percent.
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Winner: Dontayvion Wicks Breaks Out at Perfect Time
With Matthew Golden inactive on Thursday and Jayden Reed still not activated off injured reserve, someone in this Packers receiving corps needed to step up. For the first time all season, it was Dontayvion Wicks. He entered Week 13 with 118 receiving yards in his last six games, and he hadn’t found the end zone since Week 16 of last season. Against the Lions, he made a fantastic fourth-down touchdown grab, and he finished with a season-high in receiving yards. It also marked the third multi-touchdown game of his young career.
If all of that wasn’t enough, Wicks made the game-winning catch with a defender on his back to sink the dagger into Detroit. With Reed and Golden likely returning to action in Week 14, Wicks needed this performance just to stay in the mix moving forward, and the Packers offense might have needed him even more on Thursday.
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Loser: Officials Giving Matt LaFleur a TO
We’re willing to say the multoiple replay angles on the Dontayvion Wicks touchdown are enough to justify the call being overturned. However, there’s zero excuse for the crew gifting the timeout to Matt LaFleur and, effectively, a touchdown to the Packers’ offense. As loud as that raucous crowd at Ford Field was, there was simply no way the officials could’ve heard LaFleur call the timeout right before the false start by Anthony Belton. So, all you have is LaFleur signaling it after the movement. It should’ve been a five-yard penalty to force a 4th-and-6 at the 7-yard line and Green Bay likely takes the point. There’s no excuse for LaFleur being given that timeout.
Related: Controversial Packers’ Touchdown vs Detroit Lions
Winner: Jameson Williams Steps Up After Amon-Ra St. Brown Injury
After the Amon-Ra St. Brown injury (ankle), there had to be real concern about how this Lions offense would perform without its All-Pro wide receiver and tight end Sam LaPorta against a top defense. Jameson Williams came through, demonstrating why the Lions coaching staff keeps emphasizing the need to keep him involved. He easily led Detroit in receiving on Thursday, delivering his third game this season with 100-plus yards and a touchdown. Now, Williams did have that costly fourth-down drop, but the throw was a bit behind him and his performance outside of that one play is why the Lions stayed in the game.
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Loser: Jahmyr Gibbs Just Can’t Solve the Packers
The Packers defense just seems to be the kryptonite for Jahmyr Gibbs. Against just about every other opponent, he looks like the best running back in the league, and his numbers typically reflect that. Put him on the field versus Green Bay and the stats plummet. Gibbs entered Week 13 averaging just 44.2 rushing yards and 20.4 receiving yards per game against the Packers. On Thursday, he had 68 rushing yards on 20 carries (3.4 ypc), and he brought very little in the passing game.
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Winner: Jordan Love Keeps Proving He’s a Top 10 QB
This is so much more than Toyotathon for Jordan Love. The Packers quarterback entered Week 13 with the fourth-best ESPN QBR (70.0) in the NFL, leading all quarterbacks in Adjusted EPA per Play (0.293) with the third-best Completion Rate over Expectation (5.7). Thursday was also the seventh time this season he’s thrown multiple touchdowns without an interception, and he matched his career-high in passing touchdowns (four). Green Bay did it again. The Packers have one of the best quarterbacks in the game, and, quite frankly, Love’s numbers this season would be even better if not for drops and the Tucker Kraft injury.
Read More: NFL Coaching Candidates 2026, including Packers and Lions Coordinators
Loser: Officiating
We’ll put aside the fact that in a game with Aidan Hutchinson and Micah Parsons, no holding calls were made. That’s just how the NFL wants the game officiated in a passing league. What feels absurd is not calling defensive pass interference on third down when Christian Watson’s arm is clearly being held. If the right call is made, it’s a first down for Green Bay with a 10-point lead and 9 minutes left. Instead, Detroit got the football back, and then its drive stalled on 3rd-and-15 with 7:15 left. Except, the officials decided that some very light contact by Keisean Nixon warranted illegal contact and an automatic first down. The officiating was awful for both sides, and these, in addition to the timeout allowed, were just a few of the examples.
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Winner: Packers Keep Reaping Benefits of Micah Parsons Trade
This is why you acquire Micah Parsons. There have, at times, been a little too much focus from casual observers on the limited number of sacks recorded by Micah Parsons. The focus centered on the All-Pro edge rusher having just 6.5 sacks in his first nine games. However, he remained one of the most dominant pass rushers in the NFL and ranked near the top of the league in pressures. In the last three games, you’re now seeing the pressures turn into sacks. Parsons entered today with 3.5 sacks in his past two games, and he nearly replicated that total in Detroit with 2.5 sacks, including a critical one in the red zone.
Related: NFL Defense Rankings 2025
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