Drew Stanton got the better of Matt Flynn in a battle of backup quarterbacks and led the Detroit Lions to a sloppy 7-3 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday in a battle of NFC North rivals.
Tight end Will Heller caught a 13-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter for the lone score for the Lions, who had not beaten a division opponent since the 2007 season.
Down to its third-string quarterback, Detroit (3-10) had the stakes evened a bit when Aaron Rodgers was knocked out with a concussion in the first half.
The Packers managed just 68 yards of total offense in a scoreless first half, squandering their best opportunity when Greg Jennings had a ball bounce off his hands for an interception. Neither team managed to convert a third down before the break.
Green Bay took a 3-0 lead when Mason Crosby kicked a 42-yard field goal early in the third quarter, but could not make anything else happen on offense. The Packers had three turnovers.
Detroit scored with 7:55 left in the game when Heller’s catch capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive.
The Packers (8-5) entered the game on the outside of the playoff picture and end the season with three tough games at the New England Patriots and home to the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears.
Green Bay | Detroit | |
Aaron Rodgers | Player | Maurice Morris |
2 | Attempts | 11 |
25 | Yards | 51 |
12.5 | Avg Yards | 4.6 |
0 | Touchdowns | 0 |
18 | Long | 8 |
Green Bay | Detroit | |
Andrew Quarless | Player | Calvin Johnson |
5 | Receptions | 1 |
62 | Yards | 44 |
12.4 | Avg Yards | 44.0 |
0 | Touchdowns | 0 |
20 | Long | 44 |
Yards | Scoring | Defense | ||||||
Team | Tot | Rus | Pas | TD | FG | INT | Sck | FF |
Green Bay | 258 | 66 | 192 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 |
Detroit | 286 | 190 | 96 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4.0 | 1 |