Lions vs. Packers: Jake Bates' Walk-Off Kick Bails Out Dan Campbell's Fourth-Down Gamble in Week 7

Dan Campbell pushed his chips in on fourth-and-1 from his own 24, in a tie game, with under five minutes left. He lost the hand. It did not matter. DJ Wonnum got a paw on Green Bay's go-ahead field goal try, Jared Goff drove the Lions 71 yards, and Jake Bates hit a 22-yarder as time expired to give Detroit a 20-17 win over the Packers at Ford Field.

Detroit (4-2) has now stacked consecutive wins for the first time in 2026. Green Bay (4-3) pays the bill: its three-game heater is over, and it sits fourth in a division where, per the AP, nobody has a losing record. Campbell, naturally, regretted nothing.

"I thought we would get it, No. 1," Campbell said. "No. 2, I knew we would get the ball back if it didn't work out."

A Rivalry Game Full of Self-Inflicted Wounds

Neither team could stay out of its own way for long in this 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff. Green Bay's opening drive reached the Detroit 3, where a delay-of-game flag backed rookie Trey Smack up to a 26-yard try that he pushed wide right. Goff hit Jameson Williams for a 16-yard touchdown, Jordan Love answered with a 14-yarder to Tucker Kraft, and Bates made it 10-7 from 40. Matt LaFleur then passed on a field goal and watched Love's fourth-and-4 throw to Matthew Golden from the Detroit 7 go nowhere.

Then Detroit started handing out gifts. Jahmyr Gibbs fumbled at the Green Bay 6 with 30 seconds left in the half, and on the second play of the third quarter Goff and center Cade Mays, making his Lions debut, botched a snap that Green Bay recovered. The Lions had entered the day with one turnover all season, per the AP. Love cashed the second one immediately with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Josh Jacobs for a 14-10 lead.

Goff responded with a 10-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 10-yard strike to Williams, his second score of the day, for a 17-14 lead. Campbell later skipped a chip-shot field goal on fourth-and-5 from the Green Bay 6, and Goff's throw fell incomplete. Brian Branch picked off Love early in the fourth, but Smack tied it with a 43-yarder with 7:10 to play, setting up all the late chaos.

Goff, St. Brown and Williams Do the Heavy Lifting

Goff was surgical when it counted: 22 of 32 for 303 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 119.7 rating. DetroitLions.com notes he still has not thrown a pick this season, with 14 touchdown passes through six games, and that the Lions had not opened a season with six interception-free games since 1933.

Amon-Ra St. Brown was the security blanket, catching nine of 11 targets for 153 yards, the 26th 100-yard game of his career. Williams caught five passes for 91 yards and both touchdowns, giving him back-to-back two-touchdown games for the first time in his career. Gibbs carried 29 times for 116 yards and, crucially, knew when not to score.

Branch, playing his first game of the season, outjumped Christian Watson for that fourth-quarter interception. "Any division game is important," Branch said. "We need these. They're mini-playoff games."

The Turning Point: A Finger, Two Flags and a Kneel

After Gibbs was dropped for a 2-yard loss on that fourth down, Green Bay took over at the Detroit 22. Love put a third-down pass on Jacobs' hands for an incompletion, and Wonnum got a finger on Smack's 35-yard attempt. Without that finger, Campbell's call is the story of the season.

Detroit started at its own 25 with 3:21 left and the score tied at 17. Goff hit Sam LaPorta for 18 yards and Karl Brooks was flagged for roughing the passer, tacking on 15 more. Gibbs ripped off a 15-yard run. Brooks then drew a neutral zone infraction on third-and-5, handing Detroit a first down at the Green Bay 15.

Then came the strangest beautiful part. The Packers, desperate to get the ball back, stopped trying to tackle Gibbs, and Gibbs refused the gift twice, going down short of the goal line to keep the clock running. Goff took a knee, Detroit burned its timeout with one second left, and Bates did the rest.

"That was as good as it gets at clock management," Goff said.

Per DetroitLions.com, Bates is now 7 for 7 in his career on go-ahead or tying kicks in the final two minutes or overtime. Ice in the veins, or at least a very reliable thermostat.

Stats That Matter

• 5: First downs Detroit gained on Green Bay penalties, its most in a game since 2020, according to the AP.
• 0 for 2: Detroit on fourth down. It still won.
• 1 of 3: Smack on field goals. Per Sportradar via the AP, he is the first kicker since 2019 to miss two field goals from 35 yards or closer in one game.
• 0: Pass plays of 40-plus yards allowed by a Detroit secondary facing a Green Bay offense that entered the week first in the league in those plays, per DetroitLions.com.
• 415 to 324: Detroit's edge in total yards.

The NFC North Has No Easy Sundays

Every team in this division has a winning record, which turns every Sunday into a referendum. Detroit sits third behind Minnesota (6-0) and Chicago (5-2), and the unbeaten Vikings come to Ford Field next. The Lions are 3-0 at home with a quarterback who apparently does not believe in interceptions, which is a decent hand to bring into that one.

Green Bay has to turn around and host Carolina on Thursday night, possibly shorthanded at center. Starter Sean Rhyan (ankle) and backup Jacob Monk (quad) were both hurt, pressing second-year lineman John Williams into his first career action on offense, and LaFleur said he did not expect either center to play Thursday. Detroit lost cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. to an ankle injury during the game.

The Packers also left Detroit fuming at the officiating. "I'm not a fan of the refs right now," safety Xavier McKinney said. LaFleur chose restraint: "I could tell you what I really think, but it wouldn't do us any good."

Closing Take: House Rules at Ford Field

Campbell plays football like a blackjack regular who always splits tens: it drives the math people crazy, and somehow the chips keep stacking up. On Sunday he busted on fourth down, and his defense and special teams still pushed a division win across the table. LaFleur put the Packers' side of it plainly.

"We had some premier field position and we just didn't take advantage," he said.

In this division, that sentence can cost you a season.

Stats from the official box score and play-by-play via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press. Additional notes from DetroitLions.com.