Eager to end a three-game losing streak, the Detroit Lions on Monday picked a tough place to make a stand — Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers.
Matthew Stafford delivered with his sharpest performances of the season.
Stafford passed for 361 yards and two touchdowns to Marvin Jones, while Golden Tate added 113 yards on seven catches in a 30-17 win over the offensively challenged Packers.
Photo: Benny Sieu-USA Today
“We went into this game thinking that this needed to be a statement game,” Tate said.
The Lions (4-4) began the season 3-1 before losing three straight.
The victory over the Packers allowed Detroit to stay within two games of the National Football Conference North-leading Minnesota Vikings, who had a bye.
Detroit have the best quarterback in the division now that Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers is sidelined with a broken right collarbone.
Stafford was 26 of 33 passing, including 12 of 14 in the first half with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jones.
Stafford finished with a season-high 132.4 quarterback rating.
“He can sling it anywhere and you just have to be there to catch it,” Jones said. “When he’s on, there’s no other quarterback I’d rather play with.”
Green Bay (4-4) finally got in the end zone on Brett Hundley’s one-yard quarterback sneak with 9 minutes, 52 seconds 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.
Their once-potent offense has struggled since Rodgers went down on Oct. 15 in Minnesota.
“We come out winning Super Bowls around here. If we keep playing like this, it’s not going to be pretty,” cornerback Davon House said.
Hundley finished 26 of 38 for 245 yards, but rarely took shots down the field, especially in the first half.
Cornerback Darius Slay blanketed Jordy Nelson when the Packers did try to throw long while the game was still competitive.
“Brett Hundley played better tonight and I have great faith in Brett Hundley. Brett Hundley’s not our issue,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said.
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
The Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 36 points from Tyrese Maxey and a triple-double from Joel Embiid, on Thursday beat the Houston Rockets 128-122 in an NBA overtime thriller. Cameroonian big man Embiid scored 32 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 10 assists, posting the ninth triple-double of his career to help the Sixers end the Rockets’ three-game winning streak. Rockets star Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Amen Thompson added 17, but Thompson was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Even so, the Rockets led by nine midway through the final frame, Maxey tying it at 115-115 with 40.1 seconds left. Durant missed a
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
RSS