Acme Packing Company
Keisean keeps it close in Detroit in our #5 play.
We’re continuing our journey through the Green Bay Packers’ top 10 plays of the 2024 season as voted on by APC staff with play #5 in our countdown (check out #6 here).
Heading into December, the Packers were enjoying a three-game winning streak over the Bears, 49ers, and Dolphins, which was immediately preceded by a loss to Detroit at Lambeau. Prior to that loss, the Packers had a nice four game winning streak, and so, in Week 14, the Packers traveled Ford Field to avenge their early streak-buster against the 12-1 Detroit Lions, trying to make a dent in their substantial lead in the division, and ensure they remained in a good spot for a wild card.
The Lions were absolute juggernauts in 2024 and entered this game on a ten-game winning streak that already included a win over the Packers. While the eventual champion Eagles were on par with the Lions, Detroit was probably the best team in the conference when healthy. Nagging injuries started to take their toll on the Lions’ secondary towards the end of the season and they would actually drop the game after this to the Bills, but they were still in relatively good shape against the Packers as they built a 17-7 lead going into halftime. If the Packers were going to prove they could hang with the big boys, they needed to turn it around fast.
And they did but…just not quite enough. Part of the early offensive struggles were due to the running game, where Josh Jacobs scored three touchdowns, but was otherwise inefficient with 18 carries for 66 yards on the ground. The Packers love to run, but they also don’t know when to stop, and they ran the ball far too much early, putting themselves in consistently poor down and distance situations, and digging themselves into a pretty big hole.
But things started to turn around at the start the third quarter as the Packers reacted to the deficit by attempting to dial up big plays in the passing game. After Jacobs lost a yard on first down, Jordan Love found Christian Watson for 59 yards, putting the Packers in business at the Detroit 12. A few plays later, Love hit Tucker Kraft over the middle for a 12-yard touchdown to close the gap to 17-14.
The Lions would start their next drive from their own 30, and immediately suffer a holding penalty, pushing them back ten yards. A quick 6-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown brought up 2nd and 14 from Detroit’s own 26-yard line. And here we go.
You can watch the play in its entirety here.
Keisean Nixon deserves a ton of credit for properly executing on this play. He reads Jared Goff perfectly and expertly undercuts Tim Patrick’s route, completing the catch. But before we get into all of that, let’s start with the fact that this...
