Detroit Lions score vs. Packers: game recap, highlights

For the second time in the first month of the season, the Detroit Lions will have an opportunity to prove themselves to a national audience on Thursday night.

Detroit can take control of first place in the NFC North Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers. The Lions are 2-1 after beating the Atlanta Falcons at home Sunday.

The game will be televised on Amazon Prime and Fox 2 in Detroit, with kickoff set for 8:15 p.m. The Lions are 1.5-point favorites on the road in Lambeau Field and the point total is set at 46.

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Final: The Lions dominate the Packers in 34-20 win

The Detroit Lions rode its 24-point halftime lead to a comfortable 34-20 win over the Green Bay Packers on the road. Detroit dominated the first half and entered the locker room up 27-3 and were able to hold onto the lead despite the Packers’ best efforts to come back.

The story of the game for the second straight week is the Lions defense. Detroit held the Packers to 21 yards in the first half and 230 yards overall. The defensive line was disruptive all night, holding Green Bay to 27 rushing yards and sacking Jordan Love five times. Jerry Jacobs intercepted Love twice, one of which directly led to a touchdown.

David Montgomery was great in his return from injury for the Lions. The bruising running back had three rushing touchdowns and 121 yards on 32 carries. Jared Goff rebounded after an early interception for another solid outing, going 19-28 for 210 yards and one touchdown to Amon-Ra St. Brown.

The Lions are alone in first place in the NFC North after the win. Detroit returns to action next week at home against the Carolina Panthers.

2:52, fourth quarter: Packers add field goal

The Lions were not able to run any time off the clock after the turnover and had to punt it back to Green Bay. The Packers moved quickly to field goal range but could not crack the Detroit defense any further. Anders Carlson hit a 50-yarder for his second field goal of the night to make it 34-20.

4:15, fourth quarter: Jerry Jacobs intercepts Love again

If the touchdown wasn't enough, the interception will do it. Jerry Jacobs intercepted another pass from Jordan Love, this time deep inside Detroit territory.

6:00, fourth quarter: Montgomery punches in 3rd TD, Lions lead 34-17

The Lions took nine minutes off the clock with a methodical run game heavily featuring Montgomery. The Lions stalled out again inside the red zone and were going to settle for a field goal, but a boneheaded penalty on Packers linebacker Quay Walker gave the Lions a second chance. Detroit was able to punch it in with Montgomery on the second chance to extend the lead to 17 and put the game out of reach.

14:52, fourth quarter: Jordan Love scores rushing TD to trim Lions lead to 10

The Packers hit on a big pass to Jayden Reed with zero seconds left on the game clock and the referees did not call it, setting the Packers up in red zone to start the final quarter. Jordan Love ran it in on a draw a few plays later but the Packers did not convert on the two-point conversion, meaning Detroit still leads by two scores.

8:12, third quarter: Packers score TD on opening drive of the second half

The Packers seem to have found some answers in the halftime locker room. The offense moved the ball down the field for the first time all night and found the end zone on a goal line pass to Christian Watson in the flat. Lions safety Brian Branch injured his ankle on the drive and is questionable to return.

Halftime: Detroit dominate for a 27-3 lead

The Lions completely dominated each aspect of the game in the first half and the scoreboard reflects it. After an interception on the first drive, Detroit has outscored the Packers 27-0 and completely shut down the Packers offense.

The Lions defense, especially the defensive line, has been unstoppable. The Lions have four sacks, two from Aidan Hutchinson, and have been generating consistent pressure on Jordan Love all night.

The Packers have only seven rushing yards thanks to the disruptive pressure up front, spearheaded by Hutchinson and defensive tackle Alim McNeil. Jerry Jacobs also got into the action and set up a touchdown with an interception on a tipped pass. The Packers have 21 total yards and three first downs through 30 minutes.

Offensively, the Lions have moved the ball easily outside of the interception. Goff completed 12 of 20 passes for 163 yards and one touchdown to Amon-Ra St. Brown. David Montgomery has two touchdowns in his return from injury and rookie Sam LaPorta is the leading receiver at half for the second straight week.

0:34, second quarter: Lions add second field goal to go up 27-3

The Lions' dominance continued until the end of the half. Detroit took the air out of the ball and moved down the field slowly but sputtered out inside the red zone after back-to-back incomplete passes. Riley Patterson nailed his second short field goal of the night to make it a 24-point lead at halftime.

13:19, second quarter: Jerry Jacobs intercepts Love, Lions score immediately

Barring the interception to start the game, the Lions have been perfect and it could get ugly in Green Bay.

The Lions were set up for another quick score thanks to a big play from the defense. Alex Anzalone tipped a pass over the middle into the arms of Jerry Jacobs, who returned it inside the Packers' 10-yard line. The Lions punched it in immediately with two runs from Montgomery for his second score of the first half.

14:07, second quarter: Riley Patterson adds field goal, Lions lead 17-3

Detroit was knocking on the door again thanks to a big run from Kalif Raymond on a reverse. Detroit moved the ball to the five, but couldn't get past Green Bay again. Patterson nailed the chipshot to extend Detroit's lead to 14.

2:54, first quarter: David Montgomery extends lead with goal line TD

The Lions defense forced a quick punt after another sack adn the Lions took over near midfield after a good return from Kalif Raymond. Detroit moved the ball without much resistance to inside the five-yard line. David Montgomery, who returned tonight from a thigh injury, punched it in between Taylor Decker and Jonah Jackson for the 14-3 lead.

8:16, first quarter: Lions respond with Amon-Ra St. Brown, take 7-3 lead

Jared Goff did not seem too rattled by the interception on the first drive. After a few hard-fought first downs, Goff found tight end Sam LaPorta on a crossing route and the burly rookie shrugged off Green Bay defenders for a 35-yard gain. On the next play, Goff found a wide open St. Brown on a stop-and-go route for a 24-yard touchdown to take the lead and correct the mistake.

St. Brown celebrated with his own Lambeau leap with Detroit fans but a Packers fan decided to ruin the moment and dump beer on his head.

11:59, first quarter: Packers capitalize with field goal

Detroit's defense stood tall and forced an immediate field goal after the interception. Aidan Hutchinson and the Lions secondary forced a third and long with a sack and good coverage on second down. Packers kicker Anders Carlson hit the short field goal for the early lead.

13:34, first quarter: Goff intercepted on opening drive

Well, that was the worst possible start for the Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions. On third and long, Goff threw off his back foot and airmailed his pass over the middle directly to a Green Bay safety. The Packers took over at the Detroit 16-yard line.

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Injury Report

The Lions expect to be healthier than they were against Atlanta. Left tackle Taylor Decker and running back David Montgomery are expected to play after missing last week with leg injuries. Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley, safety Kerby Joseph and right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai are out.

The Packers have also been dealing with injuries and expect to be healthier for Thursday. Wide receiver Christian Watson is set to make his season debut and running back Aaron Jones will return after both suffered hamstring injuries. Jones and Watson are two top weapons for first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love, who has succeeded as Rodgers’ successor through three weeks.

Pregame notes

Detroit returns to the same site where they beat the Packers in week 18 and sent Aaron Rodgers out of the division with a loss. It will be Detroit’s first divisional game of the year and it comes against the only other team in the NFC North to win a game this season.

Reigning NFC defensive player of the week Aidan Hutchinson and the rest of the Lions’ defense are looking to shut down Love and the Packers offense with another strong performance. The defense answered the call after a disappointing performance in Week 2 by holding the Falcons to six points and registering seven sacks.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions score vs. Packers: game recap, highlights