GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — It was Jared Goff, David Montgomery and the offense that burned the last of the clock, and Jake Bates hit the game-winning field goal on Thursday night, but Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell made a point of praising the defense after pulling out a 34-31 win over the Green Bay Packers.
The Lions’ defense has been battered with injuries. They have 12 players on injured reserve, including star rusher Aidan Hutchinson and four of their top five linebackers. And they went into Thursday’s game knowing they would also be without defensive linemen DJ Reader, Josh Paschal and Levi Onwuzurike.
Adding insult to (literal) injury, starting DT Alim McNeill left the game early with a head injury. Still, the Lions found a way to win.
Campbell credits the entire unit and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn for the gameplan and working under the limitations.
“We wanted that defense to just cut it loose. Just go play, man. Effort. Finish. And man, they did that. That was a hell of a job by AG,” Campbell said in his postgame interview.
“No excuses. Our guys knew where we were at. We don’t need to talk about being tough, we don’t need to talk about being resilient. We live it. It’s what we are, and we just proved it again. I’m proud of our guys.”
Jack Campbell, the Lions’ only starting linebacker still in the lineup, led the team with 8 tackles. Al-Quadin Muhammad, signed to add defensive depth during Week 5, was tied for second with four tackles.
Zeke Turner, who was signed in Week 10, had three tackles including a key stop late in the fourth quarter to hold the Packers to a field-goal attempt, which tied the game at 31-31.
Kwon Alexander, Jamal Adams, Myles Adams and Jonah Williams — all signed within the last week — saw action on defense Thursday night.
“Defensively, we played to our strength. AG did a hell of a job trimming the package down to where these guys can come in and play, and it’s not like we’ve got guys that have never played ball,” Campbell said.
Mercifully, the Lions get some extra time off before their next game. Detroit (12-1) will host Buffalo (10-2) on Sunday, Dec. 15. Kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS.
