Here is a quick cut of Evan Williams vs. the run against the Lions. He was everywhere. Team construct fits + open-field tackling + range + violence. Williams remains a rollercoaster in coverage (particularly on the half-field), but he’s crazy impressive fitting the run from depth pic.twitter.com/9wgqrqaCyT

— Ollie Connolly (@OllieConnolly) November 28, 2025

The Green Bay Packers are 8-3-1 after taking down the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Thanksgiving Day. Winning big games requires a team’s best players to lead the way, and Jordan Love and Micah Parsons were up to the task. The Packers also made all the clutch plays, particularly on fourth down, and Dontayvion Wicks was a big reason why.

The studs and duds from the Packers’ win over the Lions:

Studs

QB Jordan Love: Four touchdown passes, three fourth down conversions, four big-time throws down the field, zero sacks taken, zero turnovers. Love was a little erratic early, and he missed a potential touchdown pass to Bo Melton in scramble mode, but he was lights out the rest of the way. From clean pockets, Love completed 14 of 18 passes, averaged 11.2 yards per attempt and tossed four touchdown passes. The fadeaway throw under pressure on fourth down to Dontayvion Wicks was the perfect way to end an elite performance.

DE Micah Parsons: His first quarterback hit forced third-and-long. His first sack came on third down and forced a punt. His tackle for loss on fourth down created a turnover on downs. His run stop on third down came one play before the Lions’ second fourth down failure. His final sack ended the Lions’ final drive in the red zone. Per Next Gen Stats, Parsons finished with 10 pressures. He was the closer in the fourth quarter, producing two important run stops and two sacks across two Lions drives during the final 15 minutes.

WR Dontayvion Wicks: His seven touches created 100 total yards and two scores. Wicks made two incredible catches on fourth down to bookend the win. His 22-yard score on fourth down required a contested catch in traffic in the end zone. His 16-yard dagger catch with under two minutes to go required another contested catch with Brian Branch in tight coverage. Wicks also had an 18-yard catch on 3rd-and-5 to extend a scoring drive and a 30-yard catch up the seam setting up his own 1-yard score.

LB Isaiah McDuffie: He made 12 tackles and didn’t have a miss. Among his most impactful tackles: stop on Jahmyr Gibbs after two yards, stop on David Montgomery after no gain, stop on Gibbs after -1 (third down), stop on Gibbs after -2 (fourth down), stop on Montgomery after three yards, stop on Gibbs after -2. The Packers got picked on a bit in the middle of the field in the passing game, but McDuffie was an animal against Gibbs and the Lions run game.

S Evan Williams: His tackling wasn’t perfect, but Williams was consistently effective playing the run from depth. All three of his stops came against the run. His play speed and physicality are huge assets for a defense that likes to show two-high safeties at the snap. Williams also had a tackle covering a punt and earned the team’s top special teams grade at PFF.

WR Christian Watson: A few contested catches didn’t go his way, but Watson still caught four passes for 80 yards, including two conversions on third down and a 51-yard touchdown. He also should have drawn a pass interference penalty on Amik Robertson, who had Watson’s left hand pinned, on 3rd-and-4 in the fourth quarter. In a game against a man coverage heavy defense, Watson was the go-to target.

RT Zach Tom: The Packers held Aidan Hutchinson to only three pressures. The majority of his rushes came from the left side against Tom, who was charged with allowing just a single hurry. Tom’s work at right tackle was a big reason why Hutchinson was not an impact player in either game against the Lions in 2025.

Duds

CB Carrington Valentine: His big blunder was trying to throw a shoulder at Jameson Williams and not wrapping up. He was in position but didn’t finish, and the result was a 22-yard touchdown. Valentine was also responsible for giving up an explosive 25-yard play to Williams, and he was flagged for illegal contact (penalty declined). This was a disconcerting performance in a big spot for the third-year corner.

CB Keisean Nixon: The Lions got completions for first downs three times against Nixon’s coverage. He also had a pivotal illegal contact penalty in the fourth quarter that negated a third-down sack. Nixon tackled well for a player only four days removed from a stinger injury, but the coverage snaps weren’t good.

RG Anthony Belton: In his first career start, Belton allowed six pressures and should have penalized for a false start in a crucial fourth down spot early. The Packers had 15 true dropback passing snaps, and Belton allowed pressure on four of the 15. Belton is inconsistent in the run game at this point — he’s capable of big-time people-moving blocks but also a whiff. The foundation of a really good player is there, but he needs experience.

K Brandon McManus on kickoffs: His first three kickoffs ended up in the end zone for touchbacks, a now completely unacceptable result given the new kickoff rules. As a result, the Lions averaged a starting field position of the 33-yard line after kickoffs. The Packers really lost the field position battle early on, and they were fortunate it did not cost them.