Jake Bates is quickly cementing himself as a Detroit sports legend.
The Lions kicker played hero yet again after nailing a 35-yard field goal as the clock expired to help secure a 34-31 victory over their division rivals, the Green Bay Packers, on Thursday Night Football.
With the game tied at 31-31 with just over three minutes to go, the Lions offense drove down the field while chewing up the clock.
As Detroit inched closer and closer to the redzone, the Packers defense came up clutch, stopping Lions running back David Montgomery on third down.
A field goal would have been the logical choice to put Detroit up three points with about 40 seconds remaining and give the ball back to Green Bay with zero timeouts.
However, as Lions head coach Dan Campbell has proved again and again, he is not scared of any situation he may face in a game.
Despite Detroit quarterback Jared Goff tripping on the handoff, he successfully got the ball to Montegomery who secured the first down and eventually set up the game-winning kick – it is Bates’ third of the season with the last coming just a little under a month ago against the Houston Texans.
With the victory, the Lions extended their win streak to 11 games – the longest winning run in franchise history – and clinched a playoff berth. It is the first time since 1995 that the Lions have reached the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
Detroit improves to 12-1 on the season, tying a franchise record for most wins in a season.
After the game, Campbell told reporters he felt like the team needed to close out the game on offense, when asked about the gutsy playcall.
“I did not want to give that ball back,” Campbell said. “I believe we could get that, I believe we could convert. I trusted the O-line. … I knew how I wanted to play this game, the team knew it. And everything in me told me to lets finish this, so we did.”
The fourth year head coach joked about Goff’s little trip, calling him an “athlete.”
“And he got that thing handed off. David (Montegomery) did the rest. It was great,” Campbell continued as laughter erupted in the media room.
As for the Packers, it was a tale of two halves.
Green Bay went into halftime down 17-7 with the only score coming on running back Josh Jacobs’ one-yard rushing touchdown.
After the halftime break, the two teams went back-and-forth trading scores – including two more rushing touchdowns from Jacobs to bring his total to three on the day.
It was a momentous game for Lions receiver Tim Patrick who, having not scored a touchdown for 1,082 days after suffering a torn Achilles tendon and ACL in recent years, had two touchdown receptions.
“The journey was long, but it was worth it, and it made me the man I am today, and it brought me here to Detroit,” Patrick told reporters afterwards. “I’ve won the most games I’ve ever won in my career, just had a two-touchdown performance on Thursday Night Football, I’ve got like 30 reporters in front of me right now, I’m just very blessed and thankful for this team.”
Late in the fourth quarter, the Packers settled for a field goal to tie the game at 31 before Campbell’s decision to go for it helped seal the victory.
Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love threw 12-of-20 for 206 yards and a touchdown as the Packers fell to 9-4 on the season. All four of the team’s losses have come from teams with at least nine wins.
The Lions host the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills while the Packers travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks on Sunday Night Football next week.
With the division title secure, Detroit’s aim now is to seal the No. 1 seed in the NFC and the postseason bye that comes with it.
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“You know certainly you’ve got to win this division and then you get this No. 1 seed, and we got a step closer to winning this division and doing what I just mentioned,” Campbell said afterwards. “So yeah, listen, it’s great, we’re in the playoffs. I wish I had told the team, I didn’t even tell them, I had no idea.
“But honestly I think they know, I think they feel like I feel, I really believe that. And I think everybody would be like, ‘OK, that’s great,’ with the old golf clap, but then we know what we want to do. We talked about this really even after last year, we talked about it in the spring, we talked about it in training camp. We know what our goals are.”
