Explaining late-game pace: The Ford Field faithful got restless in the fourth quarter with a lack of urgency from the Lions' offense on a fourth quarter drive where they were down 10 points and held the ball for more than six minutes before kicking a field goal and giving the ball back to Green Bay with just under three minutes on the clock and all three timeouts in their pocket.
Campbell said after the game it was exactly what he wanted from that drive.
"I know that's frustrating when you're a fan watching," Campbell said. "But I know how we needed to play against that defensive front. And it was about playing for the last possession. Defense was going to get the stop, we were going to use our timeouts, get one more shot to go win the game and that's how we were playing it.
"I wanted to play it just like that. I wanted to keep it in our hands and not turn it into a pin your ears back and start flying up the field with (Packers DL) Micah Parsons and those guys."
Always ready: Tom Kennedy has been with the Lions since 2019 both on the practice squad and the active roster. With Kalif Raymond out Thursday with an ankle injury, Kennedy stepped in as a punt and kickoff returner and had a 21-yard return on his only punt return and accumulated 81 yards on three kickoff returns.
When receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury, Kennedy also had to step in on offense. He made a key 23-yard catch down the seam on Detroit's first scoring drive and finished with four receptions for 36 yards. Campbell always preaches next man up, and Kennedy exemplified that mentality Thursday.
Timeout awarded: Facing a 4th & 1 at the Lions' 2-yard line late in the second quarter, it appeared a Packers offensive lineman false started before Packers head coach Matt LaFleur was spotted by cameras running down the Green Bay sideline getting the officials attention for a timeout.
"The timeout was called before the false start happened," referee Ronald Torbert said in a pool report following the game.
Asked how he reached the conclusion that the timeout occurred first?
"We talked about it on the field. We recognized the timeout called, and that the timeout was called before the false start," he said.
Green Bay scored on a 2-yard touchdown pass the next play.
Mr. Consistency: Running back David Montgomery put the Lions on the board midway through the second quarter with a 3-yard run on a direct snap from center. It was Montgomery's sixth rushing touchdown of the season. He is now just the 14th running back in league history to produce at least six touchdowns in each of a player's first seven seasons in the NFL.
Pass rush: Detroit's lack of a consistent pass rush has been an issue for the defense. It's forcing a talented and versatile Detroit secondary to have to cover too long, and opponents are taking advantage. Detroit failed to record a single sack Thursday and hit Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love just twice. Detroit had just one tackle for loss as Green Bay's offensive line won the battle in the trenches.
Parsons a problem: Parsons, who Green Bay traded for right before the start of the season, had eight tackles and 2.5 sacks Thursday. He's now the first player in NFL history to have 12-plus sacks in each of his first five NFL seasons.
