FIRST DOWN: BRANCH'S RETURN
Detroit Lions defensive back Brian Branch said he knew he was ready to come back off a 10-month absence rehabbing a torn Achilles about three weeks ago when he joined the scout team and went up against Detroit's explosive offense with wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, and still made a few plays.
"That kind of gave me like, 'I still got it.'" Branch said after his 2026 debut Sunday, which resulted in a 20-17 win over Green Bay.
The plan for Branch coming in was to keep him on a pitch count, and Detroit's defensive coaches held firm to that. He said after the game he appreciated it because when he ran out of the tunnel and onto the field for the first defensive series, his adrenaline was flowing.
Branch played roughly two thirds of the defensive snaps and made sure they counted. He had a couple nice tackles in the run game and a critical fourth-quarter interception of Packers quarterback Jordan Love when he went up over wide receiver Christian Watson to secure the pick.
It might have been the loudest moment of the entire game at Ford Field Sunday as the Lions faithful got their chance to welcome the Pro Bowl safety back into the fold.
"You go through an injury like that; the amount of rehab and things that go into all of that to get back to where you're ready to play at a high level in the NFL," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said of Branch. "You get back to some of what you are and he's not even fully back yet as far as just the rust. Every rep he takes he's going to get better and better. It's not an easy road. That was a huge play. Everybody loves (Branch) because he's a great teammate and a productive football player. He can just find the ball."
SECOND DOWN: SECONDARY PLAY
The Lions' secondary deserves a lot of credit for the way they performed Sunday against a Packers' passing offense that's been one of the most explosive units in the league to start the season. Green Bay came in ranked third in 20-plus-yard completions (24), first in 40-plus-yarders (8) and first in 50-plus-yarders (3). While they still had six completions of 20-plus yards in the game, five of which came in the first half, Detroit's secondary eliminated the big one that's been a staple of the Packers' offense early this season.
They did so without recording a single interference, illegal contact or holding penalty. They also did it with several different players, including veteran Khalil Dorsey, who stepped in for some reps when Ennis Rakestraw Jr. left with an ankle injury.
Detroit held Watson to 57 yards and an 11.4-yard average. Watson came in with over 500 receiving yards and an 18.6-yard average per reception. Fellow Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden also came in with over 500 receiving yards and a 16.7-yard average. He had 39 yards and a 6.5-yard average on Sunday.
"We had to try to eliminate or limit what those two receivers could do," Campbell said. "Try not to let them behind us. I thought our back end – it was perfect – but I thought they played really good back there."
That's two weeks in a row the Lions' defense, and particularly the secondary, has stepped up and played well for Detroit.
"Shepp called a hell of a game plan, put everyone in the right spot, and once we execute, it's a wrap," Branch said.
THIRD DOWN: DYNAMIC DUO
Campbell said after Sunday's game that he would have told anyone who asked that St. Brown was in for a big game vs. the Packers after how upset he was with the way he played in Arizona, dropping a pass on third down and also fumbling.
"You know (St. Brown)," Campbell said. "(He) was ready to go. (St. Brown) was ready to go after Arizona. He had to go through a whole bye though. He does what he does and he's reliable."
St. Brown caught nine of the 11 passes quarterback Jared Goff threw at him for 153 yards (17.0 avg.). It was his 26th career game with 100-plus receiving yards and marked the fourth time he's logged 100-plus yards before halftime.
Not to be outdone, Williams had a two-touchdown performance for a second-straight contest as he's building a lot of confidence the last couple weeks. It's the first time in his career Williams has logged two touchdown catches in consecutive games.
"He made some huge plays for us," Campbell said of Williams. "Those two guys … they were big."
FOURTH DOWN: WALK-OFF WINNER
Green Bay kicker Trey Smack missed a 26-yard field goal on the Packers' first possession of the game and had a 35-yarder partially blocked by Lions edge rusher DJ Wonnum on their last possession. Those turned out to be critical misses in a three-point loss.
On the Lions' side, Jake Bates was a perfect 2-for-2 (40 and 22 yards) on field goals and 2-for-2 on extra points, continuing his perfect streak of field goals (10-for-10) and extra points (22-for-22) on the year. His 22-yarder as time expired gave Detroit the 20-17 win and helped improve their record to 4-2.
Bates is now 7-of-7 on go-ahead/game-tying field goals in the final two minutes or overtime in his career. He's money in key moments, and that's the best trait a kicker can have.
