Detroit Lions are 'built to win everywhere' and showed that against Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – A few hours before the Detroit Lions sent a message to the NFL with a resounding victory over a division opponent in the kind of foul weather that should have been their Kryptonite, Amon-Ra St. Brown had his own message for the Green Bay Packers.

St. Brown, the Lions’ All-Pro receivershowed up at Lambeau Field on Sunday wearing a black hoodie with the words “GREENBAY SUCKS” on the chest.

“Just having fun,” St. Brown said after the game. “Last year I had beer poured on me, so you know, maybe something, something back for them.”

St. Brown celebrated its first Lambeau Field touchdown last September with a Lambeau Leap against a trio of Lions fans sitting in the front row amid a sea of green. An annoyed Packers fan opened his beer on St. Brown’s headand on Sunday, St. Brown and the Lions repaid the favor by opening a can of their own.

St. Brown scored another touchdown on Sunday on fourth-and-goal play from the 3 early in the second quarter, after the Lions had pushed the Packers to offside.

As good teams do, the Lions largely avoided self-inflicted mistakes on Sunday and capitalized on those the Packers made to win their sixth game in a rowfour of which reached double figures.

St. Brown, who tied Herman Moore’s franchise record with a receiving touchdown in his sixth straight game, celebrated the win by taking a victory lap along the visiting sideline where a ring of Lions fans stayed through steady rain to support their team.

“I say this to everyone: I feel like we have the best fans in the world,” he said. “They travel great, very well. You saw all the blue shirts and blue jerseys today and I mean, we love them. They were at the end of the game singing Jared Goff. Even a third down. I felt like when the Packers were on offense it was pretty loud for them. So we love them, they are the best and we are happy that we can continue to work for them.”

The Lions proved on Sunday that they can compete against anyone anywhere, no matter the conditions.

While the narrative was more in their heads than in reality that they are an umbrella team incapable of winning away from home – after all, they have one of the best offensive lines and running games in football – it was still important to convey this on the field prove.

Goff played another almost perfect gamewith 18 of 22 passes completed without a turnover. The Lions kept the Packers out of the end zone until late in the fourth quarter, despite playing most of the day without their two biggest defensive stars, Aidan Hutchinson and Brian Branch. And on a national stage in less than ideal circumstances, the Lions remained calm while the team that should be used to the elements melted like the Wicked Witch of the West.

“I’m not shocked at all that we came out here and played some pretty good football in the weather,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We were built for this, man. And it doesn’t matter, just because we’re playing indoors, it doesn’t matter. We can play anywhere. We can play in the snow, we can play in the rain, we can play in the mud. That’s just us, and we’re built to win, man.”

The Lions have won enough in the first half of the season to think they won’t have to worry much about the elements for the rest of the season.

They have two more outdoor games scheduled, against the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers in consecutive weeks in late December, and are in prime position to gain home field advantage in the NFC playoffs.

If that happens, they’ll have a first-round bye and two potential playoff games at Ford Field, saving them the need to win in Philadelphia, Washington or Green Bay to catch New Orleans.

At 7-1, the Lions are the class of the NFC and it’s not exactly close right now. The Commanders, Eagles and Vikings are the only teams with two losses in the conference, and the Lions already have a win in Minnesota.

One of the Commanders or Eagles could end up being the Lions’ biggest roadblock to the Super Bowl, though neither is currently playing as consistently high-level football as the Lions.

The Lions lead the NFL in scoring (32.3 points per game), are tied for the league lead in turnover margin (plus-11) and are on pace to finish with the largest points differential (plus-13.8) of any team since the 2019 Baltimore Ravens.

They are a juggernaut and believe deep in their souls that they can do anything they want on the football field.

“I give the Packers credit, they’re a damn good football team,” left tackle Taylor Decker said. “But we feel like we’re the only one that can stop us. And if we do what we should do and execute, then we should win these games.”

The Lions may still be down a loss or even three their schedulethat’s life in the NFL. But the reality is that they should be a better football team in December and January than they are now. Jameson Williams returns this week his two-match suspension. Pass emergency assistance is on its way sooner Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline. This team has another gear to go on offense.

And Sunday’s win was further proof of how good the Lions can be.

“We didn’t go out there and it was given,” cornerback Amik Robertson said. “We went there and took it with us, against all odds. Against all odds. That’s how you want it, dude. You’ll feel much better if you go out and take it.

Dave Birkett will be signing copies of his new book: “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline” at 7 p.m. on November 18 at the Applebee’s in Auburn Hills and from noon to 2 p.m. on November 30 at the Troy Sports Card Show at the Balkan American Community Center. Order your copy here. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X and Instagram on @davebirkett.

Next: Texans

Matchup: Lions (7-1) at Houston (6-3).

Kick-off: 8:20 PM Sunday; NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas.

TV/radio: NBC, WXYT-FM (97.1).

Line: Lions per 3.