Jared Goff’s Thanksgiving 31-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers stung at home in Detroit. The offense and execution failed for the Detroit Lions after the Packers took an early lead. Week 13 wasn’t just another loss for the Lions, and Goff owning his part set the tone for the rest of the season.

“Jared Goff on the fourth-down incompletion to Jameson Williams: “I gotta connect with Jamo there. I’ve gotta give him a better throw. He might score right there, and then the drive will be over,” Nolan Bianchi reported on X.  

Detroit’s drive stalled late. On 4th-and-3 in the fourth quarter, Goff threw an incomplete pass to Williams. That drop sealed the turnover on downs. Earlier, the Lions had failed another fourth-down attempt in the second half. The Packers converted all three of their fourth-down tries with two touchdowns and used a final fourth-down conversion with under two minutes left to end the game.

“Like I told the team, ‘It’s frustrating, I know. We’ve got a lot to be thankful for even after a loss,” Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell said. “So, all we’ve got to do is worry about cleaning up this and then getting to the next game and finding a way to win the next one in front of us.”

The attempt to target Jameson Williams summed up the Detroit Lions’ offensive frustrations. The timing was off, the connection wasn’t there, and the ball fell incomplete just like the previous attempts. Goff finished the game 20-of-26 for 256 yards and two touchdowns. His top target, Jameson Williams, hauled in seven catches for 144 yards and a score. Detroit’s aggressive approach didn’t translate into results; it echoed their earlier 16–9 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles this season.

Lions’ fourth-down failures a concern

The Detroit Lions went 0-for-5 on fourth-down attempts in their 16–9 road loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The failed conversions began in the second quarter at their own 48-yard line and included a fake punt on fourth-and-2.

“We were 3 of 13 on third down and obviously 0 for 5 on fourth down, and that’s not good enough,” Dan Campbell said after the Eagles’ loss. “We had some missed throws, some pressure, some tipped balls, and a couple of drops. There were also some bad calls by me, some calls I want back.” 

After halftime, three more fourth-down calls all fell short. One came on 4th-and-5 while trailing 13–6 despite a potential 50-yard field goal. Later, the Lions tried 4th-and-goal from the 3-yard line and failed. Their final attempt came on 4th-and-3 from the Eagles’ 45, which was again incomplete.

Similarly, the Detroit Lions stumbled repeatedly on fourth down in their loss to the Green Bay Packers. In their two fourth-down tries, they came up empty. Goff and Williams’ incomplete pass turnover halted a critical Detroit drive when they trailed by 10 points. Meanwhile, Green Bay capitalized and went 3-for-3 on fourth downs, including two touchdowns, sealing the game in their favour.