It has been said that a good landing is one where you walk away from the airplane and a great landing is one where you can use the airplane again. So it is with football games, a good ending is one where your team ends with better statistics than the other team but a great game is where your team ends with more points than the other team.

On that basis, the Thanksgiving game in Detroit was a good game for both teams but it was a great game for the Packers.

The first quarter had an auspicious start that was more reminiscent of the 1962 game than I cared to see. On the Packers’ first play from scrimmage, after the Lions had kicked a field goal, Brett Favre tripped and fumbled a handoff. The Lions recovered in deep Packers territory but the defense stiffened and the Lions had to settle for a field goal.

In fact, the Lions pretty much dominated the first quarter, not even allowing Green Bay a first down but as the clock was winding down, the pendulum of momentum was swinging toward the Packers. Everyone could see it and feel it, and by halftime, the outcome looked pretty certain for Green Bay.

In the fourth quarter, you could feel that the Packers had let up on the gas and were starting to coast. The Lions took advantage of it and scored twice in the quarter. A field goal by Mason Crosby with 1:44 remaining drove the last nail into the Lions’ thanksgiving coffin. It was their fourth straight loss on Thanksgiving Day.


Mason Crosby was 3-3 in field goals and kicked two field goals in the 4th quarter to seal the deal for Green Bay.

It wasn’t pretty, but a great game is when you end with more points than your opponent.

One more note: The Packers’ are now 10-1. Their best starts in history, to this point in the season, were 1929 when they were 10-0-1 and in 1962 when they were 10-1 after the Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit.  Both in 1929 and in 1962, they went on to win the NFL Championship and in 1962, they sustained no other losses.

The question remains from the previous post: Will history repeat itself?