Yahoo Sports Staff Updated Sun, October 25, 2026 at 9:43 PM UTC About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this story The Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions will play the first of their two regular-season matchups in Week 7, with kickoff set for 4:25 p.m. ET at Ford Field in Detroit. The NFC North remains as competitive as ever, as just one of two divisions where each team sits at .500 or better (the other being the AFC North).
The Lions are coming in rested off the bye week and will look to continue their offensive production, scoring 26-plus points in every game so far this season and 31-plus points in all but one. The defense has struggled, meanwhile, allowing the third-most points per game (29.6) and the eighth-highest scoring drive percentage (44.4%) to opponents this year. Detroit will get a big-time reinforcement in the secondary this week, as safety Brian Branch makes his season debut returning from an Achilles injury that ended his 2025 season.
The Packers have won three straight after a 1-2 start. Green Bay has struggled to run the ball effectively, with starting running back Josh Jacobs missing the first six weeks on the commissioner's exempt list. Jacobs has been reinstated to the active roster and is eligible to make his season debut, though the NFL's investigation into his offseason arrest remains ongoing. Jacobs was charged with battery and criminal damage to property stemming from a May incident and pleaded no contest to both.
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more as the Packers host the Lions for an NFC North showdown in Week 7, airing on Fox .
Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt is considered questionable to return due to an ankle injury, according to the team.
Wyatt has had a quiet start to his season with nine tackles and two sacks through six games. He had a tackle on Sunday before leaving the game with his ankle injury.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is being aggressive on fourth-down calls. Green Bay had gone for it on fourth down three times already in the first half, and converted all three.
So when the Packers were facing fourth and four at the Detroit 7-yard line, LaFleur rolled the dice yet again.
This time, though, the Lions' defense stepped up, and Jordan Love's pass attempt was caught by Matthew Golden who got stuffed for no gain.
While a touchdown would have been great, and now Detroit has bad field position, a field goal there would've tied the game had they made it.
Now, the Lions lead 10-7 with 4:15 left in the second quarter.
Jared Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 17-yard gain on the second play of the drive. After that, though, Goff was sacked and then had two incompletions.
The Lions still lead 10-7 with 9:17 to go in the second quarter.
After the Detroit field goal, Green Bay's offense couldn't get a fresh set of downs.
Jordan Love was sacked on first down by Aidan Hutchinson for a loss of 10 yards. Love checked it down to MarShawn Lloyd for a six-yard gain, but couldn't complete a pass to Christian Watson on third down.
The Lions still lead 10-7 with 11 minutes to go in the first half.
The turn of the quarter also saw the momentum of the offense stall out. Detroit got all the way down to the Green Bay 20-yard line. Lions quarterback Jared Goff dumped a pass down to Jahmyr Gibbs who lost two yards.
On fourth and seven, head coach Dan Campbell opted to kick and Jake Bates made a 40-yard field goal.
The Lions lead 10-7 with 12:36 left in the first half.
After the Green Bay touchdown, Detroit came out aggressive. Jared Goff aired the ball out and found his top wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for a gain of 40.
Jahmyr Gibbs then had a 12-yard carry birnging up the end of the first quarter.
It looked like Jordan Love was going to scramble, but he pulled up right at the line of scrimmage after running right and fired a pass to the end zone.
Tight end Tucker Kraft ended up wide open after juking a defender and easily caught the 14-yard touchdown.
After the extra point, the game is tied at 7 with 58 seconds to go in the first quarter.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur decided to roll the dice early. The offense faced fourth-and-two at the Detroit 49ers.
Quarterback Jordan Love slung a quick pass to tight end Tucker Kraft, who avoided tacklers and scampered for a 22-yard gain.
Jared Goff is airing the ball out for the Lions. He found Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 28-yard gain and immediately found Jameson Williams for a 24-yard pickup.
The Detroit quarterback then threw a pass left to Williams, and the speedy wide receiver stayed inbounds and avoided defenders on his way to the 16-yard score.
The Lions lead 7-0 after the extra point.
Matthew Golden and Christian Watson have been one of the best receiving duos in the league this year, and Golden has so far carried that momentum into Week 7.
He had two catches for 27 yards on the opening drive, with teammate Savion Williams nabbing a 27-yard catch of his own. The drive stalled out in the red zone, however, and the Packers decide to go for the points with rookie kicker Trey Smack from 26 yards — which he missed, wide right.
Josh Jacobs wasn't able to get much done with his first reps of the season returning from the commissioner's exempt list, totaling just four yards on three rush attempts.
The Lions' secondary has allowed the fourth-most passing touchdowns (14) and the fourth-highest NFL passer rating (106.3) through the first six weeks of the season.
They'll get a key contributor back onto the field in Week 7, though, as Pro Bowl safety Brian Branch makes his season debut after a ruptured Achilles suffered last season. He's officially active.
Here's a look at the list of inactives for Lions vs. Packers in Week 7.
Four years ago, the Detroit Lions traded tight end T.J. Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings midseason. The Vikings wound up signing him to a then-record-setting extension in the summer of 2023.
Hockenson's eventual replacement in Detroit, Sam LaPorta, is now due for a lucrative extension.
He's in the final year of his rookie deal, and, despite his impressive play upon returning from a back injury that cut his 2025 campaign short , the Lions still haven't extended him.
LaPorta, an Iowa product like Hockenson, expressed his disappointment in that situation during the latest episode of Barstool's "Pardon My Take" podcast.
The 2023 second-round pick was asked about playing with the uncertainty of his NFL future looming.
"I think the combination of getting your heartstrings twisted as well as the violent sport that we play, it sucks," LaPorta said. "And it's disappointing that you go out there every week and you bear the risk of getting hurt. Like last year, whatever it was, Week 9, Week 10, I break my f***ing back for the team. And then I'm going out there this year, and I'm balling, and maybe they're just not showing the love.
"So it sucks. I'm going to continue to be a pro, and I dish a lot of that to my agent, and he handles that great. ... So I'm going to continue to go do my thing and ball out. And in three months, if I don't get to wear the Honolulu Blue and play for the Lions anymore, it's going to be all good. I'll go get paid somewhere else."
Source: Sports
0 Comments