Free Press sports writer Rainer Sabin highlights the best and worst performances from the Detroit Lions' 20-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Oct. 25, at Ford Field.
Winners
Jared Goff
Through the first six weeks of the season, Goff was one of the top performers at his position. Entering Sunday, he ranked third in passing yards per game and efficiency rating. He had managed to avoid trouble, throwing zero interceptions in 191 attempts. On Sunday, Goff picked up right where he left off before the bye, guiding the Lions to the end zone on their first possession. In a rapid sequence, Goff connected with Amon-Ra St Brown for a long completion and then delivered a pair of strikes to Jameson Williams, who scored on a 16-yard reception.
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Goff spent the remainder of the first half picking apart Green Bay’s defense. But the Lions only managed to produce 10 points over the first 30 minutes. Then, on the second snap of the third quarter, Goff mishandled a snap from Cade Mays and lost a fumble. It was a regrettable unforced error, and it set up a Green Bay touchdown. But Goff rebounded from his mistake and promptly led the Lions back to the end zone on the Lions’ next possession. He finished off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Williams. Later, during the Lions' winning drive, he came up big again – delivering an 18-yard strike to tight end Sam LaPorta before Karl Brooks hit him late and incurred a roughing the passer penalty. From start to finish, Goff excelled. He finished with 303 passing yards, completing 22 of his 32 attempts. and remaining interception-free.
WRs Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams
St. Brown and Williams were Goff’s top targets Sunday.
They took turns scorching Green Bay’s defense.
By the end of the first half, St. Brown already had a robust stat line – seven catches and 135 yards. But he kept adding to it. Even as St. Brown kept going, Williams made his own impact. In the third quarter, he took the Lions into Green Bay territory with a 30-yard grab. Six plays later, he caught a 10-yard touchdown strike from Goff – his second of the afternoon – to give Detroit a three-point lead.
Williams, who caught five passes for 91 yards, has been on an upward trajectory since a Week 3 victory over the New York Jets. The rough start to his 2026 season is now in his rearview mirror. Meanwhile, for St. Brown, it’s business as usual. He continues to deliver boffo results. By the end of the game, he netted 153 receiving yards on nine catches.
DE Aidan Hutchinson
Last season, the Lions failed to sack Jordan Love in 56 dropbacks over two games.
He proved frustratingly elusive, dodging oncoming rushers even when they were closing in on him.
Hutchinson was determined to reach his target Sunday, telling reporters Tuesday, “We have get after him.”
He did. On the first play of the Packers’ third possession, Hutchinson pounced off the line, beat left tackle Jordan Morgan around the edge, and dragged Love down for a 10-yard loss. The sack, his fifth of the year, came not long after Hutchinson read a pass from Love and nearly intercepted it. Once again, he made his mark, producing a team-high nine pressures.
S Brian Branch
No one knew how Branch would perform in his first game since rupturing the Achilles tendon in his right leg last December.
Many figured the fourth-year safety would be rusty.
Few imagined he’d make much of an impact.
But Branch looked like his old self. He finished with four tackles and created the Lions’ only takeaway of the afternoon when he intercepted a deep shot from Love to Christian Watson early in the fourth quarter.
Branch, who logged 45 snaps, graded out as the Lions’ best defender, according to Pro Football Focus.
Losers
TE Sam LaPorta
LaPorta made headlines last week when he went on the national podcast, “Pardon My Take,” and complained about his contract situation.
The tight end, who is in the final year of his deal and seeking an extension, expressed frustration that the organization was “not showing the love.”
“I’m gonna continue to 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 gonna be all good I’ll go get paid somewhere else,” LaPorta said. “So, whatever.”
LaPorta later tried to walk back his comments, telling reporters he wants “to play for this team.”
He also said he felt bad that he may have created “a distraction.”
But in the eyes of many fans, the only way LaPorta could atone for his cavalier remarks was by having a big game Sunday. He didn’t. In fact, he was a non-factor until the Lions’ final drive. He finished with a rather barren stat line – one catch for 18 yards.
DE Ahmed Hassanein
Hassanein was one of the stars of the preseason.
In three games, the second-year edge defender produced four tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. In training camp, he distinguished himself day after day.
“He plays so dang hard, plays with leverage,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of the 2025 sixth-round pick in August. “And he has, he's grown, man.”
It appeared then he was in line to be a contributor as a role player.
But he has yet to play a snap this season. He has been ruled inactive for the Lions' first six games in 2026.
Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him @RainerSabin on X.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions winners, losers as Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams deliver
