As we turn toward the 2026 season, it’s time to take a short look back at 2025.
Over the past few weeks, the APC staff has been voting on and discussing the Packers’ top 10 plays of 2025, and we’re happy to unveil our list starting with number 10, when Dontayvion Wicks showed the whole city of Detroit that the Packers could be just as aggressive as the Lions.
The Game
After the Packers took down the Lions in Week 1, boosted in large part by their very late acquisition of Micah Parsons, their rematch on Thanksgiving
shaped up to be one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the second half of the season. The two teams careened into their Week 13 appointment about as close in the standings as they could be: the Packers’ Week 12 win over the Vikings had moved them to 7-3-1 on the year, while the Lions had beaten the Giants in overtime to move to 7-4.
Now, squaring off on a holiday on short rest, the teams had a chance to settle what they’d started in Week 1. Could the Packers maintain their midseason momentum, or would the Lions get revenge for the Parsons-shaped surprise sprung on them in the season’s first game?
The Situation
The Packers took the opening kickoff and marched neatly down the field on their first drive. Brandon McManus knocked through a 45-yard field goal to give them a 3-0 lead, and from there the teams settled down to trade punches for the rest of the first quarter. Neither team managed to capture much momentum throughout what remained of the first frame, and neither managed to cross the midfield stripe until the Packers took over with a little more than three minutes to go in the quarter.
Bolstered by a 29-yard Josh Jacobs scamper, the Packers were soon threatening deep in Lions territory, and as the second quarter began, Jordan Love and company found themselves facing a 2nd and 12 on the Lions’ 31-yard line. Jacobs powered up the middle for nine, setting up a short third down play, but Love threw incomplete to Christian Watson on second down to bring up a key decision: kick another field goal, or attempt a conversion on 4th and 3.
A year earlier, the Lions had beaten the Packers in Detroit in part because of their boldness on fourth downs. Late in that game, the Lions had a chance to kick a relatively short go-ahead field goal on a 4th and 1, but chose instead to go for it. They converted and ran the clock down to practically all zeros before kicking the final field goal, leaving the Packers no time to mount any counterattack.
Perhaps with that bold approach in the back of his mind, Packers coach Matt LaFleur decided to pass on the field goal, sending the Packers out to go for it all on fourth down rather than settle for a mere six-point lead.
The Play
The Packers made it clear they were going to put the weight of the decision on Jordan Love’s shoulders from the moment they broke the huddle. Coming to the line in 11 personnel, the Packers deployed Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks (who had yet to make a catch that day) in a bunch formation to the right.
As the play clock dwindled, Wicks broke from the formation and motioned right to left, turning up field along the left sideline at the snap. Love looked briefly to his right before turning to Wicks, lofting a pass that landed in Wicks’ outstretched arms in a narrow space between Detroit defensive backs Brian Branch and Thomas Harper.
Wicks deftly tapped his toes as he absorbed a glancing blow from Harper, securing the touchdown to put the Packers up 9-0. A review confirmed Wicks’ score, and Brandon McManus kicked the PAT to give the Packers a double-digit lead.
The Impact
“We knew it was going to come down to the end, so we had to go make the plays that counted,” said Wicks postgame when asked of his score.
He wasn’t kidding. True to form, the Lions played the Packers close throughout the game, fighting back from three different double-digit deficits to keep the game within a score. But Wicks’ score, one of two on the day, would prove to be the difference, as the Packers ultimately prevailed 31-24.
Had LaFleur not been aggressive, and had Wicks not delivered when called upon, who knows how things could have turned out? Nobody can say, but Wicks was happy to pay off his coach’s faith.
“That’s what it comes down to,” he said. “Coach believes in you. You just go out and make plays, and that’s what keeps him believing.”
