Lions Beat Packers 20-17 on Jake Bates' Walk-Off Field Goal After Campbell's Fourth-Down Gamble Fails

By The Arena Staff

DETROIT, Oct. 26, 2026 — Dan Campbell rolled the dice deep in his own territory on Sunday, lost the roll and still walked off a winner.

Jake Bates kicked a 22-yard field goal as time expired to give the Detroit Lions a 20-17 win over the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field, a game Green Bay had every chance to take. The Packers' rookie kicker, Trey Smack, missed twice from close range, the Associated Press reported, and that was the difference.

The swing came with under five minutes to play. Campbell kept his offense on the field on fourth-and-1 from the Detroit 24, and Jahmyr Gibbs was stopped short. "I thought we would get it, No. 1," Campbell said, according to the AP. "No. 2, I knew we would get the ball back if it didn't work out."

He was right about the second part. Jordan Love's third-down throw into the end zone went off Josh Jacobs' hands, and Smack's 35-yard attempt went wide after Detroit's D.J. Wonnum got a finger on it. The official scorebook lists the kick as blocked. Smack had already missed from 26 yards earlier in the game. The AP, citing Sportradar, said he is the first kicker since 2019 to miss two field goals of 35 yards or shorter in one game.

Detroit's last drive got help from Green Bay's defense. Jared Goff hit Sam LaPorta for 18 yards, then Packers defensive lineman Karl Brooks was flagged for roughing the passer and, at the two-minute warning, for lining up offside on third-and-5. Green Bay stopped trying to tackle Gibbs so it could get the ball back, and Gibbs went down short of the goal line twice rather than score, leaving the final snap for Bates. "That was as good as it gets at clock management," Goff said.

Jameson Williams caught two touchdown passes, from 16 and 10 yards, and finished with five catches for 91 yards, DetroitLions.com reported. Amon-Ra St. Brown had nine catches for 153 yards. Safety Brian Branch intercepted Love in the fourth quarter in his first game back from the torn Achilles tendon he suffered last December.

Green Bay's frustration ran well past its kicker. Jacobs, making his season debut, scored on a 25-yard catch, but penalties handed Detroit five first downs, the Lions' most since 2020, the AP reported. According to Packers.com, Green Bay has been called for roughing the passer eight times this season, while their opponents have not been flagged for it once. Safety Xavier McKinney said, "I'm not a fan of the refs right now." Coach Matt LaFleur held back. "I could tell you what I really think, but it wouldn't do us any good," he said.

The Packers also lost starting center Sean Rhyan to an ankle injury and backup Jacob Monk to a quad injury, leaving second-year lineman John Williams to snap in his NFL debut. Detroit (4-2) has won two straight for the first time this season and hosts unbeaten Minnesota next Sunday. Green Bay (4-3) saw a three-game winning streak end, sits last in an NFC North where every team has a winning record and hosts Carolina on Thursday night.

Share-card photo: The turf at Ford Field, 2015, by Michael Barera via Wikimedia Commons.jpg), CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.