Packers fall to last in NFC North standings after Lions loss
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- The Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers 20-17 on October 25, 2026.
- A last-second field goal won the game for Detroit at Ford Field.
- The loss drops Green Bay to 4-3 and last place in the NFC North.
The Green Bay Packers are last in the NFC North. The Detroit Lions beat them 20-17 on Sunday, October 25, 2026. A field goal as time ran out decided the game at Ford Field in Detroit.
Fans are searching for the Packers standings today for a simple reason. One loss flipped the whole division table. Green Bay went from chasing first place to sitting in fourth.
This guide explains how the game was lost. It also covers the new standings and what comes next.
What happened
The game stayed close from start to finish. Neither team pulled away at any point. The score was tied more than once, and the lead changed hands late.
Detroit won it with the final kick of the game. Packers Wire reported the final kick. Lions kicker Jake Bates made a 22-yard field goal as time expired.
That kick gave Detroit a 20-17 win. It was a harsh way for Green Bay to lose a big division game.
Green Bay had chances to win it much earlier. The Packers reached the red zone four times in the game. The red zone is the area inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
It is where teams expect to score touchdowns. Green Bay scored only seven points from those four trips, according to Packers Wire.
The kicking game hurt Green Bay badly. Packers kicker Trey Smack missed a 26-yard field goal. He also had a 35-yard field goal blocked.
Green Bay was also stopped on fourth down. The stop came from the 7-yard line in the first half. Fourth down is a team's last chance to keep the ball.
A stop there hands the ball to the other team.
Penalties hurt Green Bay too. The Packers finished the game with eight penalties. One late offside penalty proved very costly.
Offside means a defender crosses the line before the ball is snapped. That penalty gave Detroit new life late in the game. It helped set up the winning kick.
Quarterback Jordan Love had a mixed day for Green Bay. He completed 27 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw one interception in the second half.
An interception is a pass caught by the other team. Love finished with a passer rating of 83.0. He took only one sack all game.
A sack is when the quarterback is tackled behind the line before he can throw.
Running back Josh Jacobs made his 2026 debut in the game. He turned 16 touches into 71 yards. He also caught a 25-yard touchdown pass.
Jacobs gave the Packers a spark as a pass catcher. He could not lift the run game enough to change the result.
Green Bay also lost two players to injury early. Centers Sean Rhyan and Jacob Monk both left in the first quarter. Rhyan hurt his ankle, and Monk hurt his quad.
The quad is the big muscle at the front of the thigh. Head coach Matt LaFleur gave a gloomy update. He does not expect either player to be fit next week, according to Packers Wire.
Why it matters
The loss drops Green Bay to 4-3 for the season. Green Bay came into the game at 4-2. The defeat is the team's second loss inside the division.
Division losses count double in a tight race. They hurt both the record and the tiebreakers. Tiebreakers decide the order when teams finish level.
The standings now make hard reading for Packers fans. Minnesota leads the NFC North at 6-0. Chicago sits second at 5-2.
Detroit moved up to third at 4-2. Green Bay is fourth at 4-3, according to Sports Illustrated. The Packers are the only team in the division below Detroit now.
Minnesota stayed perfect with a 16-10 win over Indianapolis. The Vikings are the only unbeaten team left in the NFC. Chicago did not play on Sunday.
The Bears had already won their Week 7 game on Thursday night. They beat New England 30-24 to move to 5-2. That win kept the Bears in second place going into the weekend.
Detroit's win moved the Lions out of last place. Green Bay took their spot at the bottom instead. The gap to first place is now two full games.
The Packers must now chase three teams, not one. That is a much harder task with ten games left to play.
The timing makes it worse for Green Bay. The team had just beaten Dallas 23-13 in its last game. That win had put the Packers back on track.
Our report covers that win: Packers beat Dallas 23-13. Now one bad day in Detroit has undone that progress. The division race has swung against Green Bay in a single week.
The wider picture is still open, though. A 4-3 record is not a disaster in late October. Green Bay is only one game behind Detroit in third.
The Packers are also only one game behind Chicago in second. Two wins in a row would change the table again. But the margin for error is now much smaller.
More dropped division games would leave Green Bay in real trouble.
What happens next
Green Bay has a short week to fix things. The Packers host the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football to open Week 8. Carolina dropped to 3-3 on Sunday.
The Panthers lost 43-13 at home to Tampa Bay. Thursday games give teams less time to prepare. They also give teams a fast chance to bounce back.
The injury news will matter a lot this week. Green Bay may be without both centers who were hurt at Detroit. The center snaps the ball to the quarterback on every play.
Losing two centers in one game is rare. It puts real strain on the whole offensive line. Watch the injury reports before Thursday for the latest news.
Elsewhere in the division, the games are just as big. Detroit hosts Minnesota on Sunday. That game pits third against first in the NFC North.
A Lions win would pull Detroit level with the top two. A Vikings win would stretch their lead even further. Chicago plays Seattle on Monday night in Week 8.
The Bears will look to hold on to second place.
For Packers fans, the maths are now simple. Green Bay must beat Carolina on Thursday. A win would move the Packers back to 5-3.
It would also stop the slide before it grows. A second straight loss would leave Green Bay at 4-4. It would also hand more ground to the three teams above them.
The season is far from over for Green Bay. Ten games remain, and the division is still winnable. But the Packers can no longer afford careless losses.
The Detroit defeat showed how fast a season can turn. One missed kick, one late penalty, and one short field goal changed everything. Thursday night is the first chance to change it back.
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