Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes, Jake Bates hit a 35-yard field goal as time expired and the Detroit Lions secured a playoff spot with a 34-31 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.

The NFC-best Lions (12-1) broke a franchise record with their 11th straight win – including two against the Packers (9-4) – and remain ahead of Minnesota (10-2) in the highly competitive NFC North.

Detroit coach Dan Campbell tried five times in the fourth and was successful four times, including a yard out at the Green Bay 21 with 43 seconds left. David Montgomery then ran for seven yards and barely got a handoff from Goff after the quarterback stumbled and fell toward the turf. That ensured the Lions could attempt a field goal without giving the Packers the ball back, and Bates made his game-winning kick in the third game of the season.

Goff threw two touchdown passes on fourth-and-goal, one to Tim Patrick, who had two touchdown catches. He also threw an interception in the third quarter to set up one of Josh Jacobs’ career-best three-TD runs for the Packers.

Patrick said Campbell told his team before the game that they would be aggressive on fourth downs. “(Campbell) let us know before the game that if we got close (on fourth down) we would go for it … and we went out and executed,” said Patrick, who missed the 2022 and 2023 seasons due to injury. “We wanted to end the game on our terms.”

Campbell said he trusts his team to perform well in crucial moments. “I just felt like we had to finish it on offense,” Campbell said. “I didn’t want to give the ball back and believed we could convert. I trust the O-line. I trust David.”

Goff found Jahymr Gibbs open in the end zone for a two-yard pass on fourth down with 11 seconds left in the first half, giving Detroit a 17-7 lead. Goff later connected with Patrick on a one-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter.

Green Bay took advantage of the one time Campbell’s aggressiveness didn’t come to fruition, parrying Gibbs on a four-down run from the Detroit 31 late in the third quarter. Jacobs scored for the third time on the ensuing drive on a three-yard run.

Brandon McManus hit a 32-yard field goal with 3:38 left to give the Packers a 31-31 tie in a game that saw four lead changes early in the second half.

The Lions’ final drive began with Goff’s 19-yard pass to Jameson Williams. On the game-winning possession, he also connected with Amon-Ra St Brown for 16 yards. Goff finished 32 of 41 for 283 yards and six Lions players had at least five receptions. Jordan Love was 12 of 20 for 206 yards with a touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft early in the third quarter.

Patrick said the game had a special resonance for him personally. “Tomorrow is my father’s birthday. He died and that was it… I’m blessed, very blessed,” he said.