Packers defeat Lions, are one win away from clinching division title

The Green Bay Packers move within one win of taking yet another NFC North title by whipping Detroit 27-20 in a significant snow storm Sunday night.

All Green Bay has to do to wrap things up is beat the Bears next week at Soldier Field.

Early in the game it looked like the Lions might win their first game at Lambeau Field since 1991. Detroit scored the first two touchdowns of the game to take a 14-0 lead.

The sluggish offense got a boost when Mike Daniels returned a Detroit fumble 43 yards to cut the lead to 14-10. Lion quarterback Matthew Stafford had dropped back to pass when the wet ball slipped out of his hand.

The Packers were still four points behind in the third period when Aaron Rodgers ran it in from 27 yards away, the longest run of his career and the long running play of the season for the Packers.

Detroit never caught up and lost at Lambeau for the 22nd straight time.

DaJuan Harris iced the game with the team’s second rushing touchdown from 14 yards out. The ground game, ineffective for the first half, bulldozed its way to 98 yards after intermission.

The Green Bay area received three and a half inches of snow and the game was played in relatively heavy snow all night long.

A win at Chicago clinches the North title for Green Bay and gives the team a 10-win season – a significant milestone for coach Mike McCarthy.

The Bears lost their Sunday game to Minnesota, 21-14.

The Lions have lost five in a row and blew a lead of at least 10 points for the third game in a row. That’s an NFL record.

The only bright spot was wide receiver Calvin Johnson’s 118-yard outing, putting him over 1,500 yards on the season.

Injuries

Green Bay Packers right tackle T.J. Lang was activated, but he did not play in Sunday night’s home win over Detroit.

The Packers needed a seventh offensive lineman to be active in case of injuries, but the plan was for Lang to wait until next Sunday for his return at Chicago.

Rookie Don Barclay made his first NFL start after he replaced Lang during last Sunday’s home win over Minnesota.

Lang injured an ankle in that game. He said he might have been pushing things a bit had he returned against the Lions.

One player who did come back from a long-term injury was corner Sam Shields. He’s among Green Bay’s fastest players. It showed both on special teams and in the Packer secondary.

Shields intercepted Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, and ran all the way across the field to chase down kickoff returner Stefan Logan before he could turn a corner and break away.

Shields had been out since Oct. 14 when he suffered a high-ankle sprain at Houston.

The Packers are 9-4 with a one-game lead over second-place Chicago.

Burnett fined for hit

A Packer faces a major fine for the fifth week in a row after safety Morgan Burnett made contact with Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson’s helmet in the third quarter.

It happened after a 19-yard catch close to midfield, when Johnson was on the ground. Referee Tony Corrente penalized the Packers 15 yards for unnecessary roughness.

Replays showed that Burnett may have missed direct contact with Megatron’s helmet as he dived over him. Burnett said he would have to review the video to see what happened, but he said he was just making a tackle and breaking for the ball. He said he was not sure if he hit Johnson in the head.

The Packers have had one defender or special teams player fined at least $15,000 for an illegal hit in every game since Nov. 4.

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