Two of the NFL's highest-flying quarterbacks square off in Week 7 when Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers (4-2) take on Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions (3-2).
Love's Packers are winners of three in a row, with the 27-year-old ranking fifth in the NFL in passing yards per game (280.7) and third in completions of 20-plus yards (24). Goff and the Lions are fresh off their bye week, with the five-time Pro Bowler becoming the second quarterback in NFL history with 1,400-plus passing yards (1,485) and no turnovers through the first five games of a season. Goff joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Drew Brees (2018) in this exclusive club.
Both teams have notable injury and/or returning-player news entering Sunday afternoon. Packers Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs is back from his six-game stay on the commissioner's exempt list. Lions Pro Bowl safety Brian Branch will make his 2026 season debut with his return from a torn Achilles he suffered last December. Detroit center Cade Mays will also make his season debut after suffering a wrist fracture in training camp. Unfortunately for Green Bay, middle linebacker Zaire Franklin suffered a shin injury in practice this week and will not play on Sunday.
Who will prevail in this explosive NFC North rivalry showdown? Stay tuned to our live blog below to follow along with highlights, analysis and more!
Green Bay rookie kicker Trey Smack made his 21-yard field goal attempt, but a delay of game penalty nullified the kick. On the re-kick from 26 yards out, he missed just wide to the right. That penalty cost the Packers three points on the game's opening drive. Detroit takes over at their own eight for their first drive of the game.
Running back Josh Jacobs crashed into Rhyan's left leg at the end of a run, and he limped off the field.
Love entered Week 7 with the third-most completions of 20-plus yards, and he hits another one to wide receiver Matthew Golden on Green Bay's opening drive.
According to the NFL's Next Gen Stats, Goff is throwing into a tight window on just under a fifth of his throws, 19.4%, which is the fifth-highest rate in the league this season and his highest since his rookie year with the Rams in 2016, when he threw when an NFL-high 25.9% of his throws were into tight windows. What's interesting about Goff's willingness to squeeze the football into tight windows this season hasn't really changed when the Lions are tied or leading (19.6%) or trailing (19.2%).
Goff has completed 13 of his 37 tight-window throws for 115 yards and two touchdowns, with St. Brown making up the bulk of that production. The duo has connected on five of 16 tight-window throws for 34 yards and both of Goff's tight-window throw touchdown passes this season. Green Bay's defense is tied for the most tight-window interceptions so far, with three, so it would be more than happy for Goff to try them when a tight window opportunity arises.
Entering Week 7, Green Bay Packers wide receivers Christian Watson (538 yards receiving) and Matthew Golden (501 yards receiving) ranked fifth and sixth in the entire NFL in receiving yards. They are also the first duo in Packers history to have 500-plus receiving yards each in the first six games of a season. Watson and Golden are also the only fifth such duo in the last 10 seasons.
| Duos with 500-plus receiving yards each in first six games, Last 10 seasons | Season |
|---|---|
GB Christian Watson and Matthew Golden* | 2026 |
MIA Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle | 2022 |
SEA Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf | 2020 |
TB Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson | 2018 |
LAR Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks | 2018 |
* First duo in Packers history with 500-plus receiving yards each through six games
Entering Week 7, Love ranked No. 3 in the league in passing yards (1,684), tied for seventh in passing touchdowns (11) and third in completions of 20-plus yards (24). Love is doing this in an unideal offensive environment. Green Bay is dead last in rushing yards per game (59.8, nearly 20 yards fewer than the next closest team). Love is tied for being the most hit quarterback (46 times) this season despite averaging the fastest time to throw in the NFL (2.66 seconds), and his teammates have combined to drop the most passes (19, eight more than any team) of any pass-catching group in the NFL. Love is dragging the Packers offense up and down the field in 2026, almost completely by himself, in Green Bay's 4-2 start.
Jahmyr Gibbs has 747 yards from scrimmage and an NFL-leading 9 scrimmage touchdown through five games. He is on pace to break Chris Johnson's NFL single-season scrimmage yards record, and he is on pace to threaten LaDainian Tomlinson's single-season scrimmage touchdowns record.
| Jahmyr Gibbs This season | On pace for stats | Current NFL record |
|---|---|---|
Scrimmage yards | 2,540 | 2,509 (2009 Chris Johnson) |
Scrimmage TD | 30 | 31 (2006 LaDainian Tomlinson) |
PPR fantasy points | 522.6 | 487.1* (2006 LaDainian Tomlinson) |
* Among non-QBs
Detroit is averaging the second-most points per game (32.8) after five consecutive games with 25-plus points to begin the season, the longest streak in franchise history. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs is a major reason why. Gibbs is the fifth player in NFL history with 700-plus scrimmage yards and 9-plus scrimmage touchdowns in the first five games of season. The other four players to have accomplished the feat are Jim Brown (1958, 1963), Eric Dickerson (1983), Emmitt Smith (1995) and Priest Holmes (2002).
Green Bay's 1-2 start to the 2026 season was quite bumpy, but the Packers have righted the ship the last three weeks with three straight wins against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys to get to 4-2. Tightening up on defense has been a major key as Green Bay led the NFL in scoring defense (11.3 points per game) from Weeks 3-6.
| Packers this season | First three games | Last three games |
|---|---|---|
W-L | 1-2 | 3-0 |
PPG | 18.7 | 23.7 |
PPG allowed | 30.33 | 11.3* |
Turnovers | 4 | 3 |
Takeaways | 2 | 9* |
| Turnover differential | -2 | +6* |
Rush YPG allowed | 138.7 | 90.0 |
Pass YPG allowed | 202.0 | 184.7 |
TD-INT allowed | 5-2 | 2-7 |
Passer rating allowed | 97.2 | 56.5 |
* Leads NFL
Green Bay swept Detroit last season, and Sunday will be the two teams' first matchup since Thanksgiving Day last season. The Packers won 31-24 at Ford Field that day with Jordan Love completing 18 of his 30 throws for 234 yards and 4 touchdowns with Love completing the game-sealing, 16-yard pass to wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks on fourth-and-3 with 1:55 left to play. Green Bay has won three in a row against Detroit after losing seven of the prior eight.
Green Bay enters Week 7 averaging the fewest rushing yards per game (59.8) and yards per carry (2.9) in the NFL this season. That 59.8 rushing yards per game figure is both the third fewest by any team through the first six games of a season in the last 20 years, and the second fewest in NFL history by a team with a winning record through six games along with the 2005 Philadelphia Eagles.
Jacobs' 28 rushing touchdowns from 2024 to 2025 are tied for the second most in a two-year span in Packers history. Only Hall of Famer Jim Taylor's 34 from 1961 to 1962 are more than Jacobs' 28 the last two season.
Green Bay cornerback Benjamin St-Juste (hamstring) is inactive after being a limited practice participant all week. Linebacker Zaire Franklin (shin) is inactive after an injury in practice this week. Packers guard Aaron Banks (knee/toe) is active after missing the last four games.
Jacobs missed the first six games of the 2026 season while on the commissioner's exempt list after being charged with two misdemeanors, battery and damage to property, from an arrest in May.
