Packers beat Lions for NFC North crown, earn No. 2 playoff seed

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers earned the NFC's No. 2 seed in the playoffs after taking care of the Detroit Lions, 30-20, in an NFC North showdown in Sunday's season finale. But it wasn't easy, and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers gave the crowd quite the scare.

Rodgers left the game late in the second quarter, aggravating the calf injury he suffered the week prior, and left the game for two series. Upon returning, he helped the Packers pull away with a stellar and gutsy performance, completing 17 of 22 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns, and rushing for another score in the second half.

The Packers have earned a bye week and will face the highest-seeded playoff team remaining in the divisional round. Rodgers' injury is likely to be the main topic of discussion until the Packers next take the field.

Not only did Rodgers suffer a calf injury, but he appeared to be stepped on the left leg in the same area by the Lions' Ndamukong Suh on a play in the fourth quarter. Rodgers was not happy afterward, shoving Suh.

The Lions' losing streak at Lambeau Field now stands at 23 regular-season games, dating back to the 1991 NFL season. They'll make the postseason as the NFC's No. 6 seed and play next weekend, on either Jan. 3 or 4.

The Packers got the ground game going early. Eddie Lacy earned chants of “Eddie, Eddie!” from the crowd with his 22-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, breaking a Glover Quin tackle on the way. Lacy followed that with runs of 5 and 8 yards, breaking tackles on each, and James Starks ran twice for 23 yards to set up the Packers in business at the Detroit 2-yard line.

After a pass-interference call, the Packers had first-and-goal from the Detroit 1 but failed four times to score, eventually stopped on fourth down as Lacy was strung out wide by defensive end Ziggy Ansah on a terrific play.

The Lions couldn’t convert on their next possession, though, as quarterback Matthew Stafford missed a wide-open Eric Ebron on third down. On the ensuing punt, Packers returner Micah Hyde escaped a few tackle attempts and took it back 55 yards for the touchdown.

The Lions failed on their next two drives despite getting to the Green Bay 37- and 31-yard lines. On the first drive of 12 plays, the Lions were forced to punt on a short field on fourth-and-11. On the next drive, after a Lacy fumble recovery at their own 17-yard line, the Lions stalled after failing to convert a fourth-and-10. Stafford was struggling with his accuracy — high, low, just generally off target — through this series.

Rodgers took advantage. Lacy kicked off the drive with three runs for 19 yards, and Rodgers hit Randall Cobb for 34 yards on a gorgeous catch and run to set up the Packers in the red zone. After a defensive offsides, Rodgers hit Cobb on a broken play — and fell to the turf with that calf injury.

Rising slowly, Rodgers was helped to the sideline and then taken into the locker room two minutes before halftime while the Lambeau crowd chanted “MVP!”

The Lions, though, answered with a huge scoring drive before the break. Stafford hit Reggie Bush for 10 yards, Eric Ebron for 16 more and Golden Tate for 19, taking less than a minute off the clock. The Packers got a stop on third-and-13, but a hands-to-the-face call against Packers linebacker Brad Jones extended the drive. Dialed in, Stafford hit Calvin Johnson — on his best throw of the evening — for a 20-yard post pattern with 29 seconds remaining in the half.

After a Flynn-led Packers three-and-out, the Lions started the second half with 11-play drive that included a fourth-down Stafford sneak and capped by a Stafford-to-Johnson beauty of a TD pass from four yards out to tie it.

Cue Rodgers’ Willis Reed moment.

After the Lions score, Rodgers came out from the locker room in full pads, running onto the field with the reprise of “MVP” chants from earlier. And they were earned: Rodgers led the Packers on a four-minute drive down the field — seven crisp plays, 60 yards — for a touchdown drive, with Cobb again converting, this time from 13 yards out.

The Lions started to fall apart. After a three-and-out on offense, the defense held on the next series despite yielding a flip of the field, and actually blocked Mason Crosby’s 52-yard field-goal attempt late in the third quarter.

But on the very next play, a missed connection on a handoff from Stafford to Joique Bell led to a Lions fumble and a Packers recovery. A bad challenge by Lions head coach Jim Caldwell on the play lost them a timeout on top of everything else.

Nine plays — and two Lions penalties — later, Rodgers sneaked in from 1 yard out to increase the Packers’ lead to 28-14 with 8:45 left in the game. From there, the NFC North crown was academic. Stafford moved the Lions into Green Bay territory but missed incomplete on fourth straight passes to give the ball back to the Packers.

After a Packers safety, with Stafford guilty of intentional grounding in the end zone, the Lions actually recovered the ensuing onsides kick and drove for a touchdown pass to Theo Riddick just under the two-minute warning. But the 2-point conversion was ruled no good after replay showed Bell was short of the end zone.

The final onsides kickoff attempt was recovered by the Packers to all but ice the win and give the Packers a well-earned bye week. A week that Rodgers likely will spend healing his balky calf.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm