The end of the first half in Detroit almost ended with one of the rarest plays in the NFL.
With 13 seconds left to play in the first half, the Lions were facing a fourth-and-15 from their own 11-yard line, which was an obvious punting situation for Detroit. With Lions punter Jack Fox kicking out of his own end zone, that put the Packers in a situation where they could have tried for a rare "fair catch free kick."
If you've never heard of it, don't worry, most NFL fans haven't and that's because it's a pretty obscure NFL rule.
Basically, the rule goes like this: If a team fair catches a punt, they're allowed to attempt a free kick on the next play. The kick isn't a typical field goal, either. The defense has to line up 10 yards off the ball -- similar to a kickoff -- and they're not allowed to try and block the kick. The "free kick" is more like a kickoff, except the kicker has to attempt the field goal off the ground and there's also a holder (The kicker also has the option to dropkick the ball, but that almost never happens).
In the video below, you can see what it looked like the last time a fair catch free kick was attempted back in 2019.
There have only been five fair catch free kicks attempted in the NFL since 1990.
In the Lions-Packers game, returner Keisean Nixon called for a fair catch at his own 44-yard line with just five seconds left to play in the first half. At that point, the Packers could have sent Anders Carlson out to attempt a 66-yard free kick, but instead, they had Jordan Love throw an 11-yard pass that set up a 63-yard attempt by Carlson, who ended up falling short with his kick.
Although the fair catch kick would have been attempted from three yards farther back, it likely would have made more sense for Green Bay. With the fair catch free kick, the kicker can kick the ball more like a kickoff, which allows him to get a little more distance on the ball (He can take extra steps and kick the ball lower).
Even with the missed field goal, the Packers still led the Lions 23-6 at halftime. To follow all the action and get the latest stats, be sure to click here to head to our live blog.