After the bye week, the Packers returned home to face the 1-4 Detroit Lions. Offensive tackle Chad Clifton returned to the starting lineup along with safety Atari Bigby after each had missed the last two and three games respectively. Starting center Jason Spitz was inactive with an injury. Starting off the contest, the Packers received the ball in which kickoff returner Jordy Nelson returned 99 yards for a touchdown, but the score was nullified by a holding penalty and the offense took to the field starting at their own 20-yard line. On the opening drive, quarterback Aaron Rodgers converted the first third down of the drive with a 26-yard pass to Greg Jennings to the Packers 49-yard line. Three plays later on the second third down of the drive, Rodgers hit James Jones who was wide open along the right sideline underneath the safety's coverage . Jones then evaded the last defender and scored the first touchdown of the day to give the Packers an early 7-0 lead. On the Lions first possession of the game, backup quarterback Daunte Culpepper who started in place of the Lions rookie starting quarterback Matthew Stafford was pressured on their first third down and forced a short errant pass intended for Lions running back Kevin Smith. The pass was intercepted by the Packers defensive end Cullen Jenkins at the Detroit 21 and returned to the 17 for 4 yards. Starting in the red zone after the turnover, Packers wide receiver Donald Driver caught a pass on the left sideline on second down for 5 yards down to the Detroit 6-yard line for a 1st down but an unnecessary roughness penalty moved the Packers back 15 yards to the Detroit 21-yard line. The reception was significant though in that with the reception Donald Driver passed former Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe on the club's all time receptions list to take top honors. The drive then continued with an 8-yard reception from Jermichael Finley a four-yard run by Ryan Grant and another 8-yard reception by Finley. The drive was then capped off with a 1-yard touchdown pass short left to fullback John Kuhn. With the score the Packers took a 14-0 lead. Both teams then went on to exchange possessions with no real key moments on into the second quarter. The Lions failed to move the ball with any effectiveness while the Packers key downfall were penalties that set the offense up in unfavorable down and distance situations. With 10:26 remaining in the half, the Packers offense took to the field and the first play of the drive was a 17-yard pass to Greg Jennings down to the Lions 29-yard line. The drive stalled though three plays later when Aaron Rodgers was sacked for no gain on third down and the Packers had to settle for a 46-yard field goal in which kicker Mason Crosby converted successfully. The score was now 17-0 in the Packers favor. On the Lions next drive, Lions running back Kevin Smith ran for 19 yards on second down which moved the ball out to the Detroit 38, but Daunte Culpepper was sacked on third down for a 4-yard loss by rookie linebacker Clay Matthews and they were forced to punt. The Packers took to the field in excellent field position after the punt was returned by Tramon Williams to the Lions 29-yard line. After minimal success in the red zone again, the Packers failed to convert on third down and had to settle for another field goal to increase the lead to 20-0. On the Lions next possession, they failed to convert on third down yet again and set up a 4th and 3 at their own 45-yard line. Unhappy with the teams offensive struggles the Lions choose to go for it on fourth down but were shut down by the Packers defense for a 1-yard loss. The Packers offense then took to the field in their opponents end for the second straight drive. The drive was started with two receptions by tight end Jermichael Finley a 5-yard catch and then a 30-yard catch down to the Detroit 8-yard line. Aaron Rodgers spiked the ball to stop the clock with 19 seconds remaining in the half. On the next offensive play though, Rodgers was sacked for a 5-yard loss forcing them to use their last timeout. On third and three at the Lions 13-yard line, Rodgers attempted a pass to the right side of the end zone to wide receiver Brett Swain but the pass was out of reach and the Packers had to settle for yet another field goal in which Crosby converted to extend the lead to 23-0 right before halftime. On the first drive of third quarter, Daunte Culpepper scrambled out of the pocket and ran for 5 yards. On the run, Daunte noticeably slowed before running out of bounds and was later replaced by Lions third-string quarterback Drew Stanton. After a Stanton incomplete pass, the Lions punted the ball on fourth down. The Packers offense took to the field and Rodgers and Driver connected multiple times during the drive for gains of 18 and 27 yards. Donald Lee also had an 18-yard grab. On third and five at the Detroit nine-yard line, Rodgers passed short to Driver and only managed to advance the ball for one yard before being tackled. The offense yet again stalled and had to settle for yet another Mason Crosby field goal to extend the lead to 26-0. Detroit then took to the field again with Drew Stanton still leading their offense. On the second play of the possession, Stanton passed deep left to tight end Brandon Pettigrew in which the pass hit the receiver but popped up into the air and fell into the waiting arms of Packers cornerback Al Harris for the interception. The Packers then took over and managed to move the ball effectively yet again with the drive highlighted by an amazing one hand catch by Donald Driver for 37 yards down the left sideline. The great catch was then followed by a 9-yard grab by Spencer Havner and a 9-yard grab by Greg Jennings which set the Packers up 1st and goal at the Lions three-yard line.On first down though Rodgers dropped back to pass but was hit and sacked by Julian Peterson. Rodgers fumbled and the ball was recovered by Larry Foote at the Detroit 15. On the Lions next possession which extended into the fourth quarter, the Packers put the pressure on Drew Stanton sacking him twice with the second sack by Al Harris on third down ending the drive. The Packers then took to the field running the ball looking to run out the clock and possibly ignite their previously ineffective running game. After a couple of decent carries by Ryan Grant, Rodgers then dropped back to pass and threw a pass short middle that was intended for wide receiver James Jones. Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy who was in front of Jones intercepted the pass at the Lions 40 and returned it to the 45 for 5 yards. He then fumbled the ball but recovered his own fumble for no gain. After the interception, running back Kevin Smith rushed for 20 yards on 2nd down. In what was the best Lions attempt to put points on the board of the day, moving the ball all the way to the Packers 9-yard line Stanton forced a throw to Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew in the center of the end zone and Packers safety Atari Bigby intercepted the pass in the end zone for a touchback and the Packers offense took to the field at their own 20-yard line. The Packers then ran the ball multiple times with Ryan Grant and Brandon Jackson to try to run down the clock. Jackson fumbled after a five-yard gain but the ball was fortunately recovered by Packers Jermichael Finley. Rodgers scampered for a 10-yard gain on the next play, but the yardage gained was nullified by a penalty an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Donald Driver after Rodgers had slid to the ground. Ryan Grant then rushed for a 22-yard gain followed by a couple more short rushes to run the play clock under 2 minutes. Rodgers then took two kneel downs and the game clock expired to give the Packers a 26-0 win. Chad Clifton suffered another injury setback during the contest late in the second half and was held out of the rest of the game. Wide receiver Jordy Nelson also injured his right leg in the contest. With the win, the Packers increased their record to 3-2 on the season and move ahead into second place in the division (based on head to head, division and conference records)  ahead of the 3-2 Chicago Bears who lost to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football. Both teams still trail behind the 6-0 Minnesota Vikings.
How many points were scored in the first half?
23