DETROIT _ Aaron Rodgers called his shot, and with the NFC North title on the line, the two-time MVP delivered a performance for the ages.
Rodgers threw for 300 yards and four touchdowns and repeatedly extended plays with his feet as the Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions, 31-24, to win their fifth NFC North championship in six years.
The Lions qualified for the playoffs before Sunday's game kicked off when the New York Giants beat Washington, but they enter the postseason having lost three straight and have beat just one team with a winning record all season.
On Sunday, with no answer for Rodgers, the Lions squandered an opportunity to win a division championship and host a playoff game for the first time 23 years. Instead, they'll be the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoffs and face the Seattle Seahawks in a wild card game at 8:20 p.m. Saturday in Seattle.
The Packers, winners of five of the last six NFC North titles, host the Giants next Sunday afternoon.
Rodgers completed 27 of 39 passes, shredded a secondary that got Darius Slay back from a hamstring injury and was serenaded by "Go Pack, Go" chants as the final minute wound down.
Rodgers, who said in November that he thought the Packers could run the table and win their final six games, also ran for 43 yards on nine carries and led Green Bay to 21 second-half points as the Packers rallied from a 14-10 halftime deficit.
He threw touchdown passes of 7 yards to Aaron Ripkowski, 3 yards to Davante Adams, 10 yards to Geronimo Allison and 9 yards to Adams with 2:50 to play to seal the victory.
The Lions, who finished 9-7 and blew a two-game division lead with three to play, drove inside the Packers' 20-yard line with less than 2 minutes to play, but Micah Hyde intercepted Matthew Stafford in the end zone.
Stafford completed 26 of 41 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns for the Lions, who've made the playoffs twice in Jim Caldwell's three seasons as head coach � the first time they've reached the postseason twice in a three-year span since 1997 and '99.
The Lions missed several scoring opportunities early and managed only 10 second-half points on a Matt Prater field goal and Stafford's 35-yard Hail Mary to Anquan Boldin with 13 seconds to play.
Prater missed a 39-yard field goal wide left in the first half and Stafford overthrew a wide open Golden Tate on the Lions' second series.
Green Bay opened the scoring with an eight-play, 71-yard drive following Prater's miss.
Rodgers eluded a Ziggy Ansah sack to convert a third-and-7 early in the drive, and he hit Ripkowski on a 7-yard pass for the touchdown.
The Lions answered with their own 11-play, 80-yard drive to tie the game at 7.
Stafford completed a 35-yard pass to TJ Jones on third-and-15 to keep the drive alive, and Zenner scored on a 1-yard run on third-and-goal.
Stafford put the Lions ahead, 14-7, with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tate with 26 seconds left in the first half, Rodgers completed a 39-yard pass on the Packers' next play from scrimmage and Green Bay tacked on a 53-yard field goal as the half expired.
The Packers dominated play in the second half as Rodgers led Green Bay on a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the third quarter.
Rodgers threw his third touchdown of the day early in the fourth quarter when he bought time scrambling to his left and threw a bullet of a pass to Allison with 10:02 to play.
The Lions answered with Prater's 54-yard field goal, but Rodgers led another long scoring drive on the Packers' next possession to put the game away.
Allison had four catches for 91 yards for the Packers, while Zenner carried 20 times for a career-high 69 yards for the Lions, who finished the season 9-7.
