Packers Let Game Slip Away, Lose to Lions 24-14

In a game with the potential for the Packers to take control in their division, Green Bay did not match the precision of the Lions on a rainy day at Lambeau Field. The Packers dropped every chance they had to win the game, literally. Dropped passes, poor angles on catchable throws, and defensive penalties that extended drives plagued their performance.

Offensive pre-snap penalties pushed the offense into poor down and distances, highlighting the Packers’ complimentary football when it came to costly errors. But the big gut buster was Jordan Love’s pick six interception just before the half. That play was inexcusable.

The Lions were up 17-3 at halftime. Detroit received the kickoff to start the second half and drove it 71 yards for a touchdown, helped by a holding penalty on a third down and six by Kesian Nixon. The Packers were down 24-3. They responded with a third-down dropped pass by Wicks, who had three drops on the day. That “drive” epitomized the Packer offense on this rainy Sunday. The offense did not find the end zone until there were 4 minutes left in the game.

Momentum Shift and Frustration

Last week’s hero, Brandon McManus, missed a 46-yard field goal which could have made the score 7-6 Lions late in the second quarter. That miss started the momentum swing of Packer frustration. Detroit scored a field goal, then Love tossed his head-scratching interception to make it 17-3. The 13-point swing took less than 5 minutes and left cold and wet Packer fans drained at halftime.

It is almost hard to believe the Packers started with a score. They actually led this game 3-0 in the first quarter. Twenty-four unanswered points later, Green Bay is left with a lot of questions. Their offense leads the league in dropped passes. Their quarterback leads the league in interceptions per game start.

Defensive Woes and Missed Tackles

Their defense had trouble stopping both the pass and the run when they needed to get off the field. Quay Walker returned to the lineup and led the team with 12 tackles, 7 solo. The problem with Walker’s tackles was the amount of yardage gained on each of those plays. In order of occurrence, Walker’s tackles had gains of 8, 4, 5, 1, 11, 4, 8, 8, 9, 3, 5, and 3 yards. If three yards is defined as a draw, then Walker’s 12 tackles included 1 win, two draws, and 9 losses.

On the last two Lions drives, Walker did not get close to making a play even though they were running right at him. Eric Wilson had a poor day right next to Walker, making only three tackles, missing multiple tackles, and was a step slow on several coverages.

The Lions’ two running backs carved up the Packers for 138 yards. Jared Goff had a 109+ QBR. Once the Lions had a big lead and their play-calling became a bit more conservative, the defense forced three straight punts in the second half, but it was too little too late.

Looking Ahead

The Packers are now 0-2 in division home games. Not good. But all is not lost. Love was impacted by his groin injury, and the defense missed Alexander and Miller, who were out with injuries. The offense was also impacted by starting center Josh Meyer’s absence. The Packers now have 14 days to rest and recover from this loss and come out angry against the Bears in Chicago.

The saddest part of this game was the wasted spectacular effort of running back Josh Jacobs. Jacobs had over 100 yards of offense early in the second quarter. It was a gutty performance by a guy nursing a sore ankle. Love and his receivers will have to elevate their game to meet Jacobs’ level of excellence for the second half of the season to turn around as they were able to do just last year.