Since the game was played in Motown, I had the Four Tops’ classic playing in my head when time ran out on the Green Bay Packers Thursday night. Just another loss to the Detroit Lions, the sixth in the last seven meetings. Mistakes, penalties, and an inability to get a crucial fourth down stop. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
It was all right in front of them. Here was a chance to show they belong among the NFC elite. To go toe to toe against the arrogant, “We break all the rules, we’ll bite your kneecaps” Lions.
While the Packers were down a few key starters, the Lions were dealing with a defensive epidemic. Half of their preferred starters were on IR, and guys they just signed off the street were forced into the starting lineup.
It was the perfect time to show the rest of the NFL that these young Packers were ready to join the grownups and plant their flag as NFL contenders. But they couldn’t get it done.
It’s easy to get caught up in the officiating game. The offensive pass interference call on Christian Watson that wiped out a go-ahead touchdown late was highly questionable. Sam LaPorta did the same thing on Detroit’s last drive at the two-minute morning, didn’t get flagged, and Matt LaFleur was apoplectic. We could also discuss Amon-Ra St. Brown’s blatant push-off on Keisean Nixon or his hands to the face that nearly decapitated Xavier McKinney.
The bottom line is this: The Packers are not at Detroit’s level just yet. That goes for all three phases and on the sidelines. The Lions’ coordinators outcoached LaFleur and Hafley. While Dan Campbell gave the Pack a couple of chances to steal the game thanks to his ballsy decision to go for it whenever he’s facing a fourth down, the Pack couldn’t make him pay when it mattered most.
DC Aaron Glenn deserves his flowers and a game ball. His ragamuffin crew dominated early, crowding the line of scrimmage to discourage the run and sending blitzers to keep Jordan Love off balance. It worked to a tee — the Packers could not get into any kind of a rhythm in the first half, save for their one touchdown drive.
Where was the counterpunch from LaFleur? Where was the creativity? The pre-snap motion? Anything to confuse a bunch of guys who were still learning the playbook?
Where was Jayden Reed? What’s going on there? He was barely on the field, targeted just once, with no rushing attempts. Is he in the doghouse? Injured? What happened to the Pack’s Swiss Army knife of an offensive weapon? He’s been a ghost. Over the last four games, he has had a grand total of eight catches for 73 yards. I don’t get it. Yeah, he’s dropped a few balls, but who hasn’t in this offense?
After a dispirited first half, the Packers came out and did exactly what you hoped they would. They scored quickly, getting a turnover and scoring again to flip the script and take the lead in a game that would turn into a back-and-forth affair, with five lead changes in the second half.
But Green Bay’s defenders began to fall, including both safeties (Javon Bullard left the locker room on crutches with an ankle injury), and they weren’t up to the challenge that OC Ben Johnson presented: the quick screen game to the running backs and Sam LaPorta and Amon-Ra St. Brown’s in-routes.
The Pack did a good job in the run game, holding the Lions to 3.3 yards per carry. Still, they couldn’t get pressure on Jared Goff with their front four, and Hafley was averse to blitzing because he was shorthanded in the secondary. That allowed Goff to get cozy and comfortable — he didn’t throw an incompletion in the fourth quarter.
It wasn’t all negative, of course. Josh Jacobs continues to run hard, and Kenny Clark had his best game of the season. Tucker Kraft delivered a highlight that won’t get old no matter how many times we watch it. And Jordan Love was great in the second half (nine of 13 for 175 and four completions of 20-plus yards). But ultimately, the game followed a familiar script: untimely turnovers, bad penalties and an inability to make a key stop with the game on the line.
Wrap your head around this: The Lions have scored four touchdowns against the Packers this season on fourth-down plays. Four! One team knows how to win. The other is Green Bay.
The Packers have 10 days to regroup, heal up, and get ready for another stiff prime-time road test — this one possibly a playoff preview in Seattle. The far-fetched NFC North dream is dead, but the season doesn’t have to be. Unless they go into a complete free fall, a Wild Card bid awaits. The main goal is not to drop to the seventh spot and a date with the Philadelphia Eagles or Lions in the first round.
If they want another shot at the Lions (and I’m not sure why they would at this point), the Packers need to be tougher, grittier, cleaner, and smarter. They’re not far off, but Thursday night proved once again that they’re collectively not at Detroit’s level right now.
