In the much-anticipated NFC North showdown on Thursday night, Green Bay fell short against Detroit for the second time this season. After losing 34-31 to the Lions, Green Bay still sits in third place in the NFC North behind both Detroit and Minnesota. With this loss, it is now almost impossible for Green Bay to win the NFC North.
Thursday’s loss was by no means a bad performance. It was simply a game being played by two pretty good football teams and ultimately one team had to lose. So why exactly did Green Bay fall short?
Health
While Detroit has the most players on injured reserve in the league, Green Bay was also missing some key players on Thursday. Green Bay was once again without starting cornerback Jaire Alexander, arguably their most consistent wide receiver Romeo Doubs and standout rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper.
To add to the injuries, rookie safety Evan Williams was injured early on in the game and was ruled out with a concussion. Later in the game, rookie safety Javon Bullard went down with a non-contact injury and was ruled out. The Packers defensive back room soon became the thinnest we’ve seen all season.
Defensive Struggles
Yes, the injuries definitely played a part in Green Bay’s loss, but I still think what we saw from the defense was frustrating. Overall, holding Detroit running back Jahmyr Gibbs to just 43 yards on 15 carries along with running back David Montgomery for 51 yards on 14 carries is by no means a bad night.
It was the screen game that killed the Packers defense. Not only that, but the defense was also unable to come up with stops when needed. Defensive tackle Kenny Clark stated, “They got some fourth downs, screened us to death, for real. We just gotta do better in certain situations.”
Detroit went for it five times on fourth down and only turned the ball over on downs once. They even went for it with under a minute left in the fourth quarter on fourth down to put themselves even closer for the game winning field goal. Risky, but Dan Campbell knew Green Bay struggled to get off the field on fourth down all game.
Slow Start on Offense
The Lions received the ball to start the game and wasted no time marching down the field. They put together an 11-play drive for 70 yards, putting the pressure on Green Bay early. The Packers failed to get anything going on their first drive, and the offensive line did quarterback Jordan Love no favors. Love was sacked on the first offensive play by former Packer Za’Darius Smith.
After running five plays for just 19 yards, Green Bay quickly gave the ball right back to Detroit. The defense stepped up and held Detroit to a three play, two-yard drive. The Packers next drive went for three plays and zero yards resulting in another punt back to Detroit. During Green Bay’s next offensive possession, wide receiver Christian Watson caught a pass on a crossing route and ended up fumbling the ball after attempting to fight for more yards. The Lions would get a field goal out of that.
Green Bay finally scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive only for Detroit to march down the field right before halftime and score a touchdown to put Green Bay in a 17-7 hole. Matt LaFleur in his post-game presser stated, “I thought we just started, especially on the offensive side of the ball, too slow.”