After an encouraging first possession that included an effective running game, the Green Bay Packers fell apart on a soggy and rainy Lambeau Field field, giving up 24 straight points while committing too many penalties and missing too many passes in a 24-14 loss.
The Packers are currently 0-2 in the league heading into 2024, with both losses coming at home to top NFC North contenders.
The only good news is that the Packers are still in a playoff spot at 6-3 and now have a chance to recover and regroup for the break.
Here are the good, the bad and the ugly from the Packers’ loss to the Lions:
Good
Launch the game: Josh Jacobs rushed for 95 yards on just 13 carries, with five scores of 8 or more yards and three of more than 10. Emanuel Wilson ran for 19 yards on third down and a 2-yard touchdown. Chris Brooks even had a 9-yard run in the red zone. According to the success rate, 12 of the Packers’ 20 attempts were successful — including Jacobs’ success rate of 61.5. The Packers moved the ball well early on – especially in the first quarter – but lost their lead slow in the second quarter and nearly abandoned the running game. Jacobs only received three tries in the second half. With a better game plan, the Packers could hit the Lions front. Instead, a enormous deficit that went from seven to 21 points in the blink of an eye made the Packers one-dimensional and essentially took Jacobs out of the game.
Badly
More penalties: The Packers finished the game with 10 penalties. An unnecessary penalty for inequality at the beginning of the match ruined good field position. A fourth-down encroachment penalty on the Lions’ final drive made the conversion simple. A false start turned a third-and-3 into a third-and-8 and a punt in Lions territory. Holding Kamal Hadden on a punt return cost the Packers 10 yards of field position. Jordan Morgan was marked as holding. Keisean Nixon extended the Lions’ first goal of the second half with a holding penalty on third down. Zach Tom’s false start on first down ultimately led to a third-and-long. Overall, the Packers received four false start penalties. Matt LaFleur’s team has the sixth-most penalties in the NFL and is currently one of five teams with three games of 10 or more penalties in 2024.
Ugly
Choose six: A truly terrible play and an obvious turning point in the game. Down 10-3, the Packers had the ball and had a chance to take the lead or tie it before halftime. Instead, Jordan Love threw a bad pass under pressure and Kerby Joseph returned an interception for a back-breaking touchdown. Love tried to throw the ball to Josh Jacobs, but he missed the ball badly and Joseph made a dash. Jordan Morgan, making his first career start, gave up on the pressure that led to the selection. Just terrible play.
More drops: The Packers lost as many as six passes, and the biggest turnovers occurred in crucial moments. Chris Brooks abandoned a probable first-down conversion on third down in the red zone on the first drive, potentially costing the Packers four points. Tucker Kraft scored a probable third-down conversion before Brandon McManus missed a field goal. Dontayvion Wicks scored confidently on third down on the Packers’ first drive of the second half and missed a touchdown on one play on third down before Josh Jacobs was forced for a fourth down in the fourth quarter. Sunday will be very different if the Packers simply catch the ball. The rain can’t be blamed as the Lions had no trouble catching Jared Goff.
