Josh Jacobs scored three touchdowns, Christian Watson surpassed 100 yards and Tucker Kraft caught a third-down touchdown, but one Green Bay Packers offensive weapon was notably and surprisingly still during Thursday’s 34-31 loss to the Detroit Lions.
Jayden Reed, who leads the team in catching and receiving yards, saw just one target and had no contact with the ball in just 25 snaps.
Thursday night was Reed’s first regular-season game without a catch in 29 career games.
The Packers offense was only on the field for 50 snaps, so opportunities were circumscribed. Matt LaFleur clearly saw an opportunity to play a bigger package (Ben Sims and John FitzPatrick played a combined 24 snaps) and pass the ball straight to the injury-ravaged Lions forward, further limiting the offense’s chances.
However, the Packers still called 27 passes and Reed was on the field on only 18 of 27. His only first-half field goal resulted in a second-down turnover. Reed, who had rushed tackles in 10 of 12 games, had no opportunity to rush.
The passing game was led by Watson, who caught four passes for 114 yards, and both Tucker Kraft (three catches, 41 yards) and Dontayvion Wicks (four catches, 49 yards) were successful in scoring on five targets. The Packers called 20 designed routes.
Reed averaged about five touches per game through the first 12 games of the season, but production has been circumscribed recently. Although Reed has three touchdowns in the last four games, since November 3, Reed has not passed for more than 30 yards in a single game. Since October 13, he has only had one attempt for positive rushing yards.
The Packers are getting more efficiency with Watson getting heated, and Jacobs is obviously the centerpiece of the running game. But can Matt LaFleur find a better way to get the ball to his explosive receiver? Reed is too good and too vital to go through any game without touches.
