The Green Bay Packers blew an early lead, started the second half well, but ultimately blew two leads and surrendered the game-winning field goal in a hard-fought but disappointing 34-31 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday night at Ford Field.
At 9-4, the Packers’ dreams of an NFC North appearance were all but over. The Lions are 12-1 and are closing in on the top seed in the conference with four games remaining.
Here are the good, the bad and the ugly from the Packers’ loss to the Lions:
Good
Quick hits in the second half: The Packers needed all of three minutes and 45 seconds to erase a 17-7 deficit and take a 21-17 lead to start the second half. Jordan Love hit Christian Watson with a 59-yard bomb, Tucker Kraft caught another touchdown in the red zone, Keisean Nixon threw his first pass of the season and Josh Jacobs threw a touchdown in the first four minutes of the third quarter. It was an impressive response from the Packers to a destitute first half.
Fight: Despite a terrible start on the road in unfavorable conditions, the Packers had two leads in the second half and would have had a third lead delayed in the fourth quarter if not for a questionable OPI penalty on Christian Watson. The Lions are damn good despite all the injuries on defense, but the Packers held their own at Ford Field and had plenty of opportunities to make game-winning plays delayed. The NFC North race is over for Matt LaFleur’s team, but at least they know they can go on the road and play anyone.
Bad
Start of the first half vs. division rival: For the third straight game against the Lions or Vikings, the Packers lost an early lead and had to fight back. This one wasn’t as bad as the others – just 10 points at halftime after trailing by 21 to the Vikings and 14 to the Lions earlier in the season – but it was still a rocky start. Playing from the back – especially away – is not uncomplicated against top teams. The Packers need to dial down the difficulty in these games and start faster.
Spots with high leverage: One Packers fourth-down stop resulted in a touchdown, but the Lions converted four other fourth downs, including two for touchdowns. The Packers repeatedly lost high-impact situations, including on third down with the ball in their hands. Overall, the Lions converted 11 third or fourth downs. Packers? Only one (1 in 5).
Ugly
Covering screens and trenches: The Lions were tearing up the Packers with screens on the running backs and kicking routes to the middle of the field. According to Next Gen Stats, Jared Goff was 14 of 17 passing for 157 yards and two touchdowns on offensive routes Thursday night. Running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery caught 11 passes for 63 yards. Sam LaPorta, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams had catches of at least 10 yards on a speedy screen. One of the breakthrough plays was the deep attack of St. Brown for reporting on Keisean Nixon. It’s possible that the cornerback will be a fatal flaw on this team.
