The Detroit Lions may have defeated the Green Bay Packers 34-31, but Packers fans sure had a lot to say about the loss. The team found themselves down 17-7 at halftime, but a 24-point second half nearly took care of business. Green Bay now sits at 9-4 with no hope of winning the NFC North, but their season is far from over.
With one of the best records in football, the 12-1 Detroit Lions once again asserted their dominance. They scored a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, and ultimately got the job done as time expired. Jared Goff threw his first interception since he threw five against the Houston Texans, but that didn’t slow this team down. When it came down to it, the Detroit Lions were the better football team.
Green Bay Packers Fans Should Stop Complaining About the Refs
4th Down Conversions
No head coach in the NFL goes for it on 4th down as much as Dan Campbell. In Thursday’s game alone, the Lions went for it on 4th down on five occasions. They finished the night with an 80% conversion rate, but the Packers did indeed take advantage of their one miss. Campbell’s riskiest decision came when he went for it on their own 30. A pitch to the outside on 4th and 1 was stuffed, leading to a Packers touchdown.
Points off of turnovers are a key statistic, but 4th down conversions mean just as much. There were two separate 4th and goal situations where the Lions went for it and scored. That is a key 14 points that could’ve been prevented with a goal-line stand. One of those two conversions was a key touchdown at the end of the first half, putting Detroit up 17-7.
Jeff Hafley’s defense is far from perfect. The team is blitzing more and pressuring the quarterback, but their secondary still lacks. Eric Stokes was completely exposed last night. Jaire Alexander’s injury didn’t help the team, but they had all of this time to prepare without him. At the end of the day, this team needed to get stops and they didn’t. Tim Patrick is 31 years old and had two receiving touchdowns. Keep in mind, those are his only two touchdowns of the year.
First Half Struggles
The Packers couldn’t get anything going in the first half. After Detroit stormed the field and scored in the first five minutes, the Packers punted twice and fumbled before getting on the board. The drive where they scored lasted 7:26 while their first three drives lasted 4:39 combined. It was great to see Christian Watson get back involved in this offense, but his fumble led to a field goal. Take those three points off the board and this game is 31-31.
It seemed like the Lions struggled to get their run game going, but they did finish with 111 yards on the ground. Time of possession was in favor of Detroit, 36:06 to 23:54. The Lions had just over 12 more minutes with the football than the Packers, and they ran 31 more plays. It didn’t take Green Bay long to score in the second half, but Jordan Love finished the first half just 3-7 passing. His night ended much better, but Josh Jacobs’s performance during their first-half touchdown drive was the only thing they had going for them.
It’s hard for Packers fans to take this loss. It’s a division rival, a primetime game, and quite honestly a game they should have won. For whatever reason, the talk of the NFL always seems to be left in the officials’ hands. Very early on, Jordan Love took a punch to the face which was not called. A couple of minutes later, Quay Walker was called for shoving a Lions lineman (who deserves an Oscar for his flop) after a play where he was held the entire time.
Keisean Nixon was held on one of the Lions touchdowns but there was no flag in sight. Xavier McKinney’s helmet was pushed off by one of the Lions receivers but there was no flag in sight. Christian Watson ran into one of the Lions defenders running his route, but a delayed flag was thrown as Josh Jacobs secured the touchdown. Green Bay was down 31-28 at the time and had 2nd and goal on the 6. The penalty pushed them back 10 yards and they were forced to settle for a field goal. If the Packers would’ve been able to score a touchdown after the penalty, this wouldn’t be a discussion. They simply came up short.
The bad calls didn’t end there as the Lions ran a play very similar to Watson’s but didn’t get called. Matt LaFleur was visibly upset, as he had been all night long. A 2nd and 17 conversion for the Lions was made due to a little push-off of Nixon. On the replay, it was clear that there was a little contact but instead of playing on, Nixon was complaining for a call.
The Green Bay Packers are now 9-4. They have a very, very high chance to make the playoffs. They’ll head to Seattle next Sunday night for another primetime matchup, the third of their four-game stretch. Even with putting up 31 points, it wasn’t enough to take down the Lions. That was one of the best football games of the season, and the Packers hung in there even when it looked brim in the first half. The offense stepped up when it needed to, but the defense left a lot to be desired. It’s easy to look at the calls that didn’t go their way, but the Packers need to learn from this and move on. The self-inflicted wounds are the only thing holding them back from being a true Super Bowl contender.
