DETROIT, MI (WTAQ) – Just when you thought the Green Bay Packers couldn’t sink any lower….
The reigning 2 time MVP, Aaron Rodgers, gets picked 3 times and the Packers fall to the Detroit Lions 15-9 in a downright dysfunctional performance by a team now in the throes of a five game losing streak and a lost 3-6 campaign. Detroit (2-6) snapped it’s own five game losing streak after trading away it’s top flight tight and and getting touchdowns from the third and fourth stringers at the position.
It was a downright uncanny affair.
The high scoring Lions misfired on their first trip in the red zone when on the opening drive, Rashan Gary came with heavy pressure to force Jared Goff into a 4th and 1 incompletion at the Packer 7 yard line. Detroit would atone for the missed opportunity. The Packers on the other hand, went 0 for 4 in the red zone beginning with an 88 yard march which saw Romeo Doubs leave the game on the first snap after an 18 yard catch. He would be done for the day with an ankle injury. Marcedes Lewis made a terrific catch for 19 yards to the five yard line where on first and goal, Rodgers fired a pass toward Allen Lazard in the end zone. The ball skipped off the helmet of linebacker Derrick Barnes, ricocheting high in the air. Kerby Joseph outleaped a teammate and Christian Watson to pull down the interception.
The Packers got a three and out stop but should have had the ball inside Detroit’s 10 when Preston Smith deflected a Jared Goff pass but unlike Detroit’s D, Smith and Gary ran into each other and the ball hit the turf. The offense got a 47 yard shot to Lazard that reached the one. A.J. Dillon got stuffed for no gain. On second down, Sammy Watkins ran and in route when Rodgers threw a fade. Wouldn’t be the last time we saw that. On third and goal, Barnes again came up big stuffing Dillon in the hole. Then on 4th down, the improbable was called. Rodgers went play action, stepped to his right and had his good buddy, David Bakhtiari back peddling in the end zone. The pass was horribly underthrown and rookie defensive end Aidan Hutchinson intercepted the ball while tumbling into the end zone. The first time Rodgers has thrown two red zone picks in a single game.
A Detroit punt pinned Green Bay at the one but Cristian Watson and Lazard converted big third downs. Barnes would strike again, sacking Rodgers for a loss of 8. On third and 18, a screen to Aaron Jones got 15 and Head Coach Matt LaFleur decided to go for it on 4th and 3 from the Detroit 38. A pass up the sideline to Lazard was pulled down but not quite controlled and after a Detroit challenge, was ruled correctly incomplete.
The Lions then got a 16 catch from Tom Kennedy and a free 15 from Jaire Alexander who threw Kennedy down well out of bounds. They would cash in this time as Goff ran play action from the one and lofted a ball to a wide open Shane Zylstra for the touchdown. NextGen stats quickly pointed out, the practice squad tight end hada 14.6 yards of separation on a one yard TD, remarkable.
Alexander was called for running into the kicker on the PAT try so a little closer, Detroit went for two and ex-Packer Jamaal Williams crashed in for an 8-0 lead. with :15 left in the half.
The first series of the third ended with more visible frustration from the quarterback. A third and 11 deep shot down the middle to Samori Toure, behind the defenders, was tipped away at the last moment by Joseph. Another yard further, the pass would have been a 44 yard touchdown.
Alexander made ammends with an interception of Goff on the next series, weaving his way across the field for 29 yards to the Detroit 23. Two snaps later, Rodgers gave it right back. He tried to hit Robert Tonyan over the middle but Joseph undercut the route and made the pick at the 12. It was Rodgers first three interception game since he came back from a collarbone injury against Carolina in the 2017 finale only to get knocked out of the playoffs.
Already missing Doubs, losing Watson to another concussion and then Jones went down with an ankle injury on the next series. The Packers finally cashed in, covering 54 yards in 7 plays, Lazard beat Jeff Okudah in the end zone for a 20 yard touchdown strike. Down two, the Packers went for two but an out route to Lazard had no chance.
Time for the defense to get one more stop late in the third quarter and it appeared they did. On third and 15, Goff threw incomplete but across the field, Keiseaon Nixon, playing for the injured Eric Stokes, was called for defensive holding. Williams then started piling up his game high 81 yards on the ground, including a 14 yard burst. Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown up the middle for 25 and from the three, Goff found James Mitchell between Darnell Savage and Quay Walker for the touchdown that made it 15-6.
Now down two scores, the Packers overcame two offensive pass interference penalties, one on Toure, the other on Lazard. Rodgers converted a third and 17 with a wild, 18 yard, pump faking run. Green Bay reached the Detroit 14 but stalled out, settling for Mason Crosby’s 25 yard field goal with 6:36 to play.
Another big defensive penalty came when D’Andre Swift caught an 8 yard pass on 2nd and 20 and instead of third and 12, 15 yards were tacked on when Krys Barnes, playing for the injured an inactive De’Vondre Campbell, caught Swift on a helmet to helmet hit. At the 2 minute warning, Head Coach Dan Campbell went for the dagger on 4th and 3 at the Green Bay 43 but came up empty when Goff, under pressure again, missed St. Brown low.
Rodgers had two minutes and 57 yards to go when it got crazy. On third and 5, Dillon caught a pass heading toward the right sideline when the ball got punched out by Chris Board. It slid to the sideline and appeared Dillon gathered in the loose ball and after a review, it was ruled a fumble out of bounds after a three yard gain. On 4th and 2, Rodgers rolled right and somehow found Toure behind a defender for a twisting 32 yard grab but in fighting for extra yards, had the ball knocked out again by Okudah. It was loose toward the sideline again and Okudah just missed being able to control it.
Now it’s first and ten at the 17 with :55 left. A deep end zone shot to Lazard had to be thrown away. Up the left sideline, Lazard and Jerry Jacobs got into a shoving match and it went incomplete again. On third down, an inside throw to Amari Rodgers was broken up. On 4th down, the 4th empty trip in the red zone ended when Rodgers threw a fade to the left corner while Watkins broke his route to the inside. Drive over, ballgame over, maybe season over.
LaFleur once more expressed how disappointing the result was, too many missed opportunities, too many penalties, too many mistakes.
Rodgers opened his post-game session by discussing the picks, “Sh—ty throws, that’s for sure.” He’d use the adjective a second time to explain a 53.5 passer rating on 23 of 43 for 291 yards and the one score with those three interceptions. Rodgers also deadpanned it’s never a good thing to be the leading rusher (40 yards on 4 scrambles). Dillon finished with 34 yards on 11 carries. Jones gained 25 on 9 and had two receptions for 20, but only 11 touches before departing. Josiah Deguara of all people was the leading receiver with 5 catches for 41 yards. Lazard finished with 87 yards on 4 catches, among his 10 targets.
The Packers put up 389 yards and controlled the clock for 34:42. The defense held Detroit to 254 yards, just 137 passing.
This is now a disjointed and beat up team. On the offensive line, Bakhtiari and Jon Runyan both departed but would return from injuries. Zach Tom played both right guard and left tackle in their absence. The defense also lost Gary and Barnes to injury.
Having played in five cities in five weeks, the Packers have not been able to escape the London fog which is where the slide began. Now they return home for two games in 4 days, the 6-2 Dallas Cowboys in Mike McCarthy’s return to Lambeau Field on Sunday, then the Tennessee Titans on a Thursday night. The mini-bye will then lead into a trip against unbeaten Philadelphia. Those three clubs are a combined 19-4 and there are very few signs, if any, this year’s Packer team will be able to rise to that level of a challenge when they have not lived up to any of the last five.
It’s dysfunctional top to bottom at 1265 Lombardi Avenue.
