Another Big Game, Another Slow Start Dooms Packers at Lions

Deferring the open kick and three failed drives to open the game were too much for the Packers to overcome, even with a 24 points in the second half.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) is sacked by Detroit Lions defensive end Za'Darius Smith (99), during the Thursday Night Football at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. / Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In two games against the Detroit Lions, the Green Bay Packers have been their own worst enemy.

Xavier McKinney knows it as well as anyone.

“If you look at these two games that we played them,” the Packers safety said, “we have beaten ourselves.”

In both the loss in Week 9 at Lambeau Field, and now the Week 14 loss at Ford Field, the Packers have spent the second half playing catch-up to dig themselves out of the hole they created in the first.

In the two losses, Green Bay has been outscored by Detroit a combined 34-10 in the first halves. The Packers gave up a turnover that turned into a Lions’ touchdown in both. 

Thursday night, the Packers' first offensive drive ended after just five plays and 19 yards. That came after the defense allowed a 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to the flammable Lions' offense on the opening drive after Green Bay opted to defer on the opening kick.

While the opening drive allowed Detroit to take control, coach Matt LaFleur was hoping receiving the second-half kickoff would pay dividends.

"Hindsight’s always 20/20," LaFleur said. "Part of the reason we decided to defer was, if you remember the first time we played these guys, it didn’t go our way at the end of the half. I just thought it was going to be a tight battle, and if we were down at all, I wanted the ball to start the second half."

After failing to convert on third down and punting on their first two drives, receiver Christian Watson's fumble on drive three gifted the Lions another opportunity. On their first three drives, the Packers managed just 46 yards on 10 plays.

"Just obviously didn't start fast enough," quarterback Jordan Love said. "Didn't convert on those crucial third downs early on, and that's something we've been trying to focus on. ... Any time you can't stay on the field right there, it's not going to be good. But just didn't make enough plays early on."

Slow starts are not a new problem for the Packers in big games this season. In the first halves of their last three losses, Green Bay has been outscored 62-17. It's caused them to play catch-up in the second half, entering halftimes with deficits of 21 against Minnesota, 14 against Detroit at Lambeau, and 10 on Thursday.

The flip sides of the slow starts have been offensive explosions in the second. Green Bay has outscored its opponents 57-27 in the second halves of those losses.

On the second play from scrimmage of the second half, Love connected with Watson on a 59-yard completion, the first time of the night a pass moved the chains for the Packers. Green Bay had been looking for the exact route from Watson in the first half, it opened up, and so did the rest of the offense.

"We knew we were getting the leverage that we wanted to for it all game," Watson said. "It’s really something we knew we were going to get to eventually and we finally got the look for it."

The second half showed the potential the Packers' offense has to carry the team through late January, a black-and-white look from the first half.

Love stacked highlight-reel worthy passes on top of each other with a 12-yard touchdown zipped to Tucker Kraft on the opening drive of the second half. On Green Bay's final drive, he evaded pressure, stepped up in the pocket to deliver a 29-yard completion to Watson, pinpointing it in the chest of Watson, just above a defender's hand.

"Turned it around and started hitting on some of those explosive plays but I think we're right there with them as an explosive offense, so we're not worried about that," Love said.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (9) makes a catch against Detroit Lions during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Green Bay would go on to score on four of their five offensive drives in the second half. The Packers went punch for punch against one of the NFL's most explosive offenses after coming out flat in the first half.

"We made some adjustments," Kraft said. "We got some plays early that we like and we just finished them. We drew them up and we executed. Simple as that. The magic from J-Love to Christian, that was just those guys being them."

With Green Bay making its way into the red zone trailing by three with 5:58 remaining, the opportunity was right there for the Packers to take a touchdown lead on the favorite to win the NFC. To earn a statement win and open up hopes to win the NFC North.

But, as was the story of the game for Green Bay, a mix of questionable officiating calls, missed opportunities on offense and shortcomings on defense tripped up the Packers.

A touchdown catch by Josh Jacobs on second-and-goal was called back due to offensive pass interference on Watson. Green Bay had to settle for a field goal, giving Detroit the ball back with 3:38 remaining with the game tied at 31.

Chunk plays of 19, 11 and 16 yards put Detroit in field-goal range, allowing Jake Bates to nail a 35-yard kick as time expired.

The opportunity was there for the Packers, but melted out their hands. Partly because of the plays they couldn't make in the final minutes, but also from a stagnant first half. One more score in the first half, or avoiding a fumble, would've made all the difference for Green Bay.

"I’ll say the most disappointing part about it was knowing that we had chances out there and we left some of them on the field," Kraft said.

Against teams with offenses at the level of Detroit, the pace of the game can be decided in the opening quarter, if not the first minutes. The Packers digging themselves in a hole early has been the their kryptonite this season, a trend they hope will not continue to the playoffs.

With Detroit now having a 3.5-game advantadge in the NFC North with four games remaing, the Packers' realistic best hopes in the playoffs is the No. 5 seed. That would require a big-time road win at Minnesota in Week 17, and that would require a better start on offense.

"Our goal is to continue to play and execute at a high level," Kraft said, "knowing that each and every one of these games we have to win down the road if we want to be where we want to be, which is in February hoisting that f--king Lombardi Trophy"

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No, you can't blame the officiating for the outcome. Yes, I went with the bad pun of the officials picking on the #Packers last night. https://t.co/JYPdCabQw7

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) December 6, 2024

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