Packers-Lions Six-Pack: Game Ball, Lame Ball, Turning Point
Good thing the Packers came back and won against the New Orleans Saints.
Whether it was a hangover effect from that comeback or the Packers realizing they're a tier below certain teams at this point, their encore performance following Sunday's comeback win was a dud.
The Packers were bullied on both sides of the line of scrimmage and completely outclassed on their home field by the Detroit Lions.
Here is the the game ball, lame ball, turning point and more from a 34-20 loss at Lambeau Field on Thursday night.
Game Ball
There weren’t many players who played well who wore green jerseys.
One of them, however, was a player who had the lowest moment of his career at this same place against the same team.
Quay Walker's athleticism continues to show up all over the field. He had two pressures on Jared Goff and was consistently around the ball.
Walker learned to forgive himself after getting ejected in two games last year, including the season finale against the Lions.
He's credited Jaire Alexander for teaching him about meditation and learning how to move on from difficult plays through the course of the game.
Walker had a game-high 10 tackles. His 10 solo tackles were more total tackles than any player on either team.
Perhaps fitting for the theme of the night, even the Packers' best players managed to hurt them.
With the team trailing 27-17, Walker was tagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for trying to jump over the pile on a field goal. That gave the Lions a free first down. Four plays later, David Montgomery scored his third touchdown of the night to give the Lions a 34-17 lead and put the game away.
Despite that issue, Walker will get the nod, which says more about the rest of the team than anything else.
Photo by Wm. Glasheen/USA Today Sports Images
Lame Ball
The Packers were humiliated on both sides of the line of scrimmage. They couldn't block. They couldn't get off blocks.
There will be plenty of blame to go around. Coaches are a popular target when games like this happen, but blocking and tackling are the two most basic premises in football.
The Packers did neither well on Thursday night.
Jordan Love was sacked four times in the first half. He was hit enough to look rattled for the first time this season.
The interior trio of Royce Newman, Josh Myers and Jon Runyan took turns getting beat for a sack during the first two series of the game. Offensive tackles Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom struggled against the Lions' pass rush once they could pin their ears back.
The Packers were outgained 284-20 en route to a 27-3 halftime deficit.
They didn't get a first down until midway through the second quarter, when Love drew the Lions offside.
Perhaps the most telling photo of the night came on David Montgomery's first touchdown of the night.
Former Packers broadcaster Jim Irwin once famously said that was a hole you could drive a truck to the Super Bowl through.
The Lions aren't going to the Super Bowl with tonight's win, but it's a photo of just how dominant they were.
Not one defensive player is in the hole. Nobody looks close to getting off a block.
When both lines get beat up the way Green Bay's did tonight, they lost in embarrassing fashion.
The Packers got what they deserved.
Play of the Game
One of the first plays of the night was the best play of the night.
On the opening series, the Lions faced a third-and-long when Jared Goff threw into the middle of the field. Packers safety Rudy Ford was waiting for the errant pass and returned his first interception of the season to the Lions' 16.
The crowd was lively. The sideline was excited. It felt like the home team was going to have a good night.
Those feelings were short-lived. The Packers didn't gain a yard on the ensuing possession and kicked a field goal.
That was the lone highlight for the Packers in the first half.
Pivot Point
The Packers trailed 17-3 and were looking to get anything going on offense.
Had they been able to put together a drive to make the score 17-10, the game would have been back on.
Instead, Love’s pass was tipped near the line of scrimmage by linebacker Alex Anzalone and intercepted by Jerry Jacobs.
Detroit scored two plays later to make the score 24-3 and it felt like the rout was on.
The pass was to a well-covered Christian Watson even if the ball wasn't tipped.
As was the theme of the first half, it was just another miscue for Green Bay's offense.
Green Bay made a comeback in the second half to pull within two scores but never made a real game out of it.
End of an Era?
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported before the game that David Bakhtiari had another surgery on his knee. Another surgery is planned, with the goal of playing in 2024 at full strength.
Bakhtiari played the season opener in Chicago before missing the last two games with little clarity on the situation. The surgeries almost certainly will end his season.
Coach Matt LaFleur has been evasive when asked about Bakhtiari's status, but all of those questions are answered for now.
The latest chapter in this saga is another devastating blow to Bakhtiari, who will have had five surgeries on that knee by the time the second one is completed.
Bakhtiari was one of the best players at his position when he suffered the initial injury on New Year's Eve 2020.
That injury effectively ended his next two seasons before he played in 11 games last year.
Who knows what would have happened had Bakhtiari stayed healthy. Could the Packers have two more Super Bowls under their belt?
Would Bakhtiari have continued to play at a high enough level to punch a ticket to the Hall of Fame?
Unfortunately, the Packers and Bakhtiari won't have answers to those questions and are simply left to wonder what could have been.
Bakhtiari is set to count $40 million against Green Bay's cap in 2024. There's no chance the Packers will keep him at that number.
Rapoport said Bakhtiari does not want to retire and wants to continue to play for the Packers.
With that, it's fair to wonder if Bakhtiari has played his last game in green and gold.
Looking Ahead
The Packers will have 11 days to wash the stink off of this one.
They'll travel to Las Vegas for a Monday night game against Davante Adams and the Las Vegas Raiders.
Perhaps the time off will give them some time to get their injured players healthy.
The Raiders don't present the same type of challenges the Lions do, but after this performance, it's hard to feel good about any phase of the game for the Packers.
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