Packer Central

Packers Report Card: Grades From Loss to Lions

The Green Bay Packers’ loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday was a team-wide failure filled with self-inflicted mistakes.

Jacob Westendorf

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) throws an incomplete pass while pressured by the Lions' Levi Onwuzurike.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) throws an incomplete pass while pressured by the Lions' Levi Onwuzurike. / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The Green Bay Packers never used to lose to the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field.

Now they haven’t beaten the Lions at Lambeau since Aaron Rodgers’ MVP season of 2021.

With their 24-10 victory on Sunday, Jared Goff became the first Detroit Lions quarterback to ever win three straight games at Lambeau.

Any time the Packers tried to make the game competitive on Sunday, they made another silly mistake.

There was not just one unit willing to make those mistakes, either. This was a team-wide failure, and the weekly Packers report card reflects it.

Pass Offense

No, Jordan Love was clearly not 100 percent healthy. His groin injury affected him throughout the first half.

That being said, once you step between the white lines, you have to play well.

That’s what the Packers were signing up for when they gave him $220 million this offseason.

To date, he has not been worth the extension.

Yes, there are some big plays. Love is as talented as anyone at quarterback. He can make plays that make you say “wow.”

The problem is, he makes a lot of plays that make you say “wow” in the other direction.

Sunday’s game was a prime example.

With the Packers trailing 10-3, Love threw another terrible interception that was returned for a touchdown. It was his second pick-six of the season. He has thrown at least one interception in all seven of his starts.

That’s something that can be overcome against middling teams, but it’s not winning football against the league’s elite.

While Love finished with 273 passing yards, a big chunk came after the game was decided.

His accuracy was spotty, and his decision-making might have been worse.

To be sure, the receivers did not help him out. Dontayvion Wicks had two more drops. Christian Watson misjudged a deep pass against one-on-one coverage. Romeo Doubs, Tucker Kraft, Bo Melton and Chris Brooks had drops.

It was parade of errors in the passing game, but it all comes back to the quarterback.  

If Love was too hurt to play, he should have sat.

He didn’t, so there is no grading on a curve.

Grade: D

Rush Offense

The plan was clear from the first drive of the game. The Packers wanted to lean on Josh Jacobs and this rushing attack against Detroit’s defense.

That could have protected their hobbled quarterback and kept the Lions’ powerful offense off the field.

Jacobs got off to a roaring start with 89 yards on 10 carries in the first half. He looked explosive and rejuvenated playing in his first big game in a couple years.

Unfortunately, due to the turnovers and game script, the run game became an afterthought. Jacobs got just three carries in the second half and was stuffed on fourth-and-1 at the 9 in the fourth quarter.

The final numbers look good, with 23 carries for 138 yards, which includes three botched snaps in which Love was credited with a rushing attempt.  

Green Bay’s run game is good. It just needs to get out of its own way so it can lean on it.

Grade: B

Pass Defense

Jared Goff, as he’s done all season, played with remarkable efficiency. He completed his first 11 passes against a defense playing without starting cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee) and starting safety Evan Williams (hamstring).

While Arron Mosby and Rashan Gary helped end a drive with a sack, Goff typically didn’t face much pressure as he finished with only four incompletions.

Green Bay’s defense did do a better job in the second half, but it felt like the Lions could have thrown the ball all over the field if necessary.

The rainy conditions led to a ground-heavy approach from the Lions. That’s just the way they like it.

Grade: C

Rush Defense

The Lions’ game plan had a similar script to LaFleur’s.

Coach Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson wanted to lean on David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs and their dynamic ground game. Montgomery carried the load on the Lions’ opening touchdown drive, and Gibbs added a 15-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1 to make it 24-3.

Between them, they ran 28 times for 138 yards.

Earlier in the week, safety Xavier McKinney noted that the Lions try to embarrass other teams. After the Lions got a fourth-down stop, it looked like Johnson was trying to do just that. Kingsley Enagbare would have none of it, throwing Kalif Raymond for a 12-yard loss on a double reverse.

Ultimately, Detroit’s high-powered offense was held to 17 points. The Packers’ defense held up its end of the bargain, even if the final numbers do not necessarily reflect it. 

Grade: C

Special Teams

Perhaps it was fitting that the first play of the game was a big kickoff return by Keisean Nixon that was called back for a personal foul penalty on Nixon.

That was the first of eight penalties in the first half.

Brandon McManus’ honeymoon period is over as he missed a 46-yard field goal that led to the Lions being able to extend their lead late in the first half.

For a coach who is as highly regarded as Rich Bisaccia, his unit still makes far too many mistakes.

To cap things off at the end of the game, McManus’ onside kick never stood a chance of being recovered, as he kicked a missile that bounced out of bounds untouched.

This is still the weakest part of the team, and they’ve shown few signs of getting better.

Grade: D

Coaching

LaFleur continues to go against the grain, and it continues to bite him.

When the Packers won the toss, he elected to receive the opening kickoff.

Across the league, almost every team defers its choice to the second half and kicks off to begin the game.

Not LaFleur. He has chosen to receive each of the last three games.

Last year, he used that method as a way to spark his team. It worked last year, when the Packers beat the Lions and Chiefs in back-to-back weeks.

It hasn’t worked as desired.

At least Green Bay kicked a field goal this week, though it should have been a touchdown. On third-and-5 at the 12, Love found running back Chris Brooks on a hot read, and Brooks had nothing but green grass in front of him.

Brooks, however, dropped the ball that was a little behind him, so the Packers settled for a short field goal.

The Lions kicked a field goal to lead 10-3 with 56 seconds left in the half, got the pick-six against Love with 32 seconds left in the half and scored a touchdown to open the second half.

The other reality with this team is it continues to pile up self-inflicted wounds. Penalties, unforced errors, drops – you name it, they had plenty of mistakes to fill each category.

They were penalized eight times in the first half alone and 10 times for the game.

Players need to make plays, but discipline starts with the head coach.

LaFleur has cited his team’s age in the past, but most of these young players have plenty of experience.

As the Packers get into the bye, cleaning up the sloppiness, along with the carelessness from his quarterback, should be the top priority.

Grade: D

More Green Bay Packers News 

Another annoying interception | Packers-Lions: Stock report | Packers-Lions: Game story | Packers-Lions: Live updates | Packers-Lions: Highlights | Packers-Lions inactives | Packers wary of Lions’ trickery | Packers-Lions in a monsoon | Three reasons why Packers will beat the Lions | Three reasons why Packers will lose to Lions | Q&A with Salute to Service nominee, Lukas Van Ness

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Jacob Westendorf
JACOB WESTENDORF