Three Overreactions From Packers’ Latest Loss to Lions

The Green Bay Packers once again showed they are good enough to beat any team in the league but not good enough to actually win. Here are three takeaways from Thursday’s loss at the Detroit Lions.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love completes a long pass while being pressured by Jack Campbell (46) and Myles Adams. / David Reginek-Imagn Images

DETROIT – The Green Bay Packers lost 34-31 to the Detroit Lions on Thursday night. Packers coach Matt LaFleur used to own the NFC North, but Dan Campbell improved to 6-2 vs. LaFleur during his franchise-shifting tenure.

Here are this week’s Overreactions.

1. It’s Time to Unleash Jordan Love

Running back Josh Jacobs has changed the offense with his determined, powerful running and nose for the end zone.

Now, it’s time for coach Matt LaFleur to turn quarterback Jordan Love loose.

Defenses have zeroed in on the Packers’ offensive game plan, leaving Jacobs little room to run. According to Next Gen Stats, Jacobs faced a stacked box on exactly half of his 18 carries. He’s doing all he can – Next Gen Stats credited him with seven broken tackles against Detroit with 61 of his 66 yards coming after contact. But he has just one 10-yard run in each of the last two games.

Jacobs carried 14 times on first down vs. Detroit. He gained 37 yards, with 2 yards or less on eight attempts.

It's time for LaFleur to adjust and put more on quarterback Jordan Love’s plate.

Once the protection settled in, Love got rolling. He was 12-of-20 passing for 206 yards with one touchdown, highlighted by 9-of-13 for 175 yards in the second half. The Packers got the ball five times during the second half and scored three touchdowns and one field goal. It’s why Lions coach Dan Campbell went for it on fourth-and-1 in the final minute; he was scared Love would need only a half-minute to force overtime.

Love’s interception streak seems like a distant memory; he was not close to a turnover against the Lions, who threw the kitchen sink at him.

“That’s what we expected coming into this game – they’re going to play man and they’re going to try to get their rush going and try to take away the timing of the pass game with their rush,” Love said. “I think they came out and did that. They played a lot of man early on and were trying to win up front with the rush and did what they needed to do early on.”

The Packers shouldn’t venture too far from Jacobs. But it’s time to sprinkle in more play-action and bootlegs to beat defenses that are hell-bent on stopping No. 8.

2. All Those First-Round Picks on Defense

You know the one about how many (fill-in-the-blanks) does it take to change a lightbulb?

How many first-round picks does it take to stop a good offense?

Over the last seven drafts, the Packers have used seven first-round picks on their defense. This year, they drafted offensive lineman Jordan Morgan in the first round but used their two second-round picks on defenders. Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, Xavier McKinney and (injured) Jaire Alexander are among the highest-paid players at their positions.

And still, even with a promising defensive coordinator, Green Bay’s defense wasn’t good enough. Not even close to good enough.

When the Packers settled for a game-tying field goal with 3:38 remaining, the eventual outcome of the game was obvious: The Lions would win the game on a walk-off field goal.

Sure enough, Jared Goff completed passes to Jameson Williams for 19 yards, Tim Patrick for 9 and Amon-Ra St. Brown for 16 to set up the predictable finish. Goff completed his final 13 passes.

The Packers defensive line, which dominated training camp, has been AWOL for too much of the season. Because of the lack of a pass rush, the undermanned secondary has been overwhelmed without Alexander. Goff was pressured on a season-low 22.7 percent of his dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats. By the official stats, the Packers had three quarterback hits – two by Gary and one by Devonte Wyatt – out of 44 passing plays.

From a clean pocket, according to PFF, Goff was 26-of-30 for 235 yards. It wasn’t like he had to make a bunch of tight-window throws. It was like an OTA-style seven-on-seven drill.

You can’t blame Joe Barry’s scheme anymore. Too many premium assets have been spent on underperforming players.

When the Packers are on the clock outside Lambeau Field in April, they need to draft as many cornerbacks and pass rushers as possible. With 30.8 points allowed in four losses, this defense is nowhere near good enough to compete for a Super Bowl championship.

3. The Genius of Dan Campbell

Lions coach Dan Campbell and his offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson, get it.

You get four downs to gain 10 yards. That’s 2.5 yards per play to move the chains. So, call plays with that in mind.

On third-and-4, run the ball. On third-and-8, throw a screen. Whatever it takes to get to fourth-and-short to go for the first down.

Old-school football suggests a team can’t win a game a few yards at a time. At some point, the offense will screw up or the defense will make a play.

But the Lions are good. Really good. Sure, the defense will make a play, but an offense filled with playmakers will make more plays.

Jared Goff is ruthlessly efficient. Amon-Ra St. Brown gets open on every big play. Jameson Williams has elite athleticism. Sam LaPorta is a top tight end, and David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are a top tandem of running backs.

Green Bay’s run defense couldn’t have played any better, especially against a top offensive line. And it didn’t matter. Because the Lions kept getting into short-yardage situations. Combined, they moved the chains 11 times on third and fourth down compared to one for Green Bay.

“It’s tough,” defensive tackle Kenny Clark said. “You get them fourth-and-1, fourth-and-inches and they’re able to get it and keep the drive going. I think we got like one stop or two stops on fourth down, but they had way more conversions in those situations.”

The distance required on third down? On average, 4.3 yards for Detroit and 9.2 for Green Bay. From that perspective, Goff and Jordan Love were playing completely different games.

“We got to find ways to get stops,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “We got to find ways to generate more turnovers to put our offense in a better spot. We got to get the stops. When we need to get the stop, we got to get the stop. That’s what it is.”

That indeed was the difference. Credit to Campbell.

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