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5 takeaways from Packers’ loss to Lions
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5 takeaways from Packers’ loss to Lions

  1. The wasted opportunities on offense were beyond frustrating.

As noted, the early third down pass in the red zone cost the Packers four points. A 37-yard run by Jacobs (13 carries, 95 yards) to start Green Bay’s second drive came to nothing after a false start turned a third-and-3 into third-and-8 and eventually a punt.

Back-to-back personal fouls on Lions safety Brian Branch gave the Packers 30 yards, first for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Packers receiver Bo Melton and then for unsportsmanlike conduct after the referee announced the ejection from the game. But another third down and a missed 46-yard field goal made the score 7-3 in Detroit’s favor.

In the third quarter, a 32-yard completion to Jayden Reed (five catches, 113 yards) produced a field goal, but a pass attempt and a shotgun fumble hit the ground on consecutive plays.

And finally, on fourth down, catches of 28 yards by Reed and 19 yards by Melton went to waste; Love’s third throw into the end zone for Dontayvion Wicks fell just short of him and fell as he tried to pull the ball. Then Jacobs got stuffed on fourth-and-1.

“He was definitely a little bit behind him, but I think it’s a play he can make and I think he knows he can make it,” Love said of the play-action bootleg that wide-opened Wicks. “Obviously I can do a better job of getting the ball in front of him and putting it directly on him.”

This last failure brought the score to 24-6 with 10 minutes left in the game and any hope of a recovery was completely eliminated.

  1. All in all, the defensive effort was admirable.

The Lions, now 7-1, averaged better than 40 points per game last month, and Jared Goff has played as efficiently as any quarterback in the league.

Goff remained productive in the Lions’ first outdoor game of the season and in the rain as his receivers dropped no passes (18/22, 145 yards, one TD, 109.3 rating). However, Green Bay’s defense allowed only 17 points, causing Detroit to score four points in the first seven possessions.

But the difference between the two teams on this day was obvious in the Lions’ two offensive scoring plays and their execution when they absolutely needed to.

Both scores came on fourth down. The first was Amon-Ra St. from the 3-yard line after a beneficial offside call. It was an excellent boundary throw to Brown (seven catches, 56 yards) with an expert toe kick. The other was on fourth-and-1 from the 15, when running back Jahmyr Gibbs got into a wide hole and advanced untouched into the end zone.

Gibbs (11 carries, 65 yards) and David Montgomery (17-73) combined for 138 yards on the ground, but the Packers held the Lions to 261 total yards and 4-for-12 on third downs.

  1. The Packers need to get healthy and bounce back after the bye.

Love’s groin injury should heal within two weeks, but it’s unclear where center Josh Myers (ankle), cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee) and safety Evan Williams (hamstring) will be health-wise after missing Sunday’s game, but hopefully time is off will help them recover.

But if the Packers don’t clean up their game, it won’t do much good for the world’s health.

“It’s disappointing when you play a big game like this against one of the best teams in the league and you think there are so many mistakes,” LaFleur said. “You can’t overcome that against a good football team. That’s exactly what Detroit is like.

“Like I said, they played a clean game. They didn’t really put the ball in danger. They did it.”