Good evening, everyone. The Green Bay Packers looked to get a win at Lambeau Field against the Detroit Lions. After an early deficit, they did just that, outscoring the Lions 39-7 after a 14-3 hole. I am here to give you my thoughts on what exactly happened in this game. Without further delay, let’s get started.
The Packers did not get to a great start on defense, as they gave up an opening drive touchdown to the Lions. An unnecessary roughness penalty on Za’Darius Smith did not help matters during that drive. The 1-yard TD run by Kerryon Johnson gave the Lions a 7-0 lead. The Packers tried to answer back with a touchdown of their own on their first offensive drive. During the possession, they converted a fourth and 6 with a 10-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers to Allen Lazard that put Green Bay into field goal range. The drive stalled after 2 straight incomplete passes to Aaron Jones (including a third down pass that was a bit overthrown in the end zone). Mason Crosby made the 43-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3. That lead was made 14-3 in Detroit’s favor after a second straight touchdown drive allowed by the defense. The possession ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to Marvin Jones. Thankfully, the Packers answered back on their next drive with a touchdown (a 7-yard pass to Aaron Jones) that decreased the lead to 14-10. The defense forced the Lions to punt on their next drive. On second and 10 from the 50, the Lions were called for an unnecessary roughness penalty (called on Oday Aboushi, who did a dirty hit on Tyler Lancaster). After the defense stopped the Lions on third and 25, they got the ball back on their own 10. Unfortunately, the offense did not get a score on this drive. On third and 7 from the Detroit 47 yard line, Aaron Rodgers threw a deep shot to Marquez Valdes-Scantling that fell incomplete. There was an injury scare with MVS, but he walked on his own and would return later in the game. JK Scott punted the ball to the Detroit 5-yard line. During the short drive, Za’Darius Smith sacked Matthew Stafford for a 10-yard loss (should have been a safety). With no timeouts left, the Packers caught a break with a holding penalty on Aboushi after the third down play. The offense got the ball back on their own 38 yard line. 2 straight penalties on the Lions defense (Unnecessary roughness and horse collar tackle) gave the Packers great field position at the 24. 2 plays later, Aaron Rodgers found Robert Tonyan for an 11-yard touchdown that gave the Packers a 17-14 lead with 14 seconds left. The Lions did get into field goal range, but the 57-yard kick by Matt Prater went wide to the right. At the half, the Packers were up by a score of 17-14 over the Lions.
The Packers started the second half with a bang. On the first play, Aaron Jones ran the ball 75 yards for a touchdown that gave Green Bay a 24-14 lead. The defense got to a great start in the second half as well, forcing a three-and-out after Matthew Stafford threw incomplete on third down. The Packers went down the field for another potential score. During the possession, Aaron Jones made a great catch that went for 30 yards. The drive stalled after they got to the Detroit 18 yard line. First, there was a holding penalty on first and 10. Second, there were 2 straight incomplete passes to Allen Lazard. Third, Aaron Rodgers was sacked by Jaime Collins for a loss of 11 yards, forcing the Packers out of field goal range. During the punt, the Lions were called for unnecessary roughness. The penalty gave the Lions the ball at their own 5 yard line. On the very next play, Rashan Gary pressured Stafford into throwing a pick-six to Chandon Sullivan. That pick-six was the first defensive touchdown for the Packers since Week 14 of 2018 (a pick six by Bashaud Breeland against the Falcons). The touchdown (plus the extra point) gave Green Bay a 31-14 lead with 8:32 left in the third quarter. After the defense forced the Lions to go three-and-out, the offense had another chance to put up points during a drive that started at their own 14. During the possession, the offense converted a couple of third downs and got to the red zone again. After 3 straight incomplete passes from the Detroit 17 yard line, the Packers were forced to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Mason Crosby. The 34-14 lead was changed to 34-21 after the Lions went down the field to score a touchdown (a 24-yard pass to Marvin Hall). Green Bay answered right back with a touchdown drive that increased the lead to 21 points. A third down completion to Valdes-Scantling helped set up a 14-yard touchdown run by Jones that, along with a two-point conversion, gave Green Bay a 42-21 lead with 7:59 left in the game. The defense forced the Lions to go three and out after an intentional grounding penalty on Stafford and 2 straight sacks (one by Rashan Gary and one by a combo of Gary and Preston Smith). On the next offensive drive, the Packers went three and out and were forced to punt. A funny thing that happened was Rodgers catching his own pass on third down after it was deflected by the defense. The defense made one last stand with a great play by Josh Jackson on a deep fourth down pass. After a third and 11 was converted by AJ Dillon, the Packers ran out the rest of the clock to seal the 42-21 victory. With the win, the Packers are now 2-0 on the season (and in the NFC North).
After the Packers went down 14-3, the offense found its footing and found the end zone 4 times in the game. Aaron Rodgers threw for 240 yards and 2 touchdowns and a rating of 107.6. A few of his incompletions were because of the receivers dropping some throws, including a couple of drops by tight end Jace Sternberger. I have hope that Sternberger will rebound in the next game when he is given a chance on offense. Aaron Jones had a great day against the Lions, going for 236 total yards (168 rushing, 68 receiving) and 3 touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving). The highlights of his day were the 75-yard touchdown run that opened the second half and a catch along the sideline later in the third quarter. What I also liked was that Aaron Jones did a Lambeau Leap on 2 of his touchdowns. Davante Adams only had 3 catches for 36 yards on the day. He did suffer a hamstring injury, but I am sure that he will get better quickly from it. Allen Lazard had 3 catches for 45 yards, including a couple of key third down conversions. Robert Tonyan got his first touchdown catch of the season at the end of the first half. Matt LaFleur called another great game as the offense scored 4 more touchdowns. Even though they allowed a sack, the offensive line did their job in protecting Aaron Rodgers and creating the running lanes for the backs to go through. There are still some problems to fix, including the timeouts and the dropped passes, but I am sure the offense will figure those problems out as the season goes on.
I thought that the defense did well after the first quarter. They got some key third and fourth down stops during the game, including a couple of three-and-outs. Josh Jackson and Chandon Sullivan each made a key play dejecting a deep pass from Matthew Stafford. Jaire Alexander also made a few great plays defensively against Detroit. Stafford was sacked 4 times by the Packers defense. Rashan Gary got 1.5 sacks while Za’Darius Smith and Vernon Scott each got one sack. The pick-six by Sullivan was made possible by Rashan Gary, who got into Stafford’s face as he threw the ball. The defense also did a better job at defending the run after the first quarter, even with Kenny Clark out due to a groin injury. Adrian Peterson was limited to only 41 yards, while Kerryon Johnson only had 32 yards rushing on the day. The defense also did better in terms of not allowing too many points in the fourth quarter (only 7 compared to 24 last week). I hope that the defense continues to improve as the season goes on. I also hope that there are fewer injuries (knock on wood). On Special Teams, the Packers did not make any big mistakes again. Mason Crosby made all of his kicks again while JK Scott punted the ball deep into Lions territory a couple of times. Tyler Ervin did not get as many touches in the return game (he exited the game while being evaluated for a concussion). As long as they stay consistent with no mistakes, the Packers will be fine.
Overall, it was another great win for the Packers. They recovered mightily after being down 14-3 in the first quarter. Through 2 games, they have scored 85 points (including 9 offensive touchdowns) while accumulating 1,010 yards of total offense. I really hope that they can keep rolling on offense. There are still some things to work on, but I am sure that the mistakes will be corrected. Next up for the Packers is a trip to New Orleans to take on the Saints on Sunday Night Football. In the meantime, I want to celebrate this Packers victory. Have a good night, everyone. Go Pack Go!
(Here are the highlights of the game, provided by the NFL's YouTube page.)
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