Grades from loss to Lions

The Green Bay Packers have never lost to the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field.

Now they haven't beaten the Lions in Lambeau since Aaron Rodgers' MVP 2021 season.

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

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

Nor was there just one unit willing to make these mistakes. This was a team-wide failure, and the Packers' weekly report reflects that.

Offensive happen

No, Jordan Love clearly wasn't 100 percent healthy. His groin injury affected him throughout the first half.

However, you have to play well once you get between the white lines.

That's what the Packers decided to do when they gave him $220 million this offseason.

To date, the extension hasn't been worth it for him.

Yes, there are some great plays. Love is as talented as any quarterback. He can make plays that make you say “Wow.”

The problem is that he makes a lot of plays that make you say “Wow” the other way.

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 starts.

That's something you can overcome against mediocre teams, but it doesn't mean winning football against the league's elite.

While Love finished with 273 passing yards, much of it came after the game was decided.

His accuracy was spotty and his decision making could have been worse.

However, the receivers didn't help him. 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 were out.

There have been a number of errors in the passing game, but it all can be attributed to the quarterback.

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

He didn't do that, so there is no rating 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 that rushing attack against Detroit's defense.

That could have protected their stymied quarterback and kept the Lions' high-powered offense off the field.

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

Unfortunately, the running game fell behind due to the turnovers and the game script. Jacobs scored just three runs in the second half and was stuffed at the 9 on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter.

The final numbers look good, with 23 carries for 138 yards, including three blown snaps where Love was credited with a rushing attempt.

Green Bay's running game is good. It just needs to get out of the way so it can lean on it.

Grade: B

Pass defense

Jared Goff played with remarkable efficiency, as he has all season. He completed his first 11 passes against a defense that was 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 come under much pressure as he finished the game with just four incompletions.

Green Bay's defense did 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 exactly how 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' first touchdown drive, and Gibbs added a 15-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1 to make it 24-3.

Together they ran 28 times for 138 yards.

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

Ultimately, Detroit's strong offense was limited to 17 points. The Packers' defense held up its end of the bargain, even if the final numbers don't necessarily reflect that.

Grade: C

Special teams

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

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

Brandon McManus' honeymoon is over as he missed a 46-yard field goal that led to the Lions increasing their lead late in the first half.

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

To top it off at the end of the game, McManus' onside kick never had a chance of redemption as he fired a rocket that went out of bounds unscathed.

This is still the weakest part of the team and shows little sign 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 postpones their choice until the second half and starts the game with kickoff.

Not LaFleur. He has elected to host each of the last three games.

Last year he used this method to cheer on his team. It worked last year when the Packers beat the Lions and Chiefs in consecutive weeks.

It didn't work as expected.

At least Green Bay kicked a field goal this week when it should have been a touchdown. On 3rd-and-5 at the 12, Love found running back Chris Brooks, who delivered a hot shot, and Brooks had nothing but green grass in front of him.

However, Brooks dropped the ball slightly 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, scored a 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 that they continue to pile up self-inflicted wounds. Penalties, unforced errors, falls – you name it, they had plenty of errors in every category.

They were penalized eight times in the first half alone and ten times in the entire game.

The players have to make plays, but discipline starts with the head coach.

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

If the Packers head into the bye, fixing the sloppiness and carelessness of their quarterback should be a top priority.

Grade: D

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