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The good, the bad and the ugly from the Packers loss to the Lions

The good, the bad and the ugly from the Packers loss to the Lions

5 minutes, 40 seconds Read

The Green Bay Packers train and play outside.

Bad weather is a fact of life and no team should be better prepared for the elements than Green Bay.

Detroit plays in the cozy rooms of the vaulted Ford Field. The Lions had not played an away game until Sunday and have only played three away games all season.

In theory, the downpour that hit Green Bay should have benefited the host Packers. Instead, it was just the opposite.

Green Bay was plagued by crashes, penalties and general sloppiness. Detroit took full advantage, scoring 24 straight points at one point and defeating the Packers 24-14.

Detroit won its sixth straight game, improving to 7-1 and maintaining its spot atop the NFC. Green Bay ended its four-game winning streak and fell to 6-3 overall and 0-2 in the division entering the off week.

Here's the “good, bad and ugly” of the Lions' dominant win, starting with the ugly.

THE UGLY

GAME CHANGE: The Packers were down 10-3 late in the first half when Jordan Love threw what was arguably his most costly interception of the year.

Love was pressured by linebacker Alex Anzalone and attempted to hit the ball to Josh Jacobs in the right flat. Detroit standout safety Kerby Joseph read the play beautifully, intercepting Love's throw and returning it 27 yards for a touchdown that increased the Lions' lead to 17-3.

This was Joseph's sixth interception of the season, tying him for the lead with Green Bay's Xavier McKinney.

TERRIBLE DROPS: Green Bay had five costly drops that killed several drives and cost the Packers a ton of points.

Green Bay's first possession lasted 7 minutes, 54 seconds – the longest possession of the year. But the Packers settled for a field goal after running back Chris Brooks dropped a potential 12-yard touchdown pass.

Later, Romeo Doubs dropped a slanted pass. Tucker Kraft dropped a first down on a third-and-8, then Brandon McManus missed a 46-yard field goal.

On the Packers' first drive of the second half, Dontayvion Wicks dropped a third-and-3 slant pass to end that drive. And early in the fourth quarter, Wicks dropped a sure-fire touchdown that would have brought the Packers within two points. Instead, this trip ended with no points.

Yes, it was wet and slippery. But the lousy conditions didn't seem to bother the Lions, who play in a dome. Green Bay, on the other hand, looked like it had never rained before.

KILL YOURSELF: Penalties have been a problem for Green Bay all season, and Sunday was no different as the Packers finished with 10 penalties for 67 yards. Among the most expensive were:

• Nixon received a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on the first play of the game. Nixon later called a holding penalty that kept alive a Detroit drive that resulted in a 15-yard touchdown run by Jahmyr Gibbs.

• TJ Slaton received a neutral zone violation penalty as the Lions made a fourth-and-goal from the Green Bay 5-yard line. One play later, Detroit quarterback Jared Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 3-yard TD.

• Sean Rhyan received a false start penalty on a third-and-3 from Detroit's 33, wiping out a drive.

• Kamal Hadden received a holding penalty on a punt return.

THE BAD

Slippery when wet: The Packers trailed 24-3 late in the third quarter and reached Detroit's 14. However, Jordan Love botched shotgun snaps on consecutive plays.

The first time the ball went through Love's hands, Emanuel Wilson recovered and fought his way back to the original offensive line. On the second play, Love never had control of the ball and fell on it, resulting in a 6-yard loss.

Green Bay desperately needed a touchdown to get back into the game, but had to settle for a 38-yard field goal from Brandon McManus.

A series later, Love fumbled another dropped snap — and recovered. His three fumbles were a new career high.

TOUGHER TEAM: One play perfectly summed up the difference between these two teams.

On a second-and-1 late in the first half, Detroit's David Montgomery was stopped after a short lead. But Montgomery kept his legs moving, the Lions' offensive line kept pushing and he ran eight yards to the Packers' 10.

Later, the Lions had the final 3:49 of the game as the Packers desperately tried to get the ball back.

Detroit was more physical and disciplined from start to finish, despite playing in elements that should have favored Green Bay.

FRAGILE CORNER: Former Packers general manager Ron Wolf refused to sign a cornerback under 6 feet after missing badly in 1992 with the 5-foot-9 Terrell Buckley. Mike Sherman and Ted Thompson also largely stuck to this plan.

Current Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst made the 5-foot-10 Jaire Alexander his first-ever draft pick in 2018. And after a great start to his career, Alexander couldn't stay on the field.

Alexander was sidelined with a knee injury on Sunday and has now missed 27 of Green Bay's last 60 games (45%). The Packers desperately need Alexander this season, but must decide this offseason whether they want to continue paying top dollar for a player who is only available half the time.

THIS AND THAT: Packers cornerback Kesiean Nixon was deceived on a stop route and gave up a 3-yard touchdown to Amon-Ra St. Brown on the Lions' first possession of the game. … Brandon McManus missed his first field goal as a Packer, a 46-yarder late in the second quarter. … Detroit had a four-and-1 from its own 15-yard line on its first drive of the second half. The Lions ran standout running back Jahmyr Gibbs from left guard, Detroit's line cleared a huge hole and Gibbs marched into the end zone.

THE GOOD

SOLID START: Green Bay pulled off an impressive 14-play, 63-yard drive that lasted nearly 8 minutes to open the game. Brandon McManus finished the march with a 30-yard field goal.

JOSH JACOBS: One positive aspect of Green Bay's abysmal offensive performance was the play of running back Josh Jacobs, who finished the game with 95 yards on 13 carries.

Jacobs managed a 37-yard run in the first half as Rasheed Walker and Jordan Morgan cleared a hole and Tucker Kraft delivered a great downfield block. He also had runs of 13 and 11 yards on Green Bay's first drive.

Jacobs was in for a big day before the Packers trailed by three points and became one-dimensional in the second half.

REED DOES HIS PART: Jayden Reed made a spectacular 28-yard reception on a fourth-and-5 pass to keep the drive alive early in the fourth quarter. Reed finished the game with five catches for 113 yards, both team highs.

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