Caught in the Lions Den: Packers Lose Fifth-Straight Game, Fall to 3-6

Too many mistakes and an injury bug that bit the Packers in more ways than one resulted in a disappointing 15-9 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Ford Field.

In the first half, the Green Bay defense kept a Detroit offense averaging 35 points a game at home in check but a few costly throws by Aaron Rodgers on the goal line hurt the Packers early on, as the offense accumulated 205 total yards against the league's worst defense but put no points on the board as they trailed 8-0 at the half.

It would take 40 game minutes for the Packers to finally break out of the dry spell, with a 20-yard touchdown catch by Allen Lazard to make it a 8-6 ballgame with 4:53 left in the third.

After Detroit responded with a touchdown on the following possession, the Packers managed a lengthy 8 minute drive that led to a field goal by Mason Crosby and brought the deficit to 6 points late in the 4th quarter.

Forcing a turnover on downs just before the two-minute warning, the Packers needed to go 67 yards to tie the game and kick a potential game-winning extra point.

After almost giving away the game twice on two fumbles that were reviewed and upheld possession for GB, it came down to a 4th and 10 from the Lions’ 17 with 42 seconds left. Rodgers looked for Sammy Watkins on the slant in the end zone, but his pass was too far behind and sealed Detroit’s 2nd win of the season.

Rodgers had his worst performance of the season, throwing 3 interceptions to a Lions secondary who only had 2 all season going into this week. The first two picks were caught in the red zone, which was the first time in his career that he’s thrown 2 in that area in the same game.

The third one came in the third quarter on a post route to the end zone, which killed the momentum the team had after Jaire Alexander intercepted Lions QB Jared Goff only 2 plays before.

The offense has had its fair share of challenges through 9 games, but injuries have hampered the unit over the last few weeks and today wasn’t any easier. Romeo Doubs left the game with an ankle injury after making an 18-yard catch on the first play of scrimmage and did not return. Fellow rookie Christian Waston left the game for a concussion evaluation for the second week in a row, and Aaron Jones suffered an ankle injury that took him out of the 4th quarter.

The defense wasn’t exempt from injury detail, as Eric Stokes (ankle) and Rashan Gary (knee) also went into the locker room and did not return for the rest of the game.

Perhaps the most important on-field factor was how the Packers offense did not fall back on the run game as they did against the Buffalo Bills last week. AJ Dillon had only 34 yards rushing, with 19 of them coming in the second half. The injury to Jones was a huge setback, but it wasn't like he had 120 yards on the ground before he left the game. Jones carried the ball 9 times for 25 yards while Rodgers scrambled for 40 yards when escaping the pressure in the pocket- which unintentionally made him the leading rusher on the day.

Penalties also caused problems for Green Bay, with 8 calls going against them for 81 yards. The most notable ones were a roughing-the-passer call on rookie Kingsley Enagbare that negated his 3rd down sack on the Lions first drive in the second half, and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Alexander on Detroit's first scoring drive. The Packers have been one of the most penalized teams in the league this season with 56 calls, the 6th most in the league.

With a 3-6 record and losing their 5th straight game in a week where the current teams in wild card spots in the NFC (Cowboys, Giants, and 49ers) all had their bye, this loss pulls the Packers down to a level where it may seem impossible to save their season. Next Sunday is their first home game since Week 6, and it will be an anticipated homecoming as their former head coach Mike McCarthy leads the Cowboys and its high-powered defense into Lambeau.