Packers end up kicking themselves (and not much else) after a sloppy performance in Detroit
The Green Bay Packers dropped to 2-2-1 after an uninspiring performance at Ford Field.
Three turnovers in the first half, missed field goals, and the inability to get the ball into the endzone all contributed to a 31-23 loss to the Detroit Lions.
The bad day just got started when the Packers forced a punt on Detroit’s opening possession. Instead of the Packers taking over deep inside their own territory, the ball hit Kevin King, the Lions recovered, and they were in business early in the game.
Aaron Rodgers lost the ball twice on sack/fumbles. With Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison sidelined, Rodgers tried to do a lot to extend plays, but he should have gotten rid of the ball sooner. Instead, his fumbles led to 10 points for Detroit.
Mason Crosby had the worst game of his career, missing 4 field goals and even an extra point. Mike McCarthy brought him out there late in the game to try to give him some confidence back, and he nailed a 41-yard field goal, his first points of the game. Whether or not that will translate to results in later games remains to be seen.
It’s obvious that those field goal misses obviously hurt. It would be easy to say that all of the misses (13 points total) were the main reason why the Packers lost on Sunday. However, we don’t know how the dynamic of the game would have changed had he made those kicks.
Those 3 turnovers (to Detroit’s none), sloppy defense, and the inability to finish drives all contributed to the loss. Make no mistake about it, those FG misses hurt, but the inability to execute in the red zone set up that bad performance by Crosby. The Lions had less than 300 yards of total offense, but trust me, that was not a good defensive performance by the Packers on Sunday afternoon.
Where do we go from here? It’s back to the drawing board for this Packer team. Crosby is going through a bad stretch right now as he also missed an extra point for the second straight game, but I don’t think the team is considering a change at this time. If his struggles continue into next week and beyond, then I think they will consider bringing in someone else.
This is obviously not the position we wanted the Packers to be in after 5 games. They have the toughest part of their schedule coming up after the bye week. They need to get this turned around right now.
Next up for the Packers is a home game on Monday night vs the San Francisco 49ers. There is a lot of work for them to do before the game, and I am sure that they will be very busy this week. Until then, take care Packer fans.
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #GregGoshaw @gg901
