The Green Bay Packers were defeated by the Detroit Lions in the opening game of Week 14 on “Thursday Night Football” from Ford Field.
The Packers came back from a 17-7 deficit and held leads of 21-17 and 28-24 in the second half, but a big-time effort from Josh Jacobs in the red zone, the run defense against two top backs and the passing game in the second half weren’t enough for Matt LaFleur’s team to get past the mighty Lions on the road.
Here are five stats to know from the Packers’ primetime loss to the Lions:
21: The number of “stops” against the run from the Packers defense, by far a season high, per PFF. A “stop” is defined as a tackle creating a failure for the offense. Kenny Clark and Quay Walker both had five run stops. The Lions averaged only 3.3 yards per attempt and forced just two missed tackles in the run game. The Packers have been an elite defense against the run over the last three games — a good sign heading into December and January football.
Kenny Clark was awesome last night vs DET OL. Most of front 7 played well vs run. DL was stout, LBs were fast, safeties filled from depth aggressively. Lot of nice stuff on film
Lions had 23 rush attempts go for 3 or less yards – most this season… pic.twitter.com/wqSUt2BfXk
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) December 7, 2024
14-for-17: Jared Goff targeting in-breaking routes, per Next Gen Stats. His 14 completions resulted in 152 passing yards and two touchdowns. The Lions tore into the Packers defense with dig routes. Often forced to blitz inside linebackers, the Packers left huge open spaces in coverage in the middle of the field and the Lions took advantage over and over again. Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Wilson and Quay Walker were charged with giving up 16 completions.
Jared Goff completed 14-of-17 for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns targeting in-breaking routes against the Packers.
Goff currently leads the NFL with 1,534 passing yards targeting in-breaking routes this season, 224 more than the next closest quarterback.#GBvsDET | #OnePride pic.twitter.com/5n9CkwXx1n
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 6, 2024
9-for-13: After starting 3-of-7 for only 31 yards in the first half, Packers quarterback Jordan Love caught fire in the second half, completing 9-of-13 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown. Among his completions were a 59-yarder to Christian Watson, a 29-yarder to Watson, a 26-yarder to Dontayvion Wicks and a 21-yarder to Tucker Kraft. A second touchdown pass was negated by a questionable OPI penalty.
37.5% to 22.5%: Jordan Love was under pressure on 37.5 percent of his drop backs, while Jared Goff was under pressure on just 22.5 percent of his, per Next Gen Stats. The injury-ravaged Lions were especially effective up front early on, and the Packers struggled blocking up blitzes. This was a disappointing effort from the Packers offensive line. Goff, meanwhile, threw a pair of touchdown passes while under pressure.
❤️ on the 💰 pic.twitter.com/aV738tOxIw
— NFL (@NFL) December 6, 2024
80.1: Kenny Clark’s overall PFF grade, a season best. He is finally over a lingering toe injury, so maybe his best football of the season is still in front of him. Clark dominated against the run and had a hurry as a pass-rusher.
Kenny Clark looked like his old self last night. pic.twitter.com/0m4zHYMQMG
— Brandon Carwile (@BCarwile_NFL) December 6, 2024
Game-deciding stat: 4-for-5, or the Lions conversions on fourth down. Detroit scored a pair of touchdowns on fourth down, including one on 4th-and-2 before the half and another on 4th-and-3 to re-take the lead in the third quarter. The Packers got one big stop (leading to a touchdown), but the Lions’ aggressiveness — and execution on fourth down — ended up deciding the game.
