The Packers defense needs to bounce back against productive Lions

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers are coming off their worst defensive performance of the season with the best offense in the NFL ready to invade Lambeau Field.

The Detroit Lions have the hottest offense in the league. They scored 172 points in the last four games. That’s the most for any team in a four-game span, as the Baltimore Ravens also scored 172 points in 2019.

Green Bay’s defense had been the talk of the NFL, but they were torn apart by the Jaguars on Sunday. While Green Bay won 30-27, the Jaguars scored on five of their last eight drives.

Trevor Lawrence led the way with eight completions of more than 20 yards, six of which came in the final 30 minutes and 30 seconds.

“Yes, there was a lot,” coach Matt LaFleur said.

What happened?

“There were some things that we technically didn’t execute,” LaFleur said. “We had one glaring failure in coverage and there was also a bad tackle. They were doing checkdowns in Cover-2, which is usually the reason you entice the offense to throw, and it’s catch-tackle. And they went for more than twenty meters.”

The Jaguars entered the game ranked 10th with 21 completions of more than twenty yards. The Packers ranked a decent 13th with 18 completions of 20+ yards allowed. They allowed one against Houston a week ago and one against Arizona a week earlier.

“We’ve got to tackle better, we’ve got to communicate better, we’ve got to execute better, just the techniques that we’re asking our guys to use,” LaFleur said.

In games against quality quarterbacks with elite receivers, the Packers allowed four 20-yard completions in the Week 1 loss to the Eagles and four in the Week 4 loss to the Vikings.

The Jaguars’ Lawrence had five in the second half alone. According to Pro Football Focus, he was 5 of 8 on passes thrown more than 20 yards downfield.

It won’t get any easier against Detroit, especially at cornerback Jaire Alexander and/or safety Evan Williams are out or limited.

If the season ended today, there could be a good argument for Jared Goff to win NFL MVP.

In a bizarre game against Tennessee on Sunday, the Lions won 52-14. Goff was 12 of 15 for just 85 yards. They scored touchdowns on a 70-yard run and a 90-yard punt return. A 72-yard kickoff return, a 64-yard punt return and three takeaways made for five touchdown drives of 26 yards or less.

So Goff didn’t get the chance to improve his major player stats. However, he posted his fourth straight game with a passer rating of at least 125, just the third time that has happened in NFL history. During that stretch, he has thrown 10 touchdown passes versus 13 incomplete passes.

A week later, Goff completed 83.0 percent of his passes over the past five games – the best stretch in NFL history.

According to PFF, Goff has the best passer rating in the NFL on passes thrown more than 20 yards down the field. At the same time, only Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa is a bigger beneficiary of yards after the catch.

What compounded Green Bay’s problems was its terrible handling. By our count, the Packers missed 19 – eight more than their season high last season.

Jacksonville’s offense is filled with tough-to-tackle playmakers, but LaFleur wouldn’t use that as an excuse.

“I always put it on us,” he said.

The Lions are one of the best teams in the NFL at breaking tackles and creating yards after contact. With the physicality of running back David Montgomery, the elusiveness of running back Jahmyr Gibbs, the strength of the offensive line, the toughness of receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta, and the accuracy of Goff, the red-hot Lions will pose the biggest challenge of the season.

“They are really good. And we knew that,” LaFleur said. “We knew that going into the year, and it’s not shocking to me. It’s a team we’re obviously very familiar with and we’ll have to play at our best. And it all starts with preparation. We are going to have a great week of practice.”

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The #Packers beat the Jaguars, but the tackles were terrible, they allowed way too many big plays and the red zone offense was terrible.

Here are this week’s overreactions, with a look at Sunday’s game against the Lions.https://t.co/DYfPmtsJDI

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 28, 2024