Lions Beat Packers in Meaningless Finale
DETROIT – Missions accomplished.
Sort of.
With absolutely nothing at stake in the regular-season finale at Ford Field, Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams broke Jordy Nelson’s record for receiving yards in a season, Aaron Rodgers topped 4,000 passing yards and threw more two touchdowns.
Most importantly, the team appeared on its way to getting out of Detroit mostly unscathed from an injury perspective until cornerback Chandon Sullivan suffered a knee injury late in the game.
Oh, and they lost to the Detroit Lions 37-30, a verdict secured on C.J. Moore’s interception of Jordan Love with 1:13 to go, an insurance field goal and Tracy Walker's interception in the waning moments.
The Packers will go into the playoffs with a 13-4 record; the Lions will go into the offseason with a mark of 3-13-1.
The Packers took a 30-27 lead with 4:49 remaining on Jordan Love’s 62-yard touchdown screen to tight end Josiah Deguara. Deguara got a pancake block from Lucas Patrick, broke a tackle near midfield and raced the rest of the way. Love added the two-point conversion on a read-option keeper.
Detroit raced right down the field with a 13-yard reverse by Kalif Raymond, a 28-yard catch by Amon-Ra St. Brown in which he took a big shot by Henry Black and broke loose for 15 more yards, and a 15-yard pass to tight end Brock Wright to the 14 at the 2-minute warning. On the next play, D’Andre Swift flew inside of outside linebacker Tipa Galeai, raced past cornerback Isaac Yiadom and scored to make it 34-30 with 1:54 to go.
Love was intercepted on the second play of the ensuing possession, his pass to Amari Rodgers deflected at the line by linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin and grabbed by Moore.
Adams needed 22 receiving yards to break Nelson’s franchise record of 1,519. He got it on the third series. He closed his prolific eighth season with franchise records of 123 receptions and 1,553 yards. Adams’ 123 receptions for the season are tied for the ninth-most in NFL history.
Rodgers needed 23 passing yards to record yet another 4,000-yard season. He got it on the first play of the game with a completion to Allen Lazard. He joined a short list with his 10th season of 4,000-plus yards. And, with a superb 29-yard touchdown pass to Lazard, he extended his streak of games with two-plus touchdown passes and zero interceptions to seven, the second-longest in NFL history. After throwing two interceptions in the opener, he threw 37 touchdowns and two picks the rest of the way to put his stamp on the MVP race.
Coach Matt LaFleur played his starters to keep the team sharp. He might not be happy with the results. While Rodgers was fantastic, the defense was a shoal of fish going after every worm-covered hook. A sucker is born every minute, they say. On Sunday, those suckers wore white jerseys and yellow helmets.
Detroit tied the game 7-7 late in the first quarter on a trick play. Quarterback Jared Goff gave an inside handoff to St. Brown, who handed the ball to Tom Kennedy on a reverse. The running back on the play was Raymond, streaked out of the field and was wide open. Wide open being an understatement. He caught the ball at the 48 and could have hopped, skipped and jumped the final 52 yards for the tying touchdown.
With Detroit leading 17-13 at halftime, Green Bay forced a three-and-out and Jordan Love took over at the 31. After a second-down sack, Love threw quickly to Juwann Winfree, who bobbled the ball, controlled it and fumbled it away.
Starting at Green Bay’s 36, Lions coach Dan Campbell went deep into his playbook again. This time, it was a double-reverse flea-flicker. The defense took the bait again. Wright couldn’t have been any more open had he snuck into the stadium at midnight. He caught the pass at the 28 and sprinted for the touchdown to make it 24-13.
It would have been fine if those big plays came against backups. But those came against the No. 1 defense.
Coming up: While the other six playoff teams duke it out, the Packers will enjoy their playoff bye week next week. It won’t be a week of vacation with a few days of practice before learning their playoff opponent. It will be an important week for left tackle David Bakhtiari (assuming he didn’t have a setback) and cornerback Jaire Alexander, who might have played in this game had he not landed on the COVID list week and practiced only on Friday.
MVP: Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams had their moments but it was Allen Lazard who was a huge part of the offense. He overcame an early drop and finished with five receptions for 75 yards and two touchdowns. His 1-yarder capped an impressive opening drive.
Key stat: The Packers were plus-16 on turnovers for the season with 26 giveaways vs. 10 interceptions. They were minus-3 on Sunday.
Big play: The 62-yard touchdown pass on the screen to Josiah Deguara put the Packers ahead – briefly. Lucas Patrick got him going and Amari Rodgers kept him going for the biggest play of the second-year tight end’s career. His previous longest gain was just 25 yards; he never even had more than 44 yards in a game.
Big moment: Green Bay forced a three-and-out punt to start the second half and started at its 31 following a season-long 23-yard punt return by Amari Rodgers. That gave Jordan Love the ball with a chance to get Green Bay in front. Instead, on third down, Juwann Winfree fumbled. The Lions scored on the next play to extend their lead to 24-13.
What it means: Nothing. The Packers could have lost by 678 points or won on a Jordan Love Hail Mary and still hosted a playoff game in two weeks. Speaking of home playoff games, if you care about the long-range forecast, Weather.com expects a high of 21 on Saturday, Jan. 22, and 14 on Sunday, Jan. 23. For now, there’s no snow in the forecast.
