Red Zone Has Packers Singing the Blues
DETROIT – You know what rhymes with red zone?
Dead zone.
Finding new ways to lose just about every week, the Green Bay Packers gained 389 yards and converted 8-of-15 on third down. Aaron Rodgers had a season-high 291 passing yards to lead an offense that only punted once.
That’s winning football most weeks. But not for these putrid Packers.
The Packers were a woeful 0-for-4 in the red zone in a 15-9 loss at the Detroit Lions on Sunday. They had never been worse than 0-for-2 in coach Matt LaFleur’s three-and-a-half seasons. In 2020, the Packers scored on 80 percent of their red-zone possessions – perhaps the best mark in NFL history. That season, they scored on 16-of-17 during their final five games and had only four red-zone failures over their final eight games.
Aaron Rodgers, one of the great red-zone quarterbacks in NFL history, was horrific.
On its first possession, Green Bay started at its 7-yard line and drove 88 yards. It couldn’t get the last 5, though. On first-and-goal, Rodgers’ pass hit linebacker Derrick Barnes in the head. The ball ricocheted into the air and was intercepted by safety Kerby Joseph.
On its second possession, Green Bay started at Detroit’s 48. A 47-yard pass to Allen Lazard gave the Packers a first-and-goal at the 1. Surely, the Packers could gain 1 yard against the NFL’s 30th-ranked red-zone defense.
Nope.
AJ Dillon was stuffed on first and third downs. In between, Rodgers threw a pass to East Lansing while Sammy Watkins ran his route to Ann Arbor. Having the between-quarters break to come up with a six-point play, coach Matt LaFleur dialed up a pass to left tackle David Bakhtiari. Rodgers’ pass was terrible and was intercepted by Aiden Hutchinson. It was the first time Rodgers had ever been intercepted at the 1, according to Stathead.
“There was only two options on the play, but I probably should have given him a chance,” Rodgers said. “I’ll definitely have to live with that throw for the rest of my life with our friendship.”
The tale of the tape after two possessions: The Packers had 135 yards, two interceptions and zero points.
Trailing 15-6 in the fourth quarter, the Packers had a first down at the 14 but stalled. Rodgers’ pass to Watkins on third-and-3 was low and dropped. Mason Crosby’s chip-shot field goal cut the margin to 15-9.
And, finally, came the killer final sequence. Samori Toure made an incredible catch for a gain of 32 to the Lions’ 17. The Packers had 55 seconds to score the winning touchdown, but Rodgers threw four consecutive incompletions. On second down, Rodgers threw one up for Lazard along the sideline. There was plenty of contact but the ball was thrown too high and no flag was thrown.
“If I would have thrown it a little closer to him, possibly that would have been a penalty,” Rodgers said. “I think it could have been illegal contact, but I probably should’ve put it a little bit more in his area to get that penalty.”
On third down, C.J. Moore broke up a pass to Amari Rodgers. On fourth down, Rodgers’ pass landed in the middle of nowhere – an appropriate landing spot for a season that’s going nowhere.
In all, Rodgers was 2-of-10 for 7 yards with two interceptions in the red zone. Aaron Jones, who missed most of the second half with an ankle injury, didn’t get a touch and AJ Dillon had two carries for 0 yards. Why not run it? Because the Lions – with the worst pass defense in the NFL – didn’t fear Green Bay’s pop-gun passing attack.
“Inside the 5-yard line, I don’t know if you guys noticed, but they brought six defensive linemen in and we tried to hand it off and run it through there unsuccessfully,” LaFleur said.
“They dared us to throw the football. I can’t tell you how many times you’re looking in, particularly when we’re under center, and everybody’s mugged up on the line of scrimmage. We’ve got to do something different obviously because we’re not throwing and catching to the level that is conducive to winning football.”
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