
The Green Bay Packers were able to come from behind and tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but ultimately fell short as Detroit came away with the win. However, it’s not like this game meant anything.
As we do each week here at Cheesehead TV, it’s time to go Behind the Numbers, taking a look at the stats and figures you need to know from the Green Bay Packers performance.
1
It’s not as if the Detroit Lions have a very stout pass-rush, ranking 28th in pressure rate this season, but even for an All-Pro like David Bakhtiari, you never truly know how someone is going to respond in their first game back in over a year.
However, Bakhtiari looked quite good. According to PFF’s game recap, he didn’t allow a single pressure, and he would only lose one of his 20 pass-blocking reps.
4.5
Josh Myers is back, and he got the start at center yesterday. According to PFF’s game recap, he would allow only one pressure. As promising as Myers has looked, it’s important to remember that he has only about 4.5 games of NFL experience under his belt and about 300 total snaps–there still may be some ups and downs that occur.
12th
With Bakhtiari and Myers back, the Green Bay Packers moved Lucas Patrick to right guard, and thus Royce Newman ended up on the sidelines. Last season, Patrick was the Packers’ primary right guard, where he ranked 12th among all guards in pressures allowed and sixth in ESPN’s pass-block win rate. Patrick also finished 31st in run-blocking grade among the same 86 eligible guards.
111
Of the Lions’ 404 total yards, 111 of them came on a pair of trick plays. The first was a 75-yard touchdown pass from receiver Tom Kennedy, and that was followed a short while later by a 36-yard touchdown pass from Goff that included a few pitches beforehand. As LaFleur talked about following the game, the defense’s discipline on Sunday was poor. While I don’t expect upcoming opponents to throw as many trick plays at Green Bay, they very well may be tested in the playoffs given their inability to defend them against Detroit.
“Defensive football in general comes down to discipline, and people owning their roles, and when you aren’t disciplined or you go outside the scheme, bad stuff happens,” LaFleur said via Packers.com. “We cannot have that. We need all 11 doing their damn job. And if they don’t, stuff like that happens.”
75
Allen Lazard remains red-hot heading into the playoffs. He entered Sunday’s game with 16 receptions for 215 yards and three touchdowns over his previous four games. Against Detroit, Lazard would add another 75 yards and two touchdowns, including a few third-down receptions that allowed the Green Bay offense to stay on the field.
10/17
Of course, there is still plenty of areas for Jordan Love to improve upon–did you expect something different? But I do want to point out that he did look much more comfortable this week compared to what he did in Kansas City.
It all started with the play up front and Love having time in the pocket, but he was also decisive with his decision-making for the most part and relied on the quick passing game. LaFleur also had a good run/pass mix dialed up with his play-calling. The game didn’t end how we were hoping, but Love made strides as the offense was able to tie the game late, despite trailing for much of the second half.
“To see the way that he’s able to play and to see him be able to kind of control the game the last quarter or so … obviously didn’t end the way we wanted it to but mistakes happen all the time and just because it happened at the end it’s gonna be pointed out a little bit more, but I thought he did a great job,” Lazard said via Packers.com. “He’s been steadily growing this entire year and obviously his snaps with Aaron being up and everything but he’s grown tremendously throughout practice week in and week so I’m very proud of him.”
53
I’ve been a big fan of Patrick Taylor’s since he joined the team. You can click here to read more, but in short, he’s just such a good fit for LaFleur’s offense with his added abilities as a pass-catcher, a blocker, and that he doesn’t just have to line up in the backfield.
We saw some of his potential on display in Detroit as he averaged almost 5.0 yards per rush on 11 carries with a touchdown, and he caught a key third-down reception that eventually led to a touchdown.
5
Dean Lowry capped off the best season of his career with another strong performance. Early on, Lowry was able to log his fifth sack of the season as well as his 40th pressure–both of which are career highs. He also tallied two tackles for loss in the run game.
When Lowry is having this kind of impact and bullying his way into the backfield, Kenny Clark, the edge rushers, and the linebackers all benefit.
109
Over the last six weeks or so, Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has been on a tear, and like most teams prior to the Packers, Green Bay had few answers for him. Detroit did an excellent job of getting St. Brown the ball in space and letting him create from there. He also found a lot of success over the middle of the field and totaled 109 receiving yards on eight receptions.
1,553
With his 55 receiving yards on Sunday, Davante Adams broke Jordy Nelson’s single-season receiving record. Adams also holds the record for most receptions in a season with 123.
“He’s a special, special player,” Rodgers said via Packers.com. “He deserves it and that’s what I told him at halftime is he really deserves this because of the way he conducts himself, the way he plays. Incredible talent and drive and I’m just so fortunate to be a part of it.”
1
The Green Bay Packers are still the one seed, and they remained relatively healthy–although we will have to wait and see how Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Chandon Sullivan are feeling. So don’t read too much into this performance.
Green Bay was running some very vanilla looks and had nothing to play for while Detroit emptied the playbook.
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Born and raised in Green Bay, WI and I still call it home. After my family, watching the Packers, sharing my opinions on the team through my writing and interacting with other fans is my greatest passion. You can find me on Twitter at @Paul_Bretl.
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