The Lions walked out of Sunday with a 20-17 win over the Packers, but the margin felt a lot tighter than anyone in Detroit probably wanted. It was a huge division win anyway - the kind that matters in a season where the Lions are trying to climb back to the top of the NFC North - yet the game also exposed a familiar danger that nearly flipped everything on its head.
That danger was fumbling.
Kevin Patra pointed to it in an NFL.com look at Week 7, noting how Detroit stacked up a series of offensive mistakes that gave Green Bay an opening. The most costly stretch came right before halftime and immediately after it, when the Lions put themselves in position to stretch a three-point lead and then watched the drive unravel. As Patra wrote, "Detroit committed a host of offensive miscues, including back-to-back fumbles to end the second quarter and open the third," and "With a chance to extend a three-point lead, the Lions marched into the red zone, but Jahmyr Gibbs fumbled."
The trouble didn’t stop there. Patra also noted that Detroit’s first series of the second half went sideways on a botched snap between Cade Mays, who was playing in his first game of the season, and Jared Goff. That mistake swung the door open for Green Bay, which took its first lead of the game after the miscue.
Detroit survived it, and Goff was a big reason why. The quarterback put together another strong outing, throwing for 303 yards and two touchdowns to help the Lions finish the job and protect the win.
In Other News...
Packers Need More From Injury-Hit Front Seven After Van Ness Focus
The Packers front seven is trying to hold together through a stretch where the injury list has started to shape how opponents attack them. With Micah Parsons out and other defensive linemen and linebackers dealing with limited availability, Green Bay has had to lean on depth in a hurry, and that showed up in the recent loss to Detroit. Lukas Van Ness has been one of the players asked to carry more of the edge-rush load, but the Lions were clearly prepared for him and made sure he had to work for every bit of disruption he could find.
Detroits approach was a reminder that the attention Van Ness draws can cut both ways for Green Bay. Even when he was on the field, the Lions were comfortable accounting for him rather than letting him impact the game cleanly, which put even more pressure on the Packers backup defenders to win their matchups and keep the defense afloat. Until the front seven gets healthier, that kind of strain is likely to remain part of the week-to-week challenge. [Read more 🡒]
Micah Parsons Just Echoed Every Packers Fans Frustration
The frustration around Green Bays 20-17 loss to the Lions has lingered well beyond the final whistle, and Micah Parsons added his voice to it from the sideline. Detroits walk-off field goal finished off a game the Packers had put themselves in position to win, only for the final drive to turn into a familiar kind of postgame argument over how it was officiated.
Parsons took to social media to vent about the roughing the passer calls, a reaction that resonated with a fan base still stewing over the finish. The edge rusher remains out while recovering from a knee injury and is still weeks away from returning, leaving him to watch a bitter divisional loss unfold without being able to impact it on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Interest In Jonathan Taylor Says Something Worse About This Offense
The Packers reported interest in Jonathan Taylor, as laid out by ESPNs Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport, is really a window into how much their rushing offense has sputtered. Bringing in an All-Pro back would certainly grab attention, but it also underscores a broader problem for Green Bay, one that goes beyond simply finding a more explosive runner and into the quality of the blocking in front of him.
Sean Rhyans expected absence only sharpens that concern, because the line issues are not going away on their own in the short term. If Green Bay is going to make a meaningful move to help the ground game, the harder question may be whether the bigger need is a star in the backfield or a stabilizing force up front. [Read more 🡒]