It’s currently 1:57 a.m. and I’m still up, buzzed about the way the Detroit Lions season ended a couple of hours ago. Detroit capped off the regular season with an impressive 20-16 win in Green Bay, a victory that ended the season for both teams.
Normally I would be asleep for hours already, but it’s not every day the Lions knock off the Packers in primetime. That’s worth some happy loss of sleep. The Lions rose to the challenge of finishing with a winning record and preventing the Packers from making the postseason with the win. The 9-8 finish is Detroit’s first winning mark since the 2017 season. It also cemented a second-place finish in the NFC North, beating out the 8-9 Packers.
It was a great way to finish a remarkable season, one that saw Dan Campbell’s team stumble out of the gate to a 1-6 start. The 8-3 finish is better than almost anyone could have dreamt, and it builds the enthusiasm for what can come in 2023 and beyond.
Before we get to all that, here are some of my takeaways from watching the Lions win over the Packers.
The Lions were the smarter, sharper team
The game was not the sharpest played contest. Far from it. The biggest reason the young Lions won the game was because they made fewer big mistakes than the veteran-laden Packers in Green Bay.
For the ninth game in a row, Jared Goff avoided throwing an interception. The Lions QB missed a few throws, but the ball was never in real peril of winding up in the Packers’ hands. The same could not be said of Packers counterpart Aaron Rodgers.
Rookie safety Kerby Joseph picked off Rodgers twice. The first was nullified by a penalty. The second ended the Packers season, with Joseph picking off Rodgers’ panicked deep ball while under heavy pressure. Green Bay never got the ball back.
The Lions also created a huge takeaway when defensive lineman John Cominsky hustled down the field and stripped the ball from Packers RB Aaron Jones after a catch. Cornerback Will Harris recovered, ending another Packers threat.
Detroit was able to come up with the timely big plays, something the Packers just couldn’t match. Alex Anzalone burying Allen Lazard behind the line on an early fourth-down attempt by the Packers is another example. The Lions were both more aggressive and more responsible with the ball. Green Bay’s aggression came in the form of linebacker Quay Walker getting ejected for shoving a Lions trainer as he tended to an injured player.
No playoffs? No Problem
The Lions were eliminated from the postseason before opening kickoff when the Seattle Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams in overtime. Many pundits pointed to the eliminated status and pontificated that the Lions would have nothing to play for and the Packers would cruise to the playoff berth.
Those who counted on Campbell’s Lions to be passive, they counted wrong. Anyone who followed along with the Lions from Hard Knocks should have known better.
The Lions found plenty of motivation to play to win the game. In fact, they looked like the more prepared, more fired up team most of the night — something that was very evident in the second half. While the Packers sputtered and melted down, the Lions clawed with everything they had. Detroit wasn’t afraid of the moment. You’re not going to see that written anywhere about the Packers after this game…
Winning on the lines
The Lions won the trench warfare battles on both sides of the ball. It was closer between the Packers defensive line and the Lions offense, but Detroit prevailed on both the offensive and defensive lines.
The Packers defensive front did a pretty good job of shutting down the Lions rushing attack early in the game. But outstanding performances from RT Penei Sewell, C Frank Ragnow and LG Jonah Jackson turned the tide later in the game. Detroit ran the ball 18 times for 79 yards and two Jamaal Williams’ 1-yard TD runs in the second half. The Packers rarely came near Jared Goff in the pocket, either.
Detroit’s defensive line played very well as a whole. Aidan Hutchinson grabs the headlines with his two sacks, but the entire unit bested the Packers offensive line. Isaiah Buggs and Benito Jones both played very well against the run; Buggs logged a career-high seven tackles. John Cominsky, aside from his forced fumble, forced a bad throw by Rodgers on a third down with a quick pressure. Alim McNeill had two QB hits on Rodgers and played well.
Quick hits
–CB Jeff Okudah was scratched from the lineup with an elbow injury. He was missed. Jerry Jacobs had an up-and-down game that included a 46-yard pass interference penalty. Amani Oruwariye was also guilty of a deep pass interference penalty but Packers rookie WR Christian Watson caught the ball anyway. Mike Hughes was also up-and-down in both coverage and run defense.
–There was much consternation about Goff wearing gloves in the cold weather. Those concerns were notably absent when he played well in the Lions loss to the Panthers back in Week 16, a game where the temps were colder than in Green Bay on Sunday night. Goff has worn gloves in cooler temps his entire career going back to his college days at Cal, often playing well while gloved. Those concerns sure got quiet when Goff threw the ball much better after halftime.
–Speaking of great throws, Goff connected with Kalif Raymond on the “Zach Wilson Pro Day” throw. Rolling to his left, Goff uncorked a ball that traveled from the left hash of the Lions’ 48-yard line to inside the Packers’ 1-yard line well outside the right hash:
GOFF THROWS IT DEEP
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/1IH1d9UuNa
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 9, 2023
–Detroit’s red zone offense scored two TDs in five trips inside the Green Bay 20. More importantly, the Lions scored those touchdowns in goal-to-go situations. Green Bay settled for a field goal in its only goal-to-go. Jamaal Williams earned the NFL touchdown crown and it was huge for the Lions in Green Bay against his old team.
–The hook-and-ladder screen pass on 2nd-and-17 on the Lions’ final offensive drive straddled the fine line between brilliance and madness. That Campbell was trusting enough in OC Ben Johnson and the players to pull off such a tricky play says a lot about how well this team practices and believes in one another.
–Green Bay only punted once but still managed just 16 points. Detroit’s Jack Fox punted four times and the Lions posted 20 points. There are better ways to judge a defense than punt totals.
–There is a chance Kerby Joseph’s interception will be the last pass Aaron Rodgers ever throws in a Packers uniform. Hopefully Joseph kept that ball; it might be worth a fortune–both in street value and sentimentality.
