Tag: Greeen Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions

Rookie CB Terrion Arnold had his ‘best game of the season’ per Dan Campbell

Lions rookie CB Terrion Arnold had his ‘best game of the season’ against the Packers per Dan Campbell

Terrion Arnold had himself an impressive outing against Green Bay. The rookie Lions cornerback played a key role in Detroit’s home win on Thursday night, allowing just nine yards on two receptions versus the Packers’ passing attack.

It wasn’t a perfect game for the first-round rookie from Alabama. Arnold was guilty of a pass interference call that negated (and also caused) an interception. But he looked more than capable and confident in a critical late-season game against a very good division rival.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell noticed. In his first press conference since Thursday’s postgame address, Campbell praised Arnold’s performance.

“I thought that was Arnold’s best game of the season,” said Campbell as part of his opening statement.

Later in the press conference, Campbell was asked about Arnold’s progress through his rookie campaign.

“I think it’s just that we’re getting to that time of the year, and honestly, what happens with a lot of rookies, especially guys that you’re counting on, unfortunately, some of them start to take a nosedive because this is where their season begins as a dip down, it’s over. But then the other ones who hang in there, they really start taking flights.

What St. Brown did his rookie year, right, he started to take off once we hit November, December. He started to gain strength. (Penei) Sewell did the same thing, (Alim McNeill) Mac did the same thing, and I feel like that’s where Arnold’s at. He’s starting to push through this, and he’s gaining enough valuable reps (and) experience, he’s not letting the grind of the season weigh him down and he’s getting better.”

Lions film review: Breaking down Brodric Martin and Pat O’Connor vs. the Packers

Lions film review: Breaking down defensive linemen Brodric Martin and Pat O’Connor vs. the Packers in Week 14

Thursday night’s thrilling win over the Green Bay Packers is one the Detroit Lions will remember for a long time, something head coach Dan Campbell emphasized in his postgame locker room speech. One of the reasons is because of how well a defensive front missing five of its seven starters held up well in the critical division win in Week 14.

For this week’s film review, I chose to focus on two of the prominent replacements for that Lions front, defensive linemen Pat O’Connor and Brodric Martin. They’ve both been with the team all year, raising expectations for their play more than the guys who just walked through the door in Allen Park.

I watched every play from O’Connor and Martin, focusing specifically on them in both the sideline and end zone angles via the All-22 tape.

I try to be transparent with my evaluation methodology. A win on a play earns a plus; a loss earns a minus. Not every play earns a mark, nor is it supposed to–especially for the interior linemen on both sides of the ball.

Here’s what I saw in watching the All-22 vs. the Packers and focusing on O’Connor and Martin in the middle of the Lions defensive line.

Pat O’Connor

O’Connor earned the lowest Pro Football Focus grade of the entire Lions defense for the game. And while there is some variance to his performance across the 43 snaps he played against Green Bay, I came away from the focused rewatch expecting him to be among the top five Lions defenders in Week 14.

One great example of O’Connor making a play that doesn’t get rewarded by Pro Football Focus came in the second quarter. Lined up as a shaded nose to the center’s right, O’Connor latched on and rode with the center, clearing out an attack hole for Alim McNeill to fill behind him and Brian Branch crashing around the outside on a run blitz.

O’Connor gave himself up on the play so his defensive mates could make the tackle. That McNeill slipped and Branch (in a rare bad game) took a poor angle was not O’Connor’s fault. No. 95 earned a plus from me on this play because if he tried to anchor, it would’ve disrupted McNeill and Branch’s roles. That they didn’t complete them shouldn’t downgrade O’Connor.

Later on that drive, O’Connor forced Love to throw later than he wanted and it resulted in a deflected INT in the back of the end zone. Detroit was (legitimately) guilty of pass interference on the play, negating the takeaway. Again, that doesn’t take away from O’Connor’s up-the-gut pressure helping create chaos for Green Bay’s offense.

In between those plusses, O’Connor earned a minus for an encroachment penalty. He also earned a minus on the touchdown, a play where pretty much every Lions defender involuntarily wound up on the ground.

Total tally for O’Connor:

12 plusses
5 minuses

The pass rush was where O’Connor thrived, earning 10 of his 12 plusses and just one of his minuses.

Brodric Martin

Martin primarily played heads-up nose tackle (0 tech) in place of injured DJ Reader. This is a role that requires Martin to be an immovable object in run defense and a bulldozer in the interior pass rush. Playing in just his second game of his second season after missing several weeks with a knee injury, Martin did not fare all that well in either capacity.

I think the first Packers drive of the second half was a good comparative spot for O’Connor and Martin. They were on the field together for the first four plays. O’Connor earned a plus on one play, while Martin earned two minuses as a pass rusher. Martin didn’t broach beyond the line of scrimmage on either pass-rush attempt, with one rep as a 3-tech (the rush tackle role) finding the Packers blocker winning a little too easily.

The biggest issue for Martin is that he doesn’t move his feet well, if at all. His initial thrust off the snap is nice, with both arms firing out and generally striking where DL Terrell Williams wants Martin’s hands to land. But too often, his feet don’t follow, leaving Martin overextended and easy to stand up or push aside for the blocker. His hands just aren’t active after that initial punch, either. In this game, he still looked very raw technically and lacked any follow-up plan beyond his initial movement.

Total tally for Martin:

2 plusses
8 minuses

Both plusses came in run defense, with the minuses split evenly between run defense and pass rush.

Quick hit thoughts on the new Lions DL

Myles Adams and Jonah Williams are keepers, based on their first game in Detroit. Adams was very effective with his technique and lateral quickness off the initial move. Williams plays to the stalemate well, something Martin could stand to learn from.

Mitchell Agude, playing as a practice squad elevation, didn’t use his hands well or have a Plan B as a pass rusher. His burst remains very nice, something that made many (myself included) expect Agude to make the 53-man roster over James Houston based on training camp and preseason. Lack of NFL reps showed more than a lack of ability.

 

Jared Goff’s wealth-sharing performance vs Packers sets NFL record

Goff did something on Thursday night against the Packers that no QB had ever done before

Lions quarterback Jared Goff got plenty of help in Thursday’s win over the Green Bay Packers. No less than six Lions players recorded at least five catches in the 34-31 win.

Goff wrote his name in the record books as a result. He is the first quarterback in NFL history to have six different receivers catch at least five passes in a game.

Tim Patrick and Jahmyr Gibbs each had six catches, while Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta and David Montgomery all had five each.

Goff finished 32-of-41 for 283 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Patrick caught two touchdown passes and Gibbs had the other.

 

Lions postgame medical report following Week 14 win over the Packers

Lions postgame medical report following Week 14 win over the Packers, with updates on Branch, McNeill and more

The Lions overcame a slew of injuries to their front-7 to beat a tough division opponent and maintain their hold on the #1 seed. Entering the game, the Lions had already lost defensive linemen DJ Reader, Levi Onwuzurike, Josh Paschal, and Mekhi Wingo from the previous game.

When Alim McNeill did not return in the second half, the defensive line was almost unrecognizable even to hard-core Lions fans. The only player remaining that could be considered a starter was Za’Darius Smith who the Lions traded for just four weeks ago.

Thankfully, this game resulted in far fewer injury concerns than last week. The main mystery is Alim McNeill who has an unspecified head injury without a current concussion diagnosis. Based on a couple other incidents over the past year, it could be a recurring jaw issue.

Here are the injuries I saw on my initial look along with suspected diagnoses:

Amon-Ra St. Brown – left back contusion 1q 14:06

After a reception, Saint got up reaching for his left back. It looked like he took a face mask to that area. He made a reception on the very next play and seemed fine the rest of the game. No concerns here.

Alim McNeill – recurrent TMJ? 1q 7:49

McNeill stayed down after the play and was taken to the locker room. Video was obscured but it didn’t appear that he took any major blows to the head. It’s possible he took a mild hit to the back of the head which even when mild, can still cause a concussion. The previous plays on the drive looked benign.

He passed the concussion evaluation and returned to play in the first half. However, he was ruled out at halftime officially with a “head” injury, and not a concussion.

While a delayed concussion diagnosis is still possible, McNeill has had a history of visible TMJ (temporomandibular joint) pain and a recurrence could explain the “head” designation.

The issue may have started or been aggravated on November 23, 2023 when he took a hard helmet blow to the right jaw area and stayed down for a while. He was not diagnosed with a concussion. This hard hit could have caused underlying damage to his TMJ.

On November 10, 2024, he was clearly having jaw pain and was pointing to his right TMJ.

We’ll see if we get any more clarity on his injury next week.

Here is the video timeline of his injuries:

Kevin Zeitler – left eye irritation 1q 2:34

Zeitler pulled himself out while pointing at his left eye. Maybe he got some rubber pellets in there. He returned the next drive and looked fine. No concerns.

Brian Branch – right hip or oblique 3q 12:04, left calf cramps 4q 6:12

Branch reached for his right hip area after making a tackle. A strain of his oblique or upper leg are possible. A hip pointer could cause pain in that area but he didn’t appear to suffer a direct blow to that location. He stayed in the game and looked to be fine.

In the 4th quarter, he was officially reported to be having calf cramps. He left at the six minute mark and did not return, although there were only a few plays remaining. Hopefully, cramps is accurate and there is no underlying calf strain. I’m expecting him to be fine for next game.

Kerby Joseph – left arm, 4q 5:00

Joseph appeared to get his arm pulled at the end of this play. He may have suffered a mild elbow or shoulder sprain. He stayed in and looked to be doing fine. No significant concerns here.

Snap count notes: Lions were all hands on deck in win over Packers

The Detroit Lions relied heavily on newcomers and depth in the Week 14 win over the Green Bay Packers, who flashed depth of their own

In Thursday night’s 34-31 win over the visiting Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions required all hands on deck on defense. With injuries running rampant, every healthy body was thrown into the action for Detroit.

The most glaring note from the snap counts for the Lions and Packers is this: Green Bay ran just 50 offensive plays, but Aaron Glenn still had 17 different Lions defenders play at least 10 snaps.

Four Lions played all 50:
Kerby Joseph
Jack Campbell
Terrion Arnold
Carlton Davis

Pat O’Connor worked in 41 snaps on the line, while EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad saw action in 37. These were healthy scratches a month ago.

Tracking the newcomers to the Detroit defense:

DE Jonah Williams – 25
DT Brodric Martin – 23 (Martin had played just two all season prior to this game)
DE Myles Adams – 19
LB Kwon Alexander – 17
EDGE Mitchell Agude – 9 (practice squad elevation)
LB Jamal Adams – 8

Green Bay rolled through its own defensive depth, with an astonishing 20 different Packers players seeing at least 10 snaps. The Lions offense ran 80 plays against them, however.

The starting offensive line and QB Jared Goff played all 80, with the exception of right guard Kevin Zeitler. Rookie Christian Mahogany came in for three snaps that Zeitler missed while seeing treatment on the sidelines. They were the first three offensive snaps of Mahogany’s career.

No. 3 TE Shane Zylstra out-repped No. 4 WR Allen Robinson 16 to just five. No. 2 TE Brock Wright played 49 snaps, just four fewer than No. 3 WR (and star of the game) Tim Patrick.

At RB, Jahmyr Gibbs was on the field for 45, while David Montgomery saw 36. Simple match indicates that both were on the field for at least one snap together, which would be the first time all season that’s happened. Craig Reynolds played one snap, while rookie Sione Vaki only appeared on special teams.

Detroit did not use an extra OT in this game, which makes sense with regular No. 6 OL Dan Skipper playing at left tackle in place of an injured Taylor Decker.

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Dan Campbell after Lions’ playoff-clinching win over the Packers: ‘We’re destined for this’

Coach Campbell gave a rousing postgame speech after the Lions clinched a playoff berth with a win over the Packers on Thursday night

A very fired-up Dan Campbell gave a rousing postgame victory speech to his Detroit Lions in the wake of the team’s epic 34-31 win over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.

Campbell’s postgame addresses to his team are quickly becoming legend, and this one was no different. Beating a very good Packers team despite all of Detroit’s defensive injuries was cause for an epic celebration, and Campbell delivered following the Lions’ Week 14 primetime triumph.

“I told you you’d never forget this game,” a hoarse Campbell gleefully shouted in the locker room. “We don’t have to talk about how tough we are. We don’t have to talk about how resilient we are. We (expletive) live it, man!”

After lightening the tone by spotlighting Dan Skipper vomiting after his hard-fought turn as the fill-in left tackle, Campbell delivered the sort of message that exemplifies why these Lions are 12-1 and a legit Super Bowl contender.

“You talk about pressure, we live in pressure,” Campbell exhorted. “That’s where we freaking thrive…

…it doesn’t matter who’s playing for us. It doesn’t matter what’s going on. You always find a way to win! That’s what (expletive) champions do. This is not happenstance, men; this doesn’t just (expletive) happen. This has been in the making, men.

This has been in the making. We are all supposed to be here together, men. We’re destined for this!”

Campbell went on to present very deserved game balls to wide receiver Tim Patrick and kicker Jake Bates.

The Packers aren’t handling not being officiating darlings anymore very well

Packers fans and media didn’t like the officiating in Detroit’s Week 14 win and their salty tears are flowing

For years — make that decades — the rest of the NFL fan bases have complained about the beneficial treatment the Green Bay Packers have endemically received from the officiating. Ask any Lions fan, Seahawks fan, Cowboys fan (Dez caught it!), or any fan of any other team that pays any attention to the rules, and they’ll disgustedly roll their eyes at how many hundreds of times the refs have smiled upon the Packers.

Lions fans are acutely aware of being the fire hydrant to the Packers and their officiating dogs. Trey Flowers erroneously being called for illegal hands to the face twice. An egregiously missed delay-of-game foul that directly led to a Packers win. Aaron Rodgers longingly looking at the referee when he got breathed upon and immediately getting a flag. Pass interference called on a Lions defender who wasn’t even in coverage to mop up a Brett Favre incompletion. The list goes on and on and on and on again. Bears and Vikings fans can certainly add multiple paragraphs here, too.

In Detroit’s nail-biting win on Thursday night, Green Bay fans learned what it’s like to be on the business end of the hose–at least in their eyes. A couple of calls — more correctly, calls not made — from referee John Hussey and his crew favored Detroit in their eyes. Perhaps following the lead of head coach Matt LaFleur, who birthed a cow on the sidelines at not getting an offensive pass interference call against the Lions, they can’t believe their eyes.

Those eyes are spewing some of the saltiest tears ever tasted. Here’s another good example that’s being echoed around Cheesehead nation,

 

It’s as if much of the Packers fan base has come to the sudden and collective realization that the middle child learns when the new baby comes along, like discovering the presents from Santa in your parent’s closet the week before Christmas, learning that the stripper doesn’t really love you and your ex never spends a second thinking about you. And it’s hit them all at once.

Welcome to the cold reality of being just another NFL team. To quote Tyler Durden,

“You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake.”

 

 

Look at these great photos from the Lions win over the Packers in Week 14

Look at these great photos from the Detroit Lions thrilling win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 14

Ford Field was rocking on Thursday night, with the Detroit Lions welcoming the Green Bay Packers to town for a primetime thriller. The first game of Week 14 will be a tough one to top over the rest of the weekend.

Detroit prevailed, 34-31, on a last-second field goal from first-year kicker Jake Bates. In a matchup where the lead changed hands four times after the half, the Lions drained the clock and came away with the NFC North victory.

The win clinched a playoff spot for the Lions, now 12-1 and winners of 11 games in a row. The Packers fall to 9-4, with two of those losses at the hands of Dan Campbell’s Lions.

Here are some of the top photos from Thursday’s thriller at Ford Field.

Is Taylor Decker playing today? Injury updates for Lions OT

Lions left tackle Taylor Decker is dealing with a knee injury. Here are the latest updates.

The Detroit Lions face the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night, and most of the injury focus for Detroit has been on the dilapidated defense. However, perhaps the most significant game-week injury comes on the offensive side of the ball.

Left tackle Taylor Decker missed the Thanksgiving game against the Chicago Bears, and the longtime Lions captain is still sidelined with a knee injury suffered in the Week 12 win over the Colts.

Taylor Decker injury update

Decker was ruled out on the Lions final injury status report.

Before Tuesday’s practice, head coach Dan Campbell made it pretty clear Decker would be out,

“Yeah, I don’t feel as good about Decker for this week.”

How long will Decker be out?

He’s out for Week 14, but the Lions get 10 days off before welcoming the Buffalo Bills to Ford Field in Week 15. That could be enough time to get the venerable veteran back in the lineup.

Lions OT depth chart

As was the case on Thanksgiving, Dan Skipper will take over for Decker at left tackle. Skipper gave up four QB pressures to the Bears and is not as rangy of a run blocker as Decker offers.

The Lions have elevated Jamarco Jones to fill out the depth in the past, though that hasn’t been done as of 11 a.m. on Thursday. Colby Sorsdal and rookie Giovanni Manu have both been healthy scratches all season, and they represent the rest of the depth.

Lions vs Packers: Last-minute thoughts and final score prediction for Week 14

Lions vs Packers: Last-minute thoughts and final score prediction for the Week 14 matchup on Thursday night

For the second week in a row, we are treated to Detroit Lions football on a Thursday instead of the traditional Sunday kickoff. As was the case in Week 13’s Thanksgiving matinee against the Chicago Bears, this Thursday pits the LIons in a home game against a division rival.

This time, it’s Thursday night football against the Green Bay Packers. Yeah, those guys from the other side of Lake Michigan. The place where the Lions roared to a 24-14 victory five weeks ago that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicates.

As I sip the morning coffee amidst a winter storm warning that has closed schools and businesses everywhere around me, the chill of the specter of tonight’s game is unavoidable. This is a big one for both teams.

Why I think the Lions will win

The running game with Sonic and Knuckles, better known as Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, continues to play exceedingly well. The Lions offense can control the game script because they can run so effectively in any situation. 1st-and-10, Montgomery gets eight. 3rd-and-3, Gibbs blasts off for 17.

The ability to consistently generate big plays from the run game is huge for Detroit. It’s also huge in how it impacts the opposing defense. The Packers linebackers and safeties have to remain alert for the potential that Gibbs will be racing to the outside on a simple zone run, or Montgomery will run through the initial tackle and be charging at them at full speed, often with Penei Sewell and Kevin Zeitler still leading the way well past the line of scrimmage. That’s in addition to their potential coverage responsibilities against Sam LaPorta, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and even Tim Patrick, who has become more involved in the passing offense since the first meeting.

Detroit might have to focus on outscoring the Packers in this one, thanks to all the defensive attrition. Jared Goff and his merry band of weaponry can do it, and do it unapologetically. That’s a very real edge for the Lions; they’ve done it before and can do it again. The Lions know it, but the Packers do too, and that puts considerable pressure on a young, mistake-prone Green Bay team to try and match. That’s how Detroit so comfortably handled the Week 9 game in Green Bay.

Special teams certainly deserves a nod for the Lions. Punter Jack Fox is having an incredible season. In a golden age of NFL punting, Fox remains the gold standard for consistency in flipping the field. The coverage units have remained strong despite major injury-induced personnel changes, too. Coordinator Dave Fipp has his units playing as well as anyone.

Defensively, there is a “revenge game” angle for a couple of key Lions–perhaps the two most key Detroit defenders. Za’Darius Smith has taken over as the team’s top pass rusher since joining the team. Before he joined the Lions, Smith openly talked about how badly he wanted to come to Detroit specifically so he could play against the Packers, his old team. Smith’s tenure with Green Bay did not end well, and he’s ready to take out some frustration.

Safety Brian Branch had to watch most of the Week 9 win from the locker room after being ejected for a questionable hit. Branch’s ability to make big plays and be a versatile wild card at the back end is integral to everything coordinator Aaron Glenn wants to do defensively, and now Branch has an edge of redemption to him. That should play very well for Detroit.

What worries me about the Packers

Green Bay is playing some very strong football over the past three weeks, winning all three games since losing to Detroit. Their Week 10 bye revived and refocused their offense, notably in ball security. Jordan Love has been playing smarter, cleaner ball; Green Bay has just one giveaway in those three games.

Some of that stems from Josh Jacobs running the ball extremely well. He’s the type of RB that has given the Lions defense some trouble this year, and now the Detroit defense must try to slow him down without premium run defender DJ Reader and three of its top four LBs behind him. Reader’s loss is a big one, because the nose tackle is exceptional at keeping blockers away from Jack Campbell and all the replacements surrounding him at linebacker. Now it’s up to Brodric Martin, who has played exactly two snaps all year. All of the line depth and all of the linebacking depth is completely new from the first meeting.

I give Glenn a ton of credit for keeping the Lions defense formidable throughout all the injuries. But there’s only so much that all those bandages can stretch before they snap, and I worry that happens against a multitalented Packers offense that has been playing largely mistake-free ball lately. Love has found a bit of a rhythm as the Packers lean on Jacobs and a better-than-advertised run blocking OL, and he’s got dangerous weapons in Christian Watson, Tucker Kraft, Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed. Those guys might not be stars, and all have some inconsistency to their games, but they’re playing very well collectively of late.

The Lions patchwork defense has benefitted from playing erratic QBs in Anthony Richardson and Caleb Williams, each of which plays behind an offensive line that isn’t nearly as good as what it will see against Green Bay. Based on the last few weeks, it’s unfair to lump Love in with those quarterbacks, too.

That’s got the potential for Green Bay to play with a lead, and that’s a bit of an issue for the Lions offense. Not having left tackle Taylor Decker could be very bad for Detroit. Decker wasn’t terribly missed against Chicago and their straightforward pass rush attack. Green Bay does a lot more blitzing and wide-angle rushing than the Bears, and that’s not a strong suit for Decker’s replacement, Dan Skipper. As much as we all love Skipper, he’s also not nearly the run-blocking presence that Decker is. With left guard Graham Glasgow also not playing well of late, I worry that a more one-handed offense will struggle against a swift, aggressive Packers defense.

Final score prediction

The Lions are rightly favored to win, but I can’t escape the feeling that the myriad injuries finally catch up to the team tonight. Not having Decker and Reader is huge; I would pick the Lions if either were playing in Week 14. But they’re not, and Green Bay is playing focused enough that I don’t think the Packers give back that advantage.

Packers 29, Lions 21