The Packers elevated Krisitan Welch and Corey Ballentine from the practice squad.  The inactives (with Bakhtiari already placed on IR) were Jenkins, Campbell, and Alexander due to injury and Heath, Brenton Cox, Anthony Johnson and Zayne Anderson as healthy scratches.

The offensive line could not run block, again.  For the first time, the line could not pass block, either.  The Packers gained 27 yards on 12 carries for a 2.3 yard average.  The line also allowed 11 quarterback hits, 8 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks.  Jordan Love was consistently under pressure.  No one had a good day.  Walker, Newman, and Runyan seemed to fare particularly poorly, but Myers and Tom had some miscues as well.  Jordan Love completed 6 of 13 pass attempts for 50 yards with one interception in the first half for a 24.5 passer rating.  He was sacked 4 times for 34 yards, leaving just 16 net passing yards in the first half.  Combined with rushing 5 times for just 7 yards resulted in having just 23 net yards in the first half.  The halftime score was 27 to 3, Lions.

The team did seem to play hard for Head Coach LaFleur in the second half.  The running backs rushed 5 more times in the second half and gained 22 yards.  The line allowed 4 quarterback hits in the second half and one sack.  That said, the receivers have not been doing the offensive line any favors.  The receivers seem to have trouble getting open within an acceptable amount of time against the Lions, particularly in the first half,  just like they did issues against the Saints last Sunday.  Still, there were some explosive plays in the second half and the team gained 207 net yards in the half while putting up 17 points.  They looked competent on their two attempts at 2-point conversions, converting one with a pass to Toure and ending up inches shy on a Love run.

Ian Rapoport reported that David Bakhtiari had his knee scoped on Wednesday and that another, more substantial surgery will be performed soon to clean up loose cartilage.  Rapoport indicated that these surgeries mean that Bakhtiari will not play again in 2023.  The Packers could have inserted Yosh Nijman but they apparently thought that would harm Rasheed Walkers' confidence more than the Lions were already destroying it.  They could have inserted Nijman at left tackle, flipped Walker to right tackle and moved Tom to either left guard to replace the flailing Royce Newman or to center just to see how that lineup might work in a real game.  Of course, it might have looked like giving up, especially if it did not improve things.  

Love completed 23 of 36 passes (63.89%) for 246 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.  That resulted in a 69.9 passer rating.  The first interception was tipped, though it also looked like it was going to be an overthrown pass to Watson in any case.  Love did miss a deep pass or two.  Yet, Love had no running game and was under pressure, often quick pressure in the first half, consistently.  Love had to throw into tight windows all game.  The Lions finished with 6 passes defensed, with 4 PBUs by CB Jerry Jacobs.  I probably have been less keen on Jordan Love than many fans, but I am giving him something of a pass: I do not think a quarterback can succeed given the conditions that prevailed in the first half.

Dillon finished with 11 yards on 5 carries for a 2.2-yard average.  His long was 6 yards.  Jones gained 18 yards on 5 carries, a 3.6-yard average, with a long of 9.  Jones caught one of two passes for a negative 4 yards, while Dillon had no receptions on one target.

Deguara caught all 4 of his targets for 34 yards, an 8.5-yard average.  19 of those yards came on two dump offs with less than 34 seconds left in the first half when Green Bay needed big plays just to move into field goal range.  Both receptions probably had negative expected points added values.  Nevertheless, since Deguara enter the game with 2 receptions for 5 yards, this was his best game so far this season.  A good PFF grade would not surprise me.

Musgrave caught one pass for one yard before leaving the game for good with perhaps 9 minutes left in the second quarter.  He is in concussion protocol.  Kraft caught 2 passes on 2 targets for 5 yards with a long of 6.  It is good to see Kraft starting to outsnap Sims at least, and his increase in special teams snaps is a little encouraging.

Doubs caught 9 passes on 13 targets for 95 yards.  He caught 3 of 5 passes for 30 yards in the first half.  Reed caught 3 of 5 passes for 55 yards with a long of 44.  Reed was not even targeted in the first half.  Reed did catch a 2-point conversion.  Watson caught 2 of 4 passes for 25 yards with a long of 24 and a touchdown.  The one yard reception was the touchdown on busted coverage.  Toure caught 1 pass for 35 yards.

Clark had 1 assisted tackle.  Slaton had 4 tackles (2 solo).  Wyatt had 4 tackles (3 solo) including 2 tackles for loss, and 1 sack.  Wooden had 4 tackles (2 solo) including a tackle for loss and 1 quarterback hit.  Brooks had 2 solo tackles, 1 sack and he tipped a pass.  The Lions gained 211 rushing yards on 43 carries for a 4.9-yard average including 121 yards on 20 carries (6.1 yard average) in the first half.  It appears that the Packers possessed the ball on offense for just over 10 minutes of the first half.  The big gain was a 40-yard reverse by Kalif Raymond.  In the first half, Detroit's running backs gained just 70 yards on 18 carries, a reasonable 3.89-yard average.  The problem to me was the consistent gains given up.  Detroit also had some short fields.  They started out at the Green Bay 7-yard line after a Jordan Love interception and punched it in for a touchdown.  They also started out at their own 45 on another touchdown drive. 

Quay Walker came to play.  He finished with 19 tackles (10 solo) including a tackle for loss.  He punished people.  His penalty for taking more than 2 steps while trying to block a field goal gave Detroit a first down, and it turned 3 points into 7 when Detroit subsequently scored a touchdown.  It probably didn't affect the outcome of the game but it greatly reduced the chances of a comeback.  The penalty was called with 8:10 left in the fourth quarter with Detroit up 27-17 and kicking a field goal from the Green Bay 12.  With the penalty, Detroit got a first down at the 6-yard line, but also took another 2:10 off the clock while punching it in for a touchdown.  McDuffie had 7 tackles (3 solo) with a quarterback hit on a blitz.  Eric Wilson had 3 tackles (2 solo).  

Enagbare and Preston Smith each had 5 tackles (4 solo) with Preston adding a QB hit. Justin Hollins had 2 solo tackles but failed to squeeze the "B" gap a few times.  Enagbare was better about defending the run.  Rashan Gary had 1 assisted tackle and 1 QB hit with other pressures.  Two quarterback hits with no sacks from the outside linebackers isn't going to cut it.   

Rudy Ford had 8 tackles (7 solo) with an interception to set up a field goal.  Savage had 5 tackles (3 solo).  Douglas had 4 solo tackles.  Douglas had tight coverage on Sam LaPorta who outfought him for the ball, allowing a 35-yard gain.  On the next play Douglas drove forward hard but slipped and watched WR St. Brown run by him for an easy 24-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-3.  Still, Douglas brings a physicality that the Packers need.  Nixon had 2 tackles (1 solo) and Valentine had an assisted tackle.  Sam Laporta was a problem in the first half, catching 4 passes for 56 yards.  LaPorta had no receptions in the second half.  LaPorta had no targets in the second half, though Goff only threw 8 passes in the second half after attempted 20 in the first half.

Goff completed 67.86% of his passes while gaining 7.5 yards per attempt.  Goff finished with an 86.9 passer rating and a 61 QBR.  Jordan Love finished with a 69 passer rating and a QBR of 7.  That's the difference between having generally clean pockets and time to throw and having the get the ball out in a hurry to receivers who have had some difficulty acquiring separation.

The Lions had 7 possessions in the first half but they only punted once.  The Lions only converted 5 of 9 third down conversion attempts (55%) in the first half, a normal percentage.  One of Detroit's possessions ended due to a Goff interception that was returned to the Detroit 23.  The offense gained zero yards, so the Packers kicked a field goal for their only points in the first half.  The defense got two stops to open the second half to give some hope.  Detroit only scored 3 (ahem) 7 points in the second half.

Some of the statistics do not look as bad as they might.  What looks terrible is Detroit's 15 first downs in the first half to just 3 for the Packers.  Detroit had 284 total yards in the first half while the Packers mustered just 23 net yards.  Detroit finished with 401 total yards to 230 for the Packers.  

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Whelan punted 5 times for a 51.8-yard gross average and a 46.4-yard net.  The Packers did allow a 20-yard and a 17-yard punt return.  Carlson made all of his field goals and point afters.  Nixon had a 34-yard punt return.  Nixon returned 5 kickoffs (several from deep in the end zone) for a 23.6-yard average.  I don't think he got any of them past the 25-yard line.  That said, his kickoff returns might have been as good of an offensive opportunity as the Packers had in the first half.

 
WR:  2.77

TE:  1.21

RB: 1.02

DL:  2.57 (a fairly high number)

ILB: 1.75

OLB: 2.00

DB:  4.68

Photo courtesy of Adam Wesley of USA Today Sports