The 2022 Green Bay Packers are officially dead in the water, and playoffs are out of sight. By having lost their fifth consecutive game Sunday, the Detroit Lions were not only able to earn their second win of the year, but also able to knock the Packers down another rung.

Injuries rocked the Packers early and often in this game, as Eric Stokes and Romeo Doubs were both knocked out this game early, and Aaron Jones was unable to return late. The offense looked inept as a whole, but Aaron Rodgers and his three interceptions were the main culprits.

The defense did its job, for the most part, holding the Lions to under five yards per play and less than 300 total yards on the day. Only allowing 15 points and correcting most of their rushing game woes was a nice step in the right direction, but apparently not enough for the offense to carry its weight.

Offense

All three of the interceptions thrown by Rodgers against Detroit were within the five-yard line, making for three scoring opportunities out the window. Two of these picks were in the actual end zone, a remarkable shift for Rodgers and his solid decision-making skills.

The offense was unable to have any true rhythm in how it carried itself, especially since two of Rodgers’ interceptions came on the first two drives for Green Bay. While there certainly is never a good time for a red-zone INT, happening at the beginning of a game makes it even tougher, putting a team down early due to a self-inflicted mistake.

In true Matt LaFleur fashion lately, both Aaron Jones (9) and AJ Dillon (11) received far too few carries, relying too much on Rodgers, who ended up throwing the ball 43 times. A second-half injury to Jones did limit his impact down the stretch, but nonetheless, it was another bout with coaching malpractice in terms of play calls.

Allen Lazard made a big impact Sunday, hauling in the team’s lone TD. Earning a team-leading 10 targets, Lazard was featured more due to Doubs’ early injury, and he was looked to often by Rodgers.

The biggest problem with how this unit performed is that they allowed one of the worst defensive units in the entire league to not only dictate how they played, but to get the Green Bay offense to play down to Detroit’s level.

Defense

Not a ton of bad things can be said about this unit, especially after they kept the high-powered Lions’ offensive attack grounded for the vast majority of the contest.

While they did make Jared Goff look quite uncomfortable in the pocket, their inability to sack him is a glaring issue in an otherwise-solid showing. Having lost Stokes early in the contest forced Joe Barry to realign some of his defensive backfield, but overall this unit was quite strong.

It was good to see Krys Barnes back out on the field, and it came at a great time, seeing as how De’Vondre Campbell was forced to miss Sunday’s game with an injury. Rookie Quay Walker was handed green-dot duties, and the rookie helped lead a strong performance, so it is good to know that the defense is in good hands if Campbell is forced to miss extended time.

This team is not the team they were projected to be during the offseason, and all of their issues have been exposed during their five-game skid. With tough games upcoming for Green Bay, it is fair to assume that, barring them winning out, they should begin to pick out their spots on the couch this winter.

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Mike Johrendt has been an avid fan of the Packers ever since he can remember. He is now a writer at PackersTalk and you can follow him on Twitter at @MJohrendt23

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