We knew this was going to be a young Packers team with a lot of ups and downs. We didn’t know they would put together entire halves of broken-down, cold-piss, high-school level play.

The first half of this game was embarrassing for the Packers. Embarrassing enough to be down 24 to the Lions of all teams (who have now won four straight versus Green Bay). Embarrassing enough to almost make Matt Lafleur cry on national TV. But also embarrassing enough to make the second half interesting for a while.

Offense

There was nothing doing for the offense in the first half. Jordan Love couldn’t hit a throw.

The line couldn’t block for the run or the pass. The receivers couldn’t get separation. Aaron Jones couldn’t get the ball. 

The second half, as is becoming a habit for this team, was a different story. 

In a fully garbage time second half, Love started hitting throws, and the team started moving the ball. The no-huddle offense that actually has some quick throws and no runs from AJ Dillon is an offense that can move the ball. The problem is that they wait too long to get into it. 

The Packers have 11 days now to prepare for a shoddy Raiders team in another primetime game. LaFleur has shown that he has plenty of creativity to come up with new play concepts. Will he have the creativity to stop shooting himself in the foot with the same old bad runs by bad players?

Defense

Sure, there were some big pass plays given up and Quay Walker looked great at times but the root of the issue with this defense is still that they’re trash against the run. 

The Lions did whatever they wanted in the first half, but in the second half when it really mattered and the pass defense tightened up, the Lions still gashed the team and moved right down the field with the run. 

I don’t know what’s left to do. You can’t play the run well from a 2-high shell. You can’t play the run well with undersized rookie interior d-linemen. You can’t play the run well with Kenny Clark playing 80% of the snaps. None of it works but they’re not going to change any of it. 

Special Teams 

When they finally had momentum in the second half and were within two touchdowns, a special teams unit coached by the highest-paid special teams coordinator in the league killed the momentum with a stupid play. 

Mike Price is a lifelong Packers fan currently living in Utah. You can follow him on twitter at @themikeprice.

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