The Green Bay Packers came crashing down back to earth on Thursday night after a humbling defeat at the hands of their NFC North division rivals, the Detroit Lions. Green Bay was down big in the opening half after being utterly outplayed by their opponents, falling behind by as much as 24 points.
The Packers did all they could to mount another comeback — much like they did on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints — but in the end, their effort came up short. Detroit escaped with a much-deserved victory in Lambeau Field with a final score of 34-20.
Green Bay Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur Reacts to Loss
After the game, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur did not mince words. He knew that his team was totally dominated in this one, and he wasn’t shy about calling a spade a spade:
“They whooped us pretty good,” LaFleur said, via Mike Spofford of the team website.
“They manhandled us, really in every phase.”
Indeed they did. The Lions came to play in this one, and they came firing out the gates. They built a big lead early on, and in spite of Green Bay’s valiant effort to pull off another improbable comeback, Detroit was able to hold them off impressively.
For his part, LaFleur isn’t denying the fact that his team just wasn’t good enough in this one:
“We got our (butt) kicked,” he continued.
“It was very humbling.”
No Protection for Jordan Love
You could argue that this was Jordan Love’s worst game of the season thus far. The young quarterback went 23-of-36 on his passing for 246 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Love also got sacked no less than five times in this one, which is a testament to the lack of protection from the offensive line.
LaFleur knows that this wasn’t all on Love:
“It’s hard to throw on your back,” LaFleur said. “We’ve got to protect him better.”
Detroit turned up their defense in this game, and there’s no denying that this was a key factor in their win.
Matt LaFleur admitted that it’s hard to see the silver lining in this loss:
“It wasn’t good enough,” LaFleur said. “They whipped us. They manhandled us. Again, if I knew the answer to that it wouldn’t have happened.
“Everything wasn’t good enough, so, the plan wasn’t good enough and that was humiliating being down 27-3 or whatever it was at half.”
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