The Green Bay Packers were too sloppy on offense, featuring drops, penalties and game-changing interceptions, to be disruptive enough to defeat the Detroit Lions on Sunday at a rain-soaked Lambeau Field. There was also a defensive aspect that wasn’t there.
With this loss, the Packers entered the bye week with a record of 6 wins and 3 losses.
Sunday’s performance was the Packers’ third-worst of the season, according to Pro Football Focus’ overall rankings.
Here are the best and worst players for the Packers’ Week 9 game against the Lions, based on Pro Football Focus’ performance.
Top 5 attack power
1.TE Ben Sims: 83.2
2.RB Emmanuel Wilson: 77.3
3.WR Jaden Reed: 77.3
4.LT Rasheed Walker: 73.3
5. RT Zach Tom: 73.3
Sims performed well as a run blocker on 12 snaps. One of his best blocks helped create Josh Jacobs’ 37-yard run in the first half. Wilson forced two missed tackles, ran for over 10 yards, scored a touchdown, and was a solid pass blocker. Reed caught five of six targets and ran 30 routes for 113 yards. He had three catches of 25 yards or more, including a contested catch on fourth down. Walker allowed just one rush on 38 pass-blocking snaps and earned an elite pass-blocking grade. Tom allowed two pressures and had some false starts, but was solid as both a pass blocker and a run blocker.
Top 5 defensive abilities
1.LB Isaiah McDuffie: 89.5
2.DE Preston Smith: 72.7
3.S Javon Bullard: 71.3
4.CB Carrington Valentine: 67.2
5.S Xavier McKinney: 65.7
McDuffie was by far the team’s highest-graded player against the run. Smith got a run stop and went into coverage on an incompletion. Bullard missed a tackle, but was effective against the run and in coverage (he didn’t give up any catches). Valentine missed a tackle, but allowed just one catch in 15 coverages. McKinney tackled well and didn’t give up the catch.
bottom 5 crime
1.WR Don Tayvion Wicks: 40.6
2.WR Romeo Doubes: 43.5
3.RG Sean Ryan: 51.5
4.RB Chris Brooks: 53.6
5.C Elgton Jenkins: 56.5
Wicks dropped two passes, including one in the end zone, and ran 18 routes for zero catches and zero yards. Douce had drops and false starts, running 32 routes and only 28 receiving yards. Ryan gave up two rushes, struggled in the run game and got a false start on third down. Brooks dropped a pass on third down, but had a 9-yard run inside the red zone, showing off as a pass blocker. Jenkins couldn’t apply pressure, but he had some bad snaps and was underrated as a run blocker at center.
Bottom 5 defense
1.DL Carl Brooks: 32.8
2.LB Eric Wilson: 38.6
3.DL Kenny Clark: 39.7
4.LB Key Walker: 50.4
5. DE Lucas Van Ness: 51.5
Brooks didn’t get any pressure on his six pass rush snaps and performed poorly against the run. Wilson missed tackles, gave up three catches in coverage and struggled against the run. Clark didn’t get any pressure on his 14 pass rush snaps and was ineffective against the run. Walker made good tackles but struggled against the run, allowing six catches in coverage. Van Ness made a rushing run stop but missed tackles over 24 snaps.
special teams
Tyrone Hopper and Xavier McKinney covered the kickoff with tackles. Bo Melton missed a tackle and Kamal Hadden made a holding penalty block on a punt return. Kayshawn Nixon was also punished for unnecessary harshness. Brandon McManus missed a 46-yard field goal. Both of Daniel Whelan’s punts ended up inside the 20-yard line, giving him a net average of 42.0.
quarterback play
Jordan Love: 68.3
Love completed 17 of 25 passes for 215 yards and made one big throw from a clean pocket, but struggled when pressured or blitzed. Taking into account five drops and two throwaways, the adjusted completion percentage was 80.0. Love was not fired. He completed three passes of 20 yards or more and completed 3 of 4 passes for 52 yards in the middle (10-19 yard range). He was heavily criticized for throwing pick-sixes under pressure and mishandling several snaps.
Statistics you need to know
By PFF’s count, the Packers dropped five passes: two from Dontaevion Wicks, one from Chris Brooks, one from Romeo Dubs and one from Tucker Craft. Four of the five were third downs.
Jordan Morgan’s first career start
The Packers’ first-round pick started his first career game. He played 65 snaps as a left guard. Results were mixed. He made some nice blocks in the run game, but was inconsistent, allowing a total of four pressures, including a quarterback hit that led to a pick-six by Jordan Love. Morgan was also flagged with a hold. His final grade was 62.6 points.
