As soon as I saw the Packers struggle against the Saints in week one, I knew this was going to happen.
Every so often, Aaron Rodgers has a stinker. It's fine. Every quarterback has them. But Aaron Rodgers is a three-time NFL MVP, nine-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro, etc. etc. He is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. When he has an uncharacteristic performance, when he's not hitting his receivers right on the money like he almost always does, people want to ask if he's finally washed up.
When those questions get asked, Rodgers' next opponent suffers. He almost always bounces back from those games right away, and he bounces back hard. Monday Night Football was no exception. In the Packers' home opener of the season, he completely picked apart the Lions. There's not much more to say. He proved the haters and the doubters and the losers all wrong. He's still Aaron Freaking Rodgers.
Nobody is surprised by this. The Lions in their current position are the perfect team to bounce back against. It is a lot easier to play at home than it is to play in the Superdome. And even with the offseason drama between Aaron Rodgers and the organization, the idea that Rodgers would be "checked out" was always silly. This is not a man who gets "checked out" of football. He will not get back at the Packers organization for any perceived slights by giving up on the game. He'll do it by playing games like these. Rodgers on the football field is a player fueled by spite, and when the narratives around him get as stupid as they did this last week, that's when he strikes hardest.
I've said so much about Aaron Rodgers, a player I absolutely hate talking about, for several paragraphs. This is because there's hardly anything to say about the Lions in this game. They played very poorly. Rodgers was always going to come out in this game swinging, but the Detroit defense didn't help themselves here. It was an absolutely putrid game for the Lions.
If you put any quarterback in front of that Detroit Lions defense last night and he would thrive. When that quarterback is the most spiteful man in football, it gets ugly quick.
Quick Hits
More Like Alex Anza-done Because He Got Cooked: The Lions defense had a bad day in general, but nobody got picked apart worse than the Lions linebacker corps. With Rodgers and his receivers posing such a threat deep downfield, Detroit had to keep its safeties deep. Green Bay knew this, and picked apart the Lions' weak linebacker group. Tight end Robert Tonyan had 52 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Jones had 115 all-purpose yards with four touchdowns. Linebackers Alex Anzalone and Jamie Collins didn't look like they belonged on the same field as those Packers players. Anzalone always looked a step or two behind when the Packers went his way. I don't think Collins was actually jogging out there on the field, but he sure did look like he was moving through molasses. Derrick Barnes is a rookie fourth-round pick. He's not going to change much, if anything, in the big picture right now. Still, this team desperately needs a spark at the position, and getting him reps doesn't seem like the worst thing in the world right now.
Step On Down, You're The Next Detroit Lions Cornerback: A week after cornerback Jeff Okudah got put on the injured reserve list with an Achilles injury, his replacement Ifeatu Melifonwu got hurt against Green Bay. News from the Lions organization doesn't seem to be positive in regards to a timely return. Melifonwu's replacement in the game Jerry Jacobs was playing an entirely different position mere weeks ago. For all the issues with the Lions have defending the middle of the field right now, they might get picked apart even worse on the outside with Amani Oruwariye and Jerry Jacobs as the primary corners. Oruwariye has had flashes of solid play in his brief career, but he's not a guy you want on the opponent's best receiver. The cornerback depth is looking absolutely abysmal right now, and might only get worse. They need to find somebody that can at least serve as a stopgap at the position on the waiver wire or in free agency.
You're Not Free From Sin Either, Defensive Line: The Lions got a few sacks on Aaron Rodgers, but overall they didn't provide as much push in this game as I wanted to see against an inexperienced Green Bay o-line. But they played the least bad out of any defensive group, so we're going easy on them this week. Do better.
That Offensive Line, Though: The Lions didn't have to worry about the Packers pash rush as much with Za'Darius Smith out, but it's hard not to be thrilled with this unit's play so far in the season. Jared Goff had tons of time to throw the ball. The run game wasn't as effective this week, but for now I'm putting that on D'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams being a tad underwhelming so far when it comes to getting yards after contact.
Playcalling Still Good & Other Offensive Observations: The Lions drove the ball down the field really well in the first half. I would've liked them to be a little more aggressive in going for a touchdown instead of a field goal at the end of the half, but I understand not wanting to give Aaron Rodgers time to go down the field himself. The second half was obviously worse, but that happens when it's raining at a point in the game you have to pass the ball. Both Jared Goff and his receivers had some trouble holding onto the ball once it started getting slippery.
I saw quite a few people grumbling about going for it on 4th-and-1 in the third quarter, especially when the Lions passed on that play. I didn't have an issue with either decision. With the Lions defense playing like it did, you've got a better shot at staying in the game if you sustain that drive. Goff had a wide-open Amon-Ra St. Brown on a short route, but he opted instead to throw it to a much-better-defended Quintez Cephus. On the ESPN2 Manning Brothers Broadcast, special guest Brett Favre yelled in frustration at Goff missing the checkdown there. Considering that Jared Goff is usually the king of checkdown passes, it was a tinge ironic hearing gunslinger Brett Favre of all people point out that he missed that one.
I think Goff overall did a better job this week than he did last week, despite him having some issues keeping his grip on the ball once the weather hit. Last week had the flashy comeback drives, but Goff looked a lot more poised and comfortable inside and outside of the pocket early in this game. It's still hard to figure out who the primary target in this offense is going to be after wide receiver. This week Quintez Cephus looked like the guy. He made plays early in the game and had some opportunities to make plays late, but it didn't work out. I don't know if he's going to be a consistent threat week-to-week, but it was nice to see him making plays. The rest of the wide receivers... ask again later.
Next Week: Things don't get at all easier as the Lions have to face Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens at home. The Ravens held on to overcome the Chiefs in a very close game. Jackson threw two picks at Tyrann Mathieu that weren't great decisions, but the Lions really don't have a guy on defense who can make Jackson pay for his mistakes quite like Mathieu. The Ravens defense didn't play lights out all game, but they played just enough to keep themselves in it. That's all against the Chiefs of course, who are one of the most talented teams in the NFL. To say that the Lions are not on the same level from a talent perspective as the Chiefs or the Ravens is an understatement. The past two weeks were tough losses against tough opponents where the Lions got punished for any mistakes they made. Against this Ravens squad, they'll have to play nearly perfect football to even make it a close game.
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