Pick the top play from the Packers’ Week 9 loss to the Lions

No matter how loud we scream, or how much we cry, it is important to remember that the football gods do not care. Not this year. Not even divine intervention could save the 2022 Green Bay Packers at this point as they wander aimlessly through a sea of dead drives and endless mistakes. The Packers’ lost their fifth straight game on Sunday, marking the first occurrence of the sad feat since Aaron Rodgers’ first season as a starter in 2008. The team finished 6-10 that year.

FiveThirtyEight now gives the Packers just a 5% chance at making the playoffs, with their only viable path being a wildcard berth in the traffic jam of mediocrity that is the NFC. In recent years, the Philadelphia Eagles have squeezed into the playoffs after starting 3-6 and 4-6, so if you’re a “never tell me the odds” type of person, maybe you can attempt to spread some hope to the rest of us.

Against the Lions, the Packers were once again unable to find any sort of momentum. The Lions’ defense has been historically bad, giving up nearly 30 points per game in a down year for NFL offenses. Coming into week 9, they ranked 32nd in pass defense DVOA and 30th in run defense DVOA. The Packers managed to put up 9 points against them. Aaron Rodgers once again had no issue putting up yards, but three red zone interceptions off of mind-boggling decisions were too much to recover from. Without improved decision making from 12, the season will be over quickly, if it isn’t already. The only bright side? There were a couple of top plays to choose from, including Allen Lazard’s continued strong season and what should have been a momentum shifting play from Jaire Alexander. Let’s take a look.

Jaire starts the second half with an INT

After the Lions’ opening drive ended on a failed 4th down conversion deep in Green Bay territory, the Packers put together a long drive of their own. Of course, with first and goal at the five, Aaron Rodgers’ pass was tipped high into the air and the Lions snagged the INT. And then…. It happened again. Long drive capped off by a red zone interception. This time on a pass to David Bakhtiari in the end zone. No, we’re not desperate for something to work, why do you ask? You can only fail on so many drives in the opponent’s territory before paying the price, and the Lions made sure to capitalize at the end of the half, punching in the TD and 2-point conversion to head into halftime up 8-0.

The Packers opened up the second half with a punt in, you guessed it, Detroit territory. On the Lions’ next drive, however, the tides finally started to turn (or so it felt). The defense continued their stellar showing against a strong Lions offense when Jaire Alexander picked off Jared Goff on a pass intended for Amon-Ra Saint Brown. Jaire seemed to know what was coming pre-snap and flipped his hips beautifully to drive down on the ball.

Allen Lazard hauls in the Packers’ lone TD

The good vibes did not last long (drink if you’ve heard that this year) before the big interception was wiped away. Rodgers tried to fit the ball into Robert Tonyan in the end zone, but let go of the ball a beat too late, resulting in a Lions INT. After the defense forced a punt, the Packers took advantage of stellar field position and put together a quick 54-yard drive. From the 20, Rodgers threw his best ball of the day while under pressure on a gorgeous touchdown to Allen Lazard. The celebration was short-lived as the two-point conversion to tie fell short, and the Lions sealed the game with a touchdown on the next drive.

That’s it for this week’s top plays! Another disappointing selection, but we continue to trudge through regardless. In a season like this, it’s important to find the small things to cheer for, and the Packers have an opportunity to help out the vibes by beating Mike McCarthy and the Cowboys this weekend. Whatever happens, you can count on us being there at halftime on Twitter Spaces (while the platform still exists) @acmepackingco to break down all the action.