Why they won: Green Bay Packers’ Miracle In Motown

Dec 3, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver

(18) recovers a fumble to score a touchdown during the third quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Grit & Grind

Green Bay began the game like they have done for most of their contests since the bye week: struggling.

They ended up down 17-0 at halftime — and eventually down 20-0 in the third quarter — while managing little in the way of positive contributions from anywhere.

The team could have just quit right there, with nothing going well and everyone — including their quarterback — struggling to make anything happen. That’s especially true considering how rough this stadium has been to Green Bay in recent years (blowouts, low scores, and injuries have seem to hit this team harder when they travel to Detroit than against any other particular team for a good portion of the past 5+ years).

Luckily, they did not give up.

Halfway through the third quarter, Green Bay finally managed to have a drive end for a score; even here it wasn’t quite crisp, with the TD being on a fumble recovery in the endzone.

Still, a score is a score, and that was the beginning of the comeback. The team’s ability to scratch, claw and fight their way back into the contest to even give themselves a chance to win is a testament to their resolve.

This team was doing this despite the continued impact of injuries, especially on the offense. The wide receiver corps can barely line up four guys on a given week, while there was just one single usual starter who didn’t miss time to injury along the offensive line (Josh Sitton; T.J. Lang and Bryan Bulaga sat out, while Corey Linsley and David Bakhtiari missed time at different points).

These guys toughed through another rough outing; the defense made big plays, there were clutch plays from all around, and allowed them to be in position to get the win at the end.

It may not be pretty, but it is exactly what the team needs to play like if they aren’t going to be able to blow past teams with their offense like we are used to seeing from them in previous years.

Next: A New Runner