The Green Bay Packers can understandably feel frustrated with the referees in Week 7 – it was an all-timer from the officials – but it's no excuse.
Great teams find a way to win, regardless of the calls that go against them, and the Packers had multiple chances to escape Ford Field with a victory. Instead, they fell to an agonizing 20-17 defeat in a game that initially looked like a shootout, then became a defensive battle aided by unforced errors on both sides.
We learned plenty from the performance, and as always after a heavyweight battle between two division rivals, there was both good and bad for the Packers.
Biggest winners and losers for Packers in defeat to Lions in Week 7
Winner: Brandon Cisse
It was never going to be easy against an elite passing offense, but rookie Brandon Cisse made some game-changing plays against the Lions.
Though PFF's initial count has Cisse allowing six completions on eight targets for 67 yards, he also broke up two touchdowns, shut down a screen, and had an interception ruled out by a penalty.
Cisse perhaps should've intercepted a pass in the end zone, but it would've been a spectacular effort. He basically ran Jameson Williams' route for him, making a diving pass breakup that he almost picked. Cisse also saved another potential Williams touchdown by shoving him out of bounds before he could get his feet down – a heads-up play.
While Cisse's ruled-out interception was probably a fair call – he briefly had a piece of Amon-Ra St. Brown's jersey – it was disappointing after the officials had allowed several possible defensive pass interference penalties go. So much for letting them play.
Still, in one of the toughest matchups the Packers' secondary will face all season, Cisse stepped up.
Winner: Anthony Campbell
Anyone who watched Anthony Campbell throughout camp or the preseason won't have been surprised by his performance. Campbell has missed time due to injury this season, but he made several big-time plays on Sunday.
He finished the day with the Packers' only sack, two tackles for loss, and a pass breakup. That pass breakup isn't surprising in the slightest. Campbell spent an entire summer getting his hands to the ball at the line of scrimmage. He'd swat at least one pass away every day.
The Packers have lost Javon Hargrave and Warren Brinson to long-term injuries, and they needed another defensive tackle to step up. Campbell showed a ton of promise on Sunday.
Winner: Run defense
It was mostly a bend-not-break performance from Jonathan Gannon's defense, which surrendered 415 total yards but only 20 points. But that's not true of the run defense. Gannon's unit faced a nightmarish matchup against three-time Pro Bowl running back Jahmyr Gibbs and a powerful offensive line.
The Packers more than held their own. Gibbs finished the day with 116 rushing yards, but it took him 29 attempts to get there. Gibbs is a big-play machine with home-run speed, but his longest rush went for only 15 yards on Sunday.
Detroit turned 33 rushing attempts into 119 yards at an average of just 3.6 yards per carry. The Packers made them work for every one of those yards.
Green Bay's defense also produced what should've been a game-winning moment by stopping Detroit at its own 24-yard line deep into the fourth quarter with the score tied 17-17. The Lions faced 2nd-and-1, but had two Gibbs carries shut down for minus-two yards, with an incomplete pass in between, to turn the ball over on downs.
Loser: Trey Smack
The Packers have well and truly backed themselves into a corner here.
First by trading away two draft picks to move up for Trey Smack. Then by giving him zero competition at training camp. Then by ignoring the warnings throughout camp, and perhaps falling for an impressive run during the preseason.
Now what? Smack missed two costly kicks in Week 7, including a, frankly, unacceptable miss from 26 yards out. It's bad enough to do that with swirling Lambeau winds, but inside a dome? Come on.
Matt LaFleur was adamant postgame that Smack will remain the Packers' kicker. It's probably more of a question for Brian Gutekunst. Those warning signs from camp have turned into sirens. What on earth do the Packers do now?
Loser: Travis Glover
The Packers opted for continuity at right guard rather than handing the reins to Kevin Zeitler. Travis Glover stepped up admirably in the first two games as Jacob Monk's replacement, but LaFleur may have gotten too cute here. No matter how good Glover looked in his first two starts, Zeitler is a better player. And it's not even close.
Green Bay got burned by that decision on Sunday, again starting Glover and making Zeitler a healthy scratch.
By PFF's initial count, Glover allowed eight pressures against the Lions. Eight. That's 50 percent of the total pressures Zeitler allowed all of last season.
Loser: Run game
Even with Josh Jacobs back, the Packers still can't run the football. Jacobs made an impact with 91 yards from scrimmage, but his best work came as a pass-catcher. He averaged 3.3 yards per carry with a long of just 10 yards, and Green Bay managed only 60 yards from 19 attempts.
It again proves what we already knew. The Packers' issue on the ground is primarily an offensive line problem. Jacobs offers way more than MarShawn Lloyd and Kaleb Johnson, of which there's little doubt, but even Jacobs ran into a brick wall repeatedly in this game.
It's even more evidence that the Packers need to get Zeitler in there at guard.
Add us as a preferred source on Google