The Green Bay Packers can't get out of their own way. Drops, penalties, and, yes, some officiating nonsense, which we'll get to. But in a game where seemingly neither team wanted to win, the Packers found the most ways to lose.
Green Bay fell to a tough 20-17 defeat to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in a game that threatened to be a shootout, and probably would've been had it not been for massive errors on both sides. The Lions fumbled twice and turned it over on downs at their own 24-yard line, yet the Packers made enough of their own mistakes.
Trey Smack. Trey Smack. We'll get to it. The offensive line. Unforced errors. Yep, things got pretty ugly for the Packers at times. Let's break it down.
Instant takeaways from the Packers' brutal loss to Lions in Week 7
1. The Packers have a real Trey Smack problem
I'm all for having patience with a rookie kicker. You almost have to. But at what point is enough enough? The Packers can absolutely have patience, but they can't afford to carry a kicker who is letting them down repeatedly.
No kicker in the NFL, rookie or not, should miss a 26-yard field goal indoors. You should make that kick with swirling winds at Lambeau Field in December, let alone in the safe confines of a dome.
Smack later missed a 35-yarder. Yes, it was deflected ever so slightly at the line of scrimmage, but the kick should never have been low enough for that to happen. The rookie left six points on the board in a game the Packers lost by three, and both misses were within 35 yards. Brutal.
Smack has missed seven kicks in seven games. The Packers have a tough decision.
2. Josh Jacobs makes an instant impact
Josh Jacobs dropped a touchdown late in the fourth quarter that would've given the Packers a potentially game-winning lead, but he made an instant impact in his return.
Jacobs averaged only 3.3 yards per carry due to some woeful blocking, as we've seen all season, but he hauled in five passes for 55 yards and a touchdown, including a phenomenal catch-and-run down the sideline for a 25-yard score. Jacobs ended the day with 91 yards and a score on 15 touches. That'll do.
3. Run game still struggles
It was still a rough showing for the run game. Jacobs did his best to maximize the rushing attack and pick up yards after contact, but the Packers' running backs had an uphill battle all day long.
Green Bay averaged just 3.2 yards per carry, with Jacobs and MarShawn Lloyd managing just 56 yards from 17 attempts. The Packers have learned they can't rely on the run game, which is why Jordan Love threw 45 passes in what was a close, low-scoring game.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport, the Packers are among the teams interested in trading for All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor. It can't hurt, but the offensive line is the biggest issue.
4. Packers' offensive line woes return
So, let's discuss that offensive line. The group had seemed to turn the corner during the Packers' three-game winning streak, but they crashed back down to earth in Week 7. The offensive line remains a problem.
It certainly doesn't help when you lose starting center Sean Rhyan on the opening drive, and then you lose backup center Jacob Monk on the second drive, but it's no excuse for the other linemen to disappoint yet again.
Jordan Love was under constant duress. By Pro Football Focus's initial count, the Lions pressured him 19 times, with Love somehow only taking one sack. The Packers' offensive line offered little resistance to the Lions' scary pass rush, and they left precious little room for the running backs to operate.
It raises questions about why free-agent addition Kevin Zeitler was a healthy scratch. It's time to get him out there.
5. The less said about the refs, the better
It's so easy to call out the refs. Every fanbase does it after a loss. But sometimes, the frustration is justified. Seriously, what was that?!
It was a catalogue of errors from the officiating crew all day long, and while it impacted both teams, the Packers were undoubtedly hurt the most, particularly in the second half.
Turns out the Packers can't breathe too close to the quarterback, and we witnessed some of the most egregious roughing-the-passer calls you'll ever see. It has been the story of Green Bay's season. One, in particular, came against Brenton Cox Jr. after a third-down stop. He inadvertently put his hands on Goff while trying to get up, and the refs called a penalty.
How about a blatant intentional grounding the refs missed on Goff, or the time they did call it on Love despite the ball landing in the vicinity of Tucker Kraft?
And don't even get me started on the bizarre moment when one of the officials fell to the ground and threw a flag on the Packers, despite the fact that he was: 1. kicked by a Lions player and 2. was only kicked because Amon-Ra St. Brown kept playing after he was down, so the Packers had no choice but to tackle him again.
@NFL @NFLOfficiating let’s just go to flag football if everytime a qb gets touched it’s roughing the passer!
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) October 25, 2026
Never blame the refs. I get it. The Packers had opportunities to win regardless, but this truly was one of those baffling officiating performances.
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