GREEN BAY, WIS. – The Green Bay Packers’ losing streak continues to three games as they lose to the Detroit Lions 16-18 and drop to a 6-3 record. The Packers now trail the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North after the Vikings knocked off the Raiders in Oakland, Calif.
Going into the game, Detroit was 1-7, having just fired most of their executives last week while Green Bay hasn’t lost at home since 2013 while not losing to Detroit at home since 1991. A trend of the Packers for the last couple weeks is their inability to score and get first downs in the first three quarters of the game; this continued as they scored most of their points in the fourth quarter trying but failing to mount a comeback.
Green Bay began the game with the ball and they looked like the powerhouse at home, easily getting down the field behind Aaron Rodgers and his receiver Davante Adams. However, they could not get into the red zone as they had to settle for a 44-yard Mason Crosby field goal to take the 3-0 lead.
Three-and-outs would occur for both teams for the rest of the first quarter and drives resulting in punts would occur until almost the end of the half. The Lions would get good field position inside of the two minute warning and after quarterback Mathew Stafford connected with his receiver Calvin Johnson, Detroit would tie the game up with a Matt Prater 49-yard field goal to end the half.
Action got going on the offensive side of the ball, or rather, the special teams as Detroit’s Ameer Abdullah returned the second half opening kickoff 104 yards but got tackled on the one yard line. The Lions would cap it off with Stafford throwing a two yard touchdown pass to tight-end Brandon Pettigrew. Prater would miss the extra point so the Lions took a 9-3 lead.
Much like the first half the Packers could not get anything going on offense forcing them to punt throughout the third quarter. The Lions got the ball to begin the fourth quarter and got into field goal range after Stafford connected with Johnson for 15 yards. After Green Bay’s defense forced a fourth down Prater made a 51-yard field goal to give the Lions a 12-3 lead.
After alternating three-and-outs, the Packers offense got going with Rodgers hitting receiver Randall Cobb for 13 and 20 yards. Rodgers would then throw 34 yards to receiver Jared Abbrederis to get to the goal line. Rodgers would cap off the drive connecting with tight end Richard Rodgers for a four yard touchdown to cut the deficit by two.
On the ensuing drive the Lions would answer back. They got to the goal line after Stafford connected with receiver Golden Tate for 43 yards. The Lions would cap off their drive with Stafford throwing a 4-yard touchdown to receiver Lance Moore. Prater would miss another extra point to leave the Lions with only an eight point one possession lead.
The Packers would get going with under two minutes left as running back James Starks caught a 19-yard pass and tight end Justin Perillo caught an 11-yard pass. A roughing the passer penalty on defensive lineman Ziggy Ansah would put the Packers in the red zone. With 36 seconds left Rodgers threw a touchdown pass to Perillo but could not succeed on the two-point conversion that would have tied the game.
Behind Crosby, the Packers attempted the onside kick. The Lions’ Calvin Johnson muffed the catch and the Packers Damarious Randall recovered it giving Green Bay possession. Rodgers would then complete a 12-yard pass to Adams to put the Packers in field goal range. Mason Crosby attempted the 52-yard game winning field goal but shanked it, giving the Lions the 18-16 victory.
After the slow start Rodgers would pass for 333 yards and two touchdowns but Starks only had 42 yards rushing. Stafford had 242 yards passing and two touchdowns while the combination of Joique Bell and Ameer Abdullah only rushed for 32 yards.
Next week the Packers will travel to Minneapolis, Minn. to face the Minnesota Vikings in a pivotal NFC North matchup. The Lions will head back to Detroit to face the Oakland Raiders.
Other NFL Scores:
The Buffalo Bills jumped out to a 22-3 lead, but had to withstand a late New York Jets rally to win, 22-17, in Bills’ coach Rex Ryan’s first return to New York since getting fired by the Jets last season. Running back LeSean McCoy rushed for 112 yards for Buffalo. New York quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw the two late scores.
Baltimore Ravens’ defensive end Elvis Dumervil gave the Jacksonville Jaguars the ultimate gift, as he drew an unnecessary roughness call after dragging Jaguars’ quarterback Blake Bortles to the ground and grabbing his facemask in the process. This put Jacksonville into field goal range, where kicker Jason Myers nailed a 53-yarder for a 22-20 victory. Bortles threw two touchdown passes, both to receivers with a first name of Allen (Hurns and Robinson). Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns.
After falling behind 16-3 at the end of the first quarter, Miami Dolphins’ quarterback Ryan Tannehill found his rhythm, throwing a touchdown pass in the second and fourth quarters to rally his team to a 20-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Eagles’ quarterback Sam Bradford suffered a shoulder injury and concussion on a big hit in the third quarter and was replaced by Mark Sanchez, who will start next week’s game vs. the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger may not have started because of injury, but he was cleared to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And when reserve Landry Jones went down, Roethlisberger came in and looked his normal self and then some, throwing for 379 yards and three touchdowns to help the Steelers knock off the Cleveland Browns, 30-9. Browns’ quarterback Johnny Manziel threw for 372 yards and one touchdown.
After a 10-10 first quarter, the Chicago Bears dominated the St. Louis Rams, outscoring them 27-3 en route to a 37-13 victory. Bears’ running back Jeremy Langford and tight end Zach Miller both caught long passes from quarterback Jay Cutler of 83 and 87 yards, respectively. Langford also had a touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ rookie quarterback Jameis Winston threw for 264 yards and snuck in for a late one-yard touchdown to overcome the Cowboys, 10-6, and send Dallas to its seventh consecutive loss.
The Carolina Panthers remained unbeaten behind a hot start from quarterback Cam Newton, who completed his first 11 passes, including a touchdown to tight end Ed Dickson. He finished with 217 passing yards and added a 2-yard touchdown run to lead the Panthers to a 27-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans.
Washington Redskins’ quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 324 yards and four touchdown passes, and the Redskins scored the final 33 points of a 47-14 rout of the New Orleans Saints. Saints’ defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was fired on Monday.
Running back Adrian Peterson looked like, well, Adrian Peterson in his monster game for the Vikings against the Raiders. He rushed for 203 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater had a touchdown pass and receiver/return specialist Cordarrelle Patterson ran back a kickoff for a score to help Minnesota knock off Oakland, 30-14.
Hall of Fame-bound and Denver Broncos’ quarterback Peyton Manning probably had the worst game of his career vs. the Kansas City Chiefs, as he went 5 for 20 for 35 yards and four interceptions. After the Chiefs built a 29-0 lead, he was benched for backup Brock Osweiler, who gave the Broncos’ offense a late spark to bring the final score to 29-13. Kansas City kicker Cairo Santos made five field goals, and running back Charcandrick West had a rushing and receiving touchdown.
An undefeated season is still intact for the New England Patriots, as kicker Stephen Gostkowski hit a 54-yard field goal that capped a rally from a 20-10 deficit to edge his team’s Super Bowl nemesis New York Giants, 27-26. Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady threw for 334 yards and two scores, while his counterpart on the other side, Eli Manning, threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns.
After giving up a 19-0 lead, the Arizona Cardinals needed two late touchdowns to defeat the Seattle Seahawks, 39-32. Cardinals’ quarterback Carson Palmer threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns, and running back Andre Ellington scampered for 48 yards to pad Arizona’s lead late.
Quarterback Brian Hoyer, who suffered a concussion on a hit in the third quarter for the Houston Texans, exited the game, and former Houston Texans’ backup T.J. Yates once again provided a spark for the Texans, hitting receiver DeAndre Hopkins in the fourth quarter for a 22-yard touchdown to knock the Cincinnati Bengals from the ranks of the unbeaten, 10-6.
All stats and scores courtesy of CBSSports.com.