Three overreactions from the Packers' loss to the Lions

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers shot themselves in the foot again and again on Sunday. In the biggest game of the season against the mighty Detroit Lions, an unlimited supply of ammo meant unlimited self-inflicted pain.

Pre-snap penalties, botched snaps, dropped passes, red zone errors and Jordan Love's weekly interception led Green Bay to a 24-10 loss to the Detroit Lions.

Instead of being in first place, the Packers sit third in the NFC North. Here are this week's overreactions.

1. Talk is cheap; Stupid mistakes are expensive

To be the champion, you have to beat the champion. Instead, the Packers beat themselves.

Good luck beating one of the NFL's best teams with 10 penalties, six dropped passes and a pick-six.

“I think Detroit is a really good football team, I definitely think so, and when you play against a good football team you can't make mistakes like that,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “Look right after the jump, we get a personal foul or whatever they said on Keisean (Nixon), the 15-yarder, which is completely unacceptable. And then their first drive, it's four-and-goal at the 5-yard line, we jump offside and that gives them a chance. They try and get a touchdown.

“And then when we were driving or getting into scoring position, it seemed like we had false starts, we had (bad) shots, the ball was on the floor. There are just way too many mistakes and you can't make that against a good football team because they have to pay you for it. My thanks go to them, they played a clean game.”

The fact that the Packers were overwhelmed by a Dome team in a rainstorm is embarrassing. While the Packers acted like they had never felt rain in their lives, the Lions didn't drop a single pass. They didn't mess around.

And then there was Love's stunning pick-six. Had rookie guard Jordan Morgan taken on lightning-quick linebacker Alex Anzalone, Love made Jayden Reed open deep for a big win. Instead, Morgan didn't see Anzalone until it was too late and Love threw one of those panicked interceptions that scouts questioned upon arriving from Utah State.

“It’s definitely disappointing,” Love said. “I've put the ball in danger way too many times and I definitely need to clean up.” I've talked about it week in and week out so I'll just have to learn from those mistakes and clean it up, but definitely I'll be putting a big focus on that Laying out the future and just finding ways that I can approach handling the ball better.”

Talk is cheap. This isn't the first time Love has said he needs to learn from his mistakes and focus on his decision-making. This isn't the first time LaFleur has spoken in frustration about pre-snap penalties.

But here we are, officially halfway through the 18-week season, and it's still the same. Love has thrown an interception in seven straight games and is tied for the NFL lead with 10. The Packers have the second-most pre-snap penalties with 30; The Lions have the third fewest with 14.

Either call it quits or book your January vacation.

2. Time to bench Dontayvion Wicks

The emergence of second-year receiver Dontayvion Wicks as a rookie at the end of the season was one of the reasons to be optimistic about the Packers' offense in 2024.

However, this season has been a nightmare. Against Detroit, he went 0 of 3 with two drops. He caught 16 of 42 passes this season, according to Pro Football Focus. Of 72 receivers who have been targeted at least 30 times, his catch rate of 38.1 percent is the worst in the league. His 27.3 percent drop rate is also the worst in the league. He is 0-for-9 in contested catching situations.

The second drop came with about 10 minutes left on third-and-1 from the Lions' 9. Wicks was completely open on a bootleg. Love's pass wasn't particularly good, but Wicks got his hands on the ball. On the next play, Josh Jacobs was stuffed for the final nail in the coffin.

“Definitely he was a little behind him, but I think that's a play he can make and I think he knows he can make it,” Love said.

The Packers have plenty of weapons. Romeo Doubs also dropped a pass against the Lions, but is far more reliable. Jayden Reed has also dropped way too many passes this year, but is far more explosive. Christian Watson and Bo Melton have game-changing speed.

It's time to focus on these players and also Malik Heath, who was a healthy scratch on Sunday, until Wicks clears his head and gets back on track. He's a talented player who's in one of those downward spirals.

3. Help is needed in defense

When the Packers reveled in turnovers early in the season, it was fair to wonder whether the defense would continue to eat up if opposing quarterbacks stopped throwing the ball to them.

Sunday's game was the perfect benchmark. Lions quarterback Jared Goff is on a hot streak and hasn't thrown an interception since Week 3. The Lions had only fumbled the ball once all season.

This was not a team that would beat itself. And it didn't. Even in the pouring rain, the Lions kept the ball – and took care of business.

Yes, Green Bay's defense only gave up 17 points and 261 yards. Most weeks that's good enough to win.

However, the Lions answered Green Bay's first field goal with a touchdown and then put the game away on the first drive of the second half. If the Lions had needed more points, they might have had better numbers. Had the game been played at Ford Field — which it will be next month and in a possible playoff game — they might have had better success.

Through nine games, it seemed like Green Bay's top four was overrated. The only sack came during the second series when right tackle Penei Sewell tripped over a teammate and was hit by Arron Mosby. Rashan Gary shared the sack on the play – his only sack this season, which was no fluke. Lukas Van Ness had good pressure. Preston Smith, Kenny Clark and Kingsley Enagbare? Well, they played.

Green Bay needs some help on defense – which is surprising considering the roster has so many heavily recruited and/or big-budget defensemen.

Whether it's a pass rusher like the Giants' Azeez Ojulari, whose eight sacks are more than Gary, Smith, Enagbare, Van Ness and Clark combined, or former Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus LattimoreGreen Bay needs an effective passing defense team.

As Jeff Hafley and every defensive coordinator like to say, the combination of rush and coverage is the way to beat good quarterbacks. Right now, the Packers don't have enough of either to have real playoff success.

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