On Thursday, the Green Bay Packers traveled to Detroit and defeated the Lions 31-24 in a pivotal matchup for both divisional and conference standings. Detroit dropped to 7-5 and is now unlikely to make the playoffs, especially with the Chicago Bears improving to 9-3 after their win over the Eagles on Friday. Despite the Lions still looking strong statistically this season—with the No. 5 offense and No. 14 defense—their decline in overall play has become obvious on film.
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The losses of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, who both left for head coaching opportunities after last season, have been felt deeply. Head coach Dan Campbell recently took over offensive play-calling duties after Johnson’s replacement struggled to maximize the unit. The Lions are even bringing center Frank Ragnow out of retirement for the stretch run to help stabilize the offensive line. “Fired up to get him back. He wants to play, he wants to be a part of it, he misses the game, he misses his teammates,” Campbell said.
However, these adjustments appear to be too little, too late, as Detroit currently sits as the 8th seed in the NFC—on the outside looking in if the playoffs started today. Green Bay’s offense finally found its rhythm after quarterback Jordan Love had struggled for most of the season. Love has avoided significant criticism from many fans, who believe head coach Matt LaFleur is the real problem due to his supposedly conservative play calling. This narrative does not hold up, as Love ranks 10th in average depth of target this season.
LaFleur has consistently given him opportunities to push the ball downfield, but Love often makes poor decisions and fails to capitalize on the open routes LaFleur schemes up. Even with these issues, Green Bay still ranks as the 7th-best offense in the league. It’s hard to recall another instance where a fanbase has doubted an elite offensive play caller like LaFleur to the point where many want him fired.
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The Packers remain in contention for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, sitting at 8-3-1 after Thursday’s win. Still, this season has felt like an underachievement. They tied with a far inferior Cowboys team and lost to struggling Cleveland and Carolina squads. Had the Packers taken care of business, they could realistically be 11-1 and sitting atop the NFC.
Instead, they aren’t even leading their own division, as a less talented Bears roster currently holds that spot. If Green Bay fails to reach the conference championship game, new team president Ed Policy may move on from LaFleur after choosing not to extend his contract this offseason. If that happens, it’s difficult to envision who the Packers could hire that would keep them in contention next season—especially given the lack of strong coaching candidates in this cycle compared to last year.
