An avalanche of questionable officiating decisions is dominating the discourse coming out of the Green Bay Packers' 20-17 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, but officiating is generally not a controllable factor. It can provide the edge one way or another, especially when the margins are so razor thin in these high-level NFL matchups. But good teams write their own narrative and overcome in-game challenges, and the Packers were unable to do either. In many ways, the Packers continue writing the same narrative. They will get in their own way and are usually unable to overcome it.
Five non-officiating thoughts on the Packers' loss to the Lions:
Can't overcome losing the pressure battle: Want a tangible reason why the Packers lost the football
game on Sunday? Jordan Love was under pressure on 40.4 percent of his dropbacks, per PFF, while Jared Goff was under pressure on only 18.2 percent of his dropbacks. Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeil combined for 16 pressures, double the Packers' total of eight. In a game where so much is decided on whether or not you can both protect your quarterback and disrupt the opponent's, especially in a matchup with Goff, the Packers were handed a decisive loss at the line of scrimmage by the Lions.
Jordan Love deserves better: The Packers don't pass block reliably, have no run game, can't catch the ball consistently and now have a crisis on their hands at kicker. Jordan Love is the duct tape holding all the broken pieces of this 4-3 team together. Is it really too much to ask for an offensive line to get protections right, not blow assignments and create a couple of positive runs a game? Or for pass-catchers to finish the easy ones and go make a play on a couple of difficult ones? Or for the kicker to score points inside 40 yards? The quarterback can only do so much. The Packers would be in football utopia if the players around Love weren't constantly letting the quarterback down.
Time to end the MarShawn Lloyd experience: The return of Josh Jacobs as a full-time player should provide the merciful end of the Lloyd experience. Through seven games, Lloyd is comfortably the worst running back in football. He ranks last in the NFL in yards per carry and rushing yards over expected among qualified backs. He's created -23.0 EPA as a runner and receiver. His 16 targets have gained 70 yards and included three drops. He's allowed three pressures and has a 38.9 pass block grade at PFF. Lloyd was healthy to start 2026 and got a chance to be the guy. It didn't work out. Time to move on. The Packers can and must do better behind Jacobs, who might be playing his final 10 games in Green Bay over the next few months.
Time for Kevin Zeitler: It's been a month. Travis Glover hasn't been good enough at right guard, and the offensive line appears to be trending in the wrong direction again. Laken Tomlinson has been rock-solid at left guard, creating a real competition with Aaron Banks, but it's time to see if Zeitler can play at right guard. There should be no playbook or conditioning issues. The worry would be that Zeitler has practiced and the Packers just don't like what they see in the 36-year-old. But once again, the offensive line needs a boost, Glover just gave up seven pressures in Detroit and the Packers have a decorated veteran who is making millions this season waiting on the bench. Going into a short week creates a challenge, but Zeitler should get his starting shot on Thursday night.
Packers are who they are: The officiating put the Packers in a difficult spot on the road against a talented opponent, but Sunday was another encapsulation of who this team is overall, both in 2026 and over the last several seasons. The Packers are talented. They are capable of great things when everything is clicking. They can beat anyone anywhere. But they are mostly incapable of avoiding the crushing but controllable mistakes that get you get in the biggest games. Drops, penalties, missed opportunities, missed field goals. The Packers are who they are. Can they make a legitimate run at the playoffs? Sure. Will they probably shoot their foot off at some point along the journey? Almost certainly.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 5 thoughts on loss to Lions: Packers just are who they are
