The Green Bay Packers lost the battle at the line of scrimmage, struggled mightily on special teams, dropped a crucial pass and fell to the Detroit Lions on a walk-off field goal on Sunday at Ford Field. Officiating aside, the Packers played poorly on both sides of the football and let a winnable game slip away against a division rival on the road.
Based on grades from Pro Football Focus, here are the best and worst players from the Packers’ Week 7 loss to the Lions (note: grades are subject to change based on review, per PFF):
Top 5 offense
- LG Laken Tomlinson: 76.4
- TE Jonnu Smith: 65.0
- WR Christian Watson: 62.4
- WR Bo Melton: 61.6
- LT Jordan Morgan: 61.2
Tomlinson allowed zero pressures and earned a near-elite 86.0 pass-blocking grade, and his 68.0 run-blocking grade led the offensive line by a comfortable margin. Smith caught one pass for nine yards and had two quality
pass-blocking snaps. Watson caught five of his eight targets for 57 yards and three first downs, but he averaged only 1.50 yards per target run and was targeted on Jordan Love's interception. Melton was good as a blocker, and he caught one pass, but he also failed to make a contested catch on a deep ball in the fourth quarter. Morgan gave up three pressures, including a sack, but his pass-blocking grade (64.6) was second-best among the final five offensive linemen.
Top 5 defense
- CB Keisean Nixon: 73.6
- DL Karl Brooks: 73.6
- S Evan Williams: 73.0
- DL Jordon Riley: 71.0
- DL Anthony Campbell: 68.3
Nixon gave up only two catches into his coverage, made two tackles for loss and had one of the game's biggest plays on the fourth down stop. His run defense grade was 81.7. Brooks had a quarterback hit, three run stops and the team's highest run defense grade at 85.5. Williams didn't give up a completion into his coverage and should have had an interception in the fourth quarter. Riley played 29 snaps in his 2026 debut and was good against the run. Campbell was credited with his first career sack, and he also batted down a pass and had three stops.
Bottom 5 offense
- RT Anthony Belton: 45.0
- C John Williams: 49.5
- TE Mark Redman: 51.2
- RG Travis Glover: 51.3
- RB MarShawn Lloyd: 52.1
Belton allowed four hurries, committed a holding penalty and was poor as a run blocker. Williams played the final 58 snaps at center; he allowed three pressures, including a quarterback hit, and his pass-blocking grade was the line's worst at 24.9. Redman wasn't effective as a run-blocker and he couldn't haul in his lone target. Glover allowed a team-high seven pressures (all hurries). Lloyd gave up a pressure in pass pro, dropped a pass and turned eight touches into 35 yards.
Bottom 5 defense
- DB Javon Bullard: 38.1
- EDGE Brenton Cox Jr.: 43.2
- EDGE Lukas Van Ness: 43.5
- LB Ty'Ron Hopper: 46.2
- LB Isaiah McDuffie: 47.5
Bullard missed a tackle, gave up 56 receiving yards into his coverage and had a poor 41.5 run defense grade. Cox didn't have a pressure, gave up a completion into his coverage and was penalized for roughing the passer. Van Ness didn't have a pressure, a tackle or a stop despite playing 42 snaps. Hopper missed a tackle against the run and gave up five completions in coverage, including a touchdown pass to Jameson Williams in zone coverage. McDuffie missed three tackles against the run and had a 36.8 tackle grade.
Special teams
Evan Williams had a tackle and the top special teams grade (78.2) overall. J. Michael Sturdivant and Nick Niemann also had tackles covering kicks or punts. Bo Melton missed a tackle on a punt return. Kicker Trey Smack missed twice from under 40 yards out. The Lions' average field position after kickoffs was the 23.3, a season best for the Packers. Daniel Whelan had a 60-yard punt and a 40-yard punt, continuing an inconsistent start to the season, and his net average was 42.5. The 60-yard punt was returned 15 yards.
Quarterback play
- Jordan Love: 58.3
Love was under pressure on 40.4 percent of his dropbacks, but he also didn't play particularly well from clean pockets, averaging 5.5 yards per attempt and throwing an interception when kept clean. Love completed only two passes for 12 yards off play-action and was 4-for-11 on throws of at least 20 yards in the air. PFF had the Packers with two drops, including one from Josh Jacobs on a would-be touchdown pass late. The Lions defense was best when blitzing Love. The Packers quarterback completed 25 of 36 passes for 248 yards and two scores when the Lions didn't blitz.
Stats to know
Lions pass-rushers Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeil finished with 16 combined pressures, while the Packers had only eight pressures total. Jared Goff chewed up the Packers from clean pockets, completing 19 of 27 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown when kept clean. Overall, Goff was under pressure on just 18.2 percent of his dropbacks. The Packers decisively lost the pressure battle at the line of scrimmage.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers PFF grades: Best, worst players from Week 7 loss to Lions
