The Green Bay Packers missed two field goals, failed on three different red zone opportunities and blew a chance to beat the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Ford Field. The officiating is rightfully in the spotlight coming out of the 20-17 loss, but the Packers were unable to do what good teams do: write their own narrative in the face of challenging circumstances.
Here's what went right, what went wrong and what it means for the Packers moving forward:
What went right
-- Jordan Love started out red hot on fourth down, hitting Savion Williams for 27 yards, Tucker Kraft for 22 yards and Christian Watson for 28 yards to convert fourth downs in the first half. Kraft's conversion helped set up his touchdown catch on an extended play by Love in the red zone.
-- Five different
players had a catch of at least 20 yards: Watson, Kraft, Williams, Matthew Golden and Josh Jacobs.
-- Keisean Nixon gave the Packers an incredible opportunity to steal the game late. His tackle for loss had the Packers with the ball in scoring range with under five minutes to go.
-- Jahmyr Gibbs ended up with 116 rushing yards, but he needed 29 carries to get there, and the Packers did plenty of run stuffing throughout the contest. Of his 116 rushing yards, 39 came on the final drive.
What went wrong
-- Trey Smack missed a 26-yard field goal on the first drive and had a 35-yard field goal partially blocked late in the fourth quarter. The rookie cost the Packers six points in a three-point loss. Brutal. Kicks under 40 yards should be close to automatic. The 26-yard miss was the shortest in the NFL this season.
-- The Packers ended up 1-for-4 scoring touchdowns in the red zone, and the four red zone trips netted only seven points. The Lions came into the game ranked 31st in red zone defense.
-- The Packers gave up 415 total yards and 26 first downs, allowed 10 points on Detroit's first two possessions, saw the Lions create a 300-yard passer, 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver and couldn't stop what ended up being a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter. The defense made some big stops, but the Lions also had two unforced fumbles. Jared Goff was rarely pressured and ended up averaging 9.5 yards per attempt. The defense had its share of struggles.
-- Three more brutal drops. Matthew Golden had a catch over 20 yards knocked out of his hands, Evan Williams dropped a gift-wrapped interception and Josh Jacobs dropped the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.
-- Golden turned 12 targets into only 39 yards, and of his 39, 22 came on one catch early. The Lions also limited Christian Watson to only 57 yards.
-- Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams combined for 14 catches for 244 yards and two scores.
-- The run game is still dead. Josh Jacobs gained 38 yards, but the 19 attempts gained only 60 total yards. Not having a run game is killing the Packers in the red zone.
-- Officials made a bunch of calls hurting the Packers. No way around it. The margins are razor thin in these games, and the officials made it unnecessarily hard on the visitors.
-- Not only did the Packers miss two field goals, but Daniel Whelan appeared to mishit another punt, and the Lions were very close to springing several big returns in the kick and punt game. It was an especially poor day for the special teams.
What it means
This loss is going to sting, and it could be huge come playoff time. The Packers now have losses to three playoff contenders in the NFC and two road losses inside the NFC North. In a highly competitive division where the Packers are now in last place at 4-3, every loss to a rival is going to be an important one to the final standings. Matt LaFleur's team hasn't won the NFC North title since 2021 and it's looking like it'll be a difficult path to get back into contention after seven games in 2026. This was a high leverage game in terms of positioning and the Packers let it slip away late.
What's next
No rest for the weary. The Packers face a short week and a visit from the Carolina Panthers on "Thursday Night Football" to open Week 8. The Panthers just lost 43-13 to the Buccaneers at home. But remember: the Panthers lost 40-6 to the Bills at home one week before beating the Packers at Lambeau Field last season. Every week is a new week. The Packers have a chance to bounce back at home, but the Panthers will be a motivated team following an ugly loss.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Breaking down Packers' 20-17 loss to Lions: What went right, wrong
