Green Bay Packers vs Detroit Lions: 5 matchups to watch
1. Packers special teams vs themselves
All year long, the Packers major weak point has been their special teams. Their offense hasn’t lit the world on fire, but the special teams mistakes and issues have killed them repeatedly. The argument can be made that three or four of the team’s losses this season can be attributed to the special teams group in some fashion. Against the Lions, Crosby missed five different kicks, and there was a phantom fumble called against Kevin King in punt coverage.
It would be a major shock if the Packers kept coordinator Ron Zook in charge next season. While the Packers haven’t had a good special teams group for a long time, Zook was not able to turn this group around as they had hoped. The team is consistently penalized game in and game out, and they frequently make costly mistakes that should be simple execution. While not all of it is on him, everything starts at the top.
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The best teams in the league get out of their own way, and the find a way to win. More often than not, the Packers are finding ways to lose. Even if Crosby goes 2/2 on field goals with two extra points, and the punt and kickoff teams keep the Lions’ returners in check, that’s a win for this team. Special teams is an often underlooked aspect of the game of football, but, as we have seen this year, it is just as important as the other two, especially on Sunday afternoon.