Packers unable to tame the Lions: What went right & What went wrong?

The Green Bay Packers concluded their regular season campaign with a loss in the Motor City, falling to the Detriot Lions (3-13-1) 37-30. The Packers finished the season 13-4 and now look ahead to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

Despite the loss, the Packers played most of their starters for the first half, and more importantly, the long-awaited return of all-pro left tackle David Bakhtiari went about as smooth as you wanted to see.

Let’s check out what went right in the Green Bay Packers’ loss against the Detriot Lions.

After a much-anticipated return, Packers All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari returned to the field. 

Last year around this time, Packers nation was in a frenzy following the report of their All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari, who sustained a torn ACL in practice and missed just about the entire 2021 regular season.

Turn it around 365 days, and the Packers welcomed back their All-Pro blindside protector in the season finale. According to PFF ($$), Bakhtiari played 27 total snaps, not once allowing pressure to the quarterback and winning all but one of his 20 pass protection reps.

It wasn’t a full game of repetitions, but it was a massive step in the right direction for the anchor of the offensive line, significantly ahead of a hopeful Super Bowl run.

Josiah Deguara showed some play-making ability and flash.

Don’t look now, but the 2020 draft class is starting to pay dividends.

The former 2020 third-round draft pick out of Cincinnati finally was able to show a little of what he can bring to this Packers offense.

Deguara took a tight end screen pass to the house during the fourth quarter for a 62-yard touchdown. He showed some serious elusiveness and play-making ability while racing to the endzone to take the lead. While breaking a tackle, making a few defenders miss, and ultimately beating the defense in a foot race to the endzone for the score, Deguara showed what he could bring to this offense.

For an offense that is missing their main red zone threat in Robert Tonyan and desperately looking to improve their numbers, Deguara proved Sunday afternoon that he could bring some much-needed production to the tight end room.

Packers left week 18 and, more importantly, left the regular season relatively healthy ahead of a hopeful championship run.  

This week’s most prominent opponent for the Packers wasn’t the Detriot Lions—it was more so about themselves and could they stay healthy ahead of the playoffs while playing their starters a good chunk of the game.

Aside from wide-out Marquez Valdes-Scantling and defensive back Chandon Sullivan, both of whom seemed to avoid any serious injury, the Packers finished the regular season as healthy as they have been all year.

The Packers are peaking at the most crucial time as far as injury news goes. All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari made his long-awaited return as well as starting center, 2021 second-round pick, Josh Myers. It was quite the welcoming sight for a unit that has been quite banged-up all season.

Not only did the Packers get some starters back, as I mentioned above, but they could also be welcoming back a couple of more All-Pro players. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, pass rusher Za’Darius Smith and cornerback Jaire Alexander are expected to practice this week and return for the playoffs.

It was a loss against a divisional foe, and not everything went according to plan. Let’s take a look at what went wrong Sunday afternoon in Detriot.

The Packers’ defense was unable to stop the trick plays.

The Lions opened the playbook on Sunday and never looked back.

They scored two touchdowns on two different schemed-up trick plays. The first one coming in the first quarter on a double handoff reverse pass for a 75-yard touchdown. The second trick play was a double handoff flea-flicker, which resulted in a 31-yard pass from quarterback Jared Goff to tight end Brock Wright.

The defense has been questionable, as of late. This week 18 performance won’t leave a good feeling in the stomachs of Packers fans, but with a few key players returning. The hope is that the Packers can get it going once again.

Amari Rodgers continues to struggle in his rookie season.

Looking back on the 2021 draft class, Amari Rodgers was probably my favorite selection outside of Josh Myers.

Many draft experts highly criticized the Packers for failing to get a wide-out to pair with Davante Adams for the last few years, which quieted down the chatter after the Packers selected Rodgers in the third round out of Clemson.

Sunday proved to be another chapter in the struggles of Rodgers’ rookie campaign. The struggles continue to mount for him, whether it was dropping passes, one which resulted in an interception, missing blocks, or returning kicks when not necessary.

It’s been a long, arduous season for Rodgers, and with the likely return of David Moore, it’s interesting to see what role the Packers have in store for the rookie heading into the playoffs.

The Packers now get to enjoy a much-needed and well-earned first-round bye week, as they await the results over the upcoming wild card weekend.