5 Packers on Thin Ice After Second Loss to Lions

Isaiah McDuffie

The middle of the Packers' pass defense is as bumpy as a poorly patched road, and Jared Goff and the Lions treated it like an open express lane. Time and again, Detroit’s passing attack cruised through with little resistance, and Isaiah McDuffie found himself stuck in traffic as the primary target of their relentless assault.

McDuffie has been exposed as overmatched in his role as a starting linebacker. His deficiencies in coverage have been glaring all season, but they were especially painful to watch against Detroit.

The Lions targeted him relentlessly, and he rarely had answers. His inability to get sufficient depth in zone coverage leaves enormous windows for opposing quarterbacks to exploit, and even when he does drop back far enough, his lack of agility and coverage instincts make it tough for him to stick with tight ends or running backs.

The most obvious example of his limitations came on a critical fourth-down play. McDuffie found himself one-on-one with Jahmyr Gibbs, which is a matchup he’s going to lose nine times out of 10. Gibbs ran a vicious angle route, faking to the sideline before cutting sharply back to the middle. McDuffie was left stumbling like a kid trying to keep up in a game of tag, and Gibbs was wide open for the score.

The numbers paint an even grimmer picture. On the season, McDuffie has allowed 50 receptions on 60 targets—an eye-popping 83.3 percent completion rate—for 508 yards and four touchdowns. Opposing quarterbacks are practically printing yardage when throwing in his direction, and the Packers don’t have many other options to plug the dam.

The return of rookie Edgerrin Cooper from injury could help reduce McDuffie’s playing time, and it can’t come soon enough. Until then, Green Bay’s defense will have to live with the mismatch in the middle of the field—and hope their offense can keep them in games.