Packers Bust Must Be Benched After Horrendous Performance on Thursday

The Green Bay Packers came up short on Thursday night, falling 34-31 to the Detroit Lions due to a last-second field goal. Although the Packers' effort was solid, it wasn't good enough to close the gap between their NFC North rivals, falling to 9-4 on the season in the process.

Several factors went into the loss, including Green Bay's abysmal pass-blocking play. The offensive line struggled to protect quarterback Jordan Love as the Packers surrendered eight hurries, four QB hits, and a sack to the Lions' defense.

While certain members of the O-line will likely bounce back next week, one of the Packers' blockers might not deserve that opportunity based on his Week 14 performance.

Packers Must Bench OL Josh Myers Following Loss vs. Lions

Myers was, by far, the worst member of the Packers' offensive line on Thursday night. The former Ohio State product finished the evening with a season-worst 13.2 pass protection grade on Pro Football Focus after allowing two pressures on 24 passing downs.

Underwhelming protection has become a trend for Myers, who's now allowed six hurries and a QB hit in his last trio of outings after only allowing three total pressures in the three games before that stretch. He's also finished his last four appearances with a pass block grade worse than 60.0.

Players have bad games all the time, but Myer's latest performance was inexcusable. The Packers needed to walk away with the win to keep pace in the NFC North, however, the 26-year-old's abysmal blocking helped the Lions take one step closer to clinching the division.

What's even worse for Myers is that his poor showings are coming as the NFL offseason is right around the corner. The ex-2021 second-rounder is set to hit free agency in March and the Packers may not offer him another contract if he keeps trending downward.

If the Packers want to make noise down the stretch and into the playoffs, head coach Matt LaFleur must consider benching Myers. Despite his experience and past performances, it's clear that the Miamisburg, OH native is doing more harm than good by staying in the lineup.

Whether that's replacing him with a practice squad member or an available veteran free agent, Green Bay must weigh in all possible options.

Meanwhile, the Packers will take the next week to regroup before returning to action against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15. It already looks like a bounce-back performance is in the cards as FanDuel Sportsbook is favoring the Pack at 2.5 points over the Seahawks in the opening odds.

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