All the Green Bay Packers needed was a solid game from Aaron Rodgers to defeat the NFL’s record-breaking worst team on Sunday. However, three interceptions against a historically poor Detroit Lions defense could have been the nail in the coffin for a team that was on a five-game losing streak and falling further and further out of playoff contention.
“Yeah, sure had some (expletive) throws,” Rodgers said of his first three-pick performance since 2017.
The first two interceptions were among the worst of Rodgers’ career. The Packers threatened to score on both opening drives until two misplaced balls from the quarterback resulted in zero points for the offense.
The first was probably the most outrageous. During the first series, the offense put in one of the best drives all season to reach the Detroit 5-yard line. But instead of handing the ball to AJ Dillon for first and goal, Rodgers looked for his top target Allen Lazard, who ran diagonally in the end zone. Lazard might have had a kick at his man, but Rodgers’ throw was so bad it didn’t matter. The ball’s trajectory was behind the receiver and low, and eventually bounced off linebacker Derrick Barnes’ helmet and into the air to carry Kerby Joseph to safety.
“Probably I should have checked out of that game, passed the ball or adjusted the route,” Rodgers said.
The second run from Green Bay was also productive. A quick three and going off defense put the ball right back in Rodgers’ hands. All was looking promising as Rodgers connected with Lazard in a 47-yard catch and run that almost made it to the end zone when Lazard’s knee didn’t hit the ground a little early.
The Packers had four games to gain a yard. Echoing Week 5 against the New York Giants, they failed to do so, although they reversed the script and passed the ball to their 247-pound running back not once, but twice. Dillon failed to gain a yard on two tries while the second down try featured a miscommunication between Rodgers and Sammy Watkins. Watkins ran diagonally while Rodgers anticipated a fade as the ball traveled into no man’s land in the corner of the end zone.
That was the fourth relegation and another turning point. Green Bay decided to pull out all the stops, with David Bakhtiari coming on as the eligible receiver with left tackle. Once the ball was snatched, Rodgers faked a handoff to Dillon while Bakhtiari licked from his blocking task to a vacancy in the end zone. However, when a Detroit defender immediately broke the line, Rodgers had to discard his back foot. Despite this, the pass only had to be covered 10 meters. It went five and into the hands of Aidan Hutchinson.
“There were only two options for the game, but I probably should have given it a chance. I’m definitely going to have to live with our friendship with this litter for the rest of my life,” Rodgers said.
As if things couldn’t get worse, Rodgers cost his best friend Bakhtiari a rare left tackle touchdown by compounding the error with another teasing pick.
After going scoreless in the first half against a defense that conceded the most points in the NFL, Green Bay saw a glimmer of hope when Jaire Alexander intercepted a pass from Jared Goff. With a short field of 35 yards, the takeaways prepared the offensive to finally secure the first points in the third quarter. Unfortunately, it only took Rodgers two games to return the ball straight. It was Joseph again, this time jumping in front of Robert Tonyan to intercept his second pass of the game.
A three-interception game is uncharacteristic of Rodgers, but emblematic of the Packers’ season. This team has struggled to play complementary football all year and Sunday was another perfect example. When the defense shows a solid performance, the reigning back-to-back MVP gambles them away. But even after a third giveaway, she can’t stand the game against a team as impotent as Detroit.
Somehow, with one final drive and two minutes left, Green Bay still had a shot at the win. Rodgers did just enough to make it interesting with an unlikely 32-yard completion in fourth place against Samori Toure, who fumbled the ball wide at Lions ’17. That was close enough for the Packers to score when the game ended after four straight incompletions by Rodgers.
The last series embodied the “one step forward, two steps back” approach that Green Bay has demonstrated throughout 2022. Every time something good happens, something terrible will soon follow.
It quickly became a cursed season for the Packers, but disappointment after a 15-9 loss to the Lions is still not enough for Rodgers to wish he would retire in the offseason.
“When I decided to come back, everything was in there. I don’t make decisions and then later regret 20-20 big decisions like this. So it was all in there, and that sure is a lot of life lessons this year, but luckily it’s not over yet. There are still many games left. We’ll probably be counted out by many and we’ll see how we react to that.”
Sure, there are eight games left, but probably not enough to salvage the Packers’ season. There’s almost no room for error, and it can take a Rodgers run-the-table-like stretch to remain in the conversation for the postseason. But anyone who has observed this team knows that a trend reversal is not imminent. In fact, it’s just a pipe dream, especially as the 6-2 Dallas Cowboys prepare to head to Green Bay in Mike McCarthy’s first game since he was fired in 2018. In many ways, starting with Rodger’s poor play feels like he never left.
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