The Lions had a big opportunity on a big stage on Thanksgiving. Not only could they hand the Green Bay Packers their first loss of the season, they could also secure their first non-losing season in over a decade and get one step closer to the playoffs. It would not be easy, however. The Packers are a great team, and the Lions were still without Jahvid Best. Would they be able to step up and pull off the holiday upset?
For a while, neither team could get anything done on offense. Drives would stall, particularly when Matthew Stafford would throw a poor pass, and it was scoreless for most of the first half. Then, Stafford was picked off, giving the Packers a short field. They capitalized with a touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Greg Jennings. The Lions missed a field goal, and the first half ended 7-0. They were also left without Kevin Smith, who injured his ankle in the first half. He would not be the last player lost in this game, due to injury or otherwise.
In the third quarter, the Packers found themselves deep in the red zone. They were almost held to a field goal attempt, except that Ndamukong Suh got himself an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and also got himself kicked out of the game. The penalty was for kicking a Packers player, which he did, but before that he also slammed the player's head into the ground multiple times.
Suh has earned the reputation as a dirty player around the league, and he has the fines to go along with that. I feel some of that reputation is unfair, but there was no excuse for this play. It was stupid, it had nothing to do with the run of play, and it ended up costing the Lions. More than that, there is a good chance Suh will find himself suspended. Green Bay capitalized with a John Kuhn run to go up 14-0.
A 65-yard touchdown from James Jones later in the third pretty much salted the game away. The Packers added a field goal before the third quarter ended to go up 24-0. Detroit did finally score, as Keiland Williams found the end zone and the Lions converted a two-point conversion. However, another Packers field goal with a little more than two minutes left ensured that there would be no comeback. Stafford did hit Calvin Johnson with a touchdown in the waning seconds, but it only served to make the final score look a bit better. In the end, the Packers remained undefeated with a 27-15 victory.
Mistakes cost Detroit this game. They outgained the Packers 409 to 349, but that is in part due to the short fields the Packers got due to turnovers. Stafford threw three interceptions as his sudden turnover prowness reared its head again. Additionally, the Lions picked up 11 penalties for a whopping 82 yards. Combined with injuries and the Suh ejection, it isn't surprising the Lions lost this game.
Detroit is now 7-4, but they could be without Best and Smith going forward, and Suh could see himself missing a couple of games. Stafford really needs to curtail the interceptions as well. Next week, the Lions visit the Saints, which is another likely loss on a national stage. Maybe with more discipline Detroit could have won on Thanksgiving for the first time in years. Instead, Green Bay came to town and earned their 11th win in 11 games.
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