Packers vs. Lions: Instant Grades, Analysis for Detroit

The Green Bay Packers came to Detroit to face the Lions at Ford Field in Week 11. The Lions played a very sloppy game on offense and gave away the game to the Packers late in the fourth quarter with bad, conservative play-calling and poor play. This is a game the Lions should have won, and they let it slip away. The Lions played themselves out of playoff contention with this loss.

The Packers scored the last 10 points of the game as they beat the Lions 24-20 in Week 11.

Let’s look at the Lions’ final postgame grades and evaluations.

Quarterbacks

Matthew Stafford: C-

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford had an up and down game in Week 11 against the Green Bay Packers. Stafford was very inaccurate against the Packers, missing open receivers throughout the afternoon. The Lions left a lot of points on the board as Stafford missed his receivers badly in Week 11.

Stafford threw two pretty awful interceptions in the game and he fumbled as well. It was a very bad performance for Stafford in a must win game against a NFC North division foe. He finished 17-of-39 for 266 yards. He threw one touchdown pass in the game to go along with two interceptions.

Running Backs

Mikel Leshoure: B+

The Lions really tried to establish the running game against the Packers, but it seemed to derail the offense’s tempo and rhythm late in the fourth quarter when the Lions could have driven a dagger into the Packers.

Leshoure was very effective when he touched the ball, running it for 84 yards on 19 carries. He also caught one pass for no yards. He scored a rushing touchdown on very tough one-yard run.

Wide Receivers

Calvin Johnson: B-

Johnson played another game through a nagging knee injury and he played a very good game, but it looks like everything is a struggle at this point. He found open areas of the defense throughout the game, but he did drop two passes thrown at him.

Johnson finished with 143 yards on five catches, and he scored a fourth quarter touchdown in Week 11.

Titus Young: D

Young had another quiet day in Week 11. Stafford looked his way more in Week 11 than he did in Week 10, but he struggled to get anything going. Young finished with two catches for 24 yards.

Ryan Broyles: D+

Broyles has not really emerged as the weapon that we think he can be, but he is still recovering from the ACL injury. He makes plays when the opportunity is there, but those moments are few and far between. Broyles had two catches for 35 yards in Week 11.

Tight Ends

Brandon Pettigrew: C-

Pettigrew had another very quiet day against the Packers in Week 11 as he finished with four catches for 22 yards. He had a bad drop in the first quarter and was relatively ineffective as an offensive weapon.

Tony Scheffler: D

Scheffler did not have a great statistical game against Packers. He registered two catches for 22 yards. The Lions really did not look his way in the game. It looks like he and Stafford have not been practicing together as they are not in rhythm together.

Offensive Line

Jeff Backus: C-

He had his hands full with the Packers defensive ends, as he looked a little slow to get to the edge. Backus injured his hamstring in the second quarter and did not return to the game. Backus has been great in 2012, but it was a rough quarter-and-a-half today.

Rob Sims: C

Sims was average in this game as the Lions offensive line allowed five sacks to the Packers. The Lions are fortunate to have a solidifying force like Sims next to Backus, and now Riley Reiff. Today wasn’t Sims’ best day though.

Dominic Raiola: C

Raiola is physically outmatched in every game as he struggles to move anybody off the ball. The Packers run a 3-4 defense, and it gives Raiola help on every snap so he doesn’t look so overwhelmed. He is a gamer however, and he always gives everything that he has. While he doesn’t look pretty doing his job, he does manage to get it done.

Stephen Peterman: C-

Stephen Peterman was respectable in this game. He helped to create a little push in the running game and the Lions did try to run the ball behind him. He was average in pass protection going up against a pretty fast, physical defensive front seven.

Gosder Cherilus: D

Cherilus was overmatched in this game and the right side of the offensive line was getting pushed in constantly in this game. Cherilus did not have a very good game, but he did have a tough task today against the Packers defensive line.

Riley Reiff: C

Reiff came in to replace the injured Jeff Backus and he performed admirably like he has every game he has played this year. He took a few bad holding calls, but it is a stiff test to come in off the bench and immediately have to get out to the edge of the line to stone a pass rusher. Reiff is athletic and it is only a matter of time before he takes a job from one of the Lions starters.

Defensive Line

Cliff Avril: C

Cliff Avril had another very average game by his standards as he finished with two total tackles along with a sack. The Lions did not get much pressure from their defensive ends against the Packers, and Avril was not much of a factor in this game.

The Lions and Avril could not agree to terms in the offseason on a long-term deal that would keep him a Lions player past 2012. It looks like time is running out on Avril’s career with the Lions as he is not performing anywhere close to that of a defensive end making $10 million or more.

Kyle Vanden Bosch: C

Vanden Bosch did not register a sack in the game and he had a pretty quiet day overall. The Lions defensive ends did not get all that much pressure against the Packers, as Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers does a great job of escaping out the side door when he feels pressure. Vanden Bosch totaled three tackles but he had a pretty quiet day.

Nick Fairley: A-

Fairley has really come on the past few weeks, and he made plays in the Packers back field throughout the game. He was the beneficiary of the double teams the Packers were putting on Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Fairley is playing the best football of his young career. He made seven total tackles and two sacks. He also forced an Aaron Rodgers fumble. This was one of Fairley’s better games.

Ndamukong Suh: B+

Suh and the rest of the interior of the defense played an incredible game against the Packers in Week 11. They pushed to pocket, forced Rodgers to move and made then games best quarterback uncomfortable throughout the game. Suh was double-teamed throughout the game, but he still managed to make a bunch of plays against the run. Suh finished with five total tackles.

Willie Young: C+

Young is a depth player along the edge of the defense and an important part of the Lions rotation at defensive end. He played a lot of minutes in this game as part of the rotation. Young registered three total tackles against the Packers.

Linebackers

Justin Durant: B-

Justin Durant and the linebacker group as a whole played a solid game against the Packers. They did get burned on a fake screen pass that led to Packers tight end Jermichael Finley scoring a touchdown. The Lions defense played very well in the game, and the linebackers did a good job of tackling.

Durant registered five total tackles against the Packers in Week 11.

Stephen Tulloch: B+

Stephen Tulloch tackled well throughout the day like he always does. The Packers tried to run the ball into the pressure the Lions were bringing inside, but Tulloch did a great job of getting to the right gap and making tackles. He finished with nine total tackles.

DeAndre Levy: B-

DeAndre Levy was responsible for chasing down Packers ball carriers from the weak side, and that’s a tough job for the Lions linebacker as the scheme leaves him isolated. Levy and the rest of the second level of the defense did a great job in Week 11. Levy registered eight tackles in Week 11.

Secondary

Drayton Florence: B-

Florence got a lot of playing time at cornerback in this game opposite Chris Houston. He played a strong game and did a solid job of locating the ball and defending the pass. He did get called for a defensive holding penalty, but the secondary did an admirable job against a powerful passing attack. Florence finished the game with six tackles.

Chris Houston: B

Houston played another very good game as he kept everything in front of him. Houston had a very solid day playing against very good wide receivers. The Lions combination of pressure from their defensive line and decent coverage was good enough to hold Aaron Rodgers to 236 passing yards. Houston had four total tackles against the Packers.

Jacob Lacey: C

Lacey got the start at cornerback for the Lions against the Packers. He played well, but he got caught out of position on the touchdown pass to Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb. He got turned around, but Cobb made a great adjustment on the ball and Lacey did not get any safety help on the play.

He also got burned on the 40-yard play that Finley made in the fourth quarter, but he was arguing for a holding call after the play. It looked like there could have been a call, but it didn’t come. Lacey did make a great play running down the seam to intercept an Aaron Rodgers pass.

Lacey finished with two tackles and an interception against the Packers.

Ricardo Silva: C

Silva had an average performance against the Packers. He stepped up to defend the run a lot in the Week 11 game against the Packers, but he did not offer the coverage help in the end zone that teammate Jacob Lacey was looking for, and it ended up being the play that won the game for the Packers. He finished the game with five tackles.

Special Teams

Special Teams: A- 

The special teams unit did not hurt the Lions today. They converted field goals, punted and kicked the ball without any damage. The special teams units did a good job of covering the kicks and overall they were very good today. The Lions got good special teams play at home against the Packers.

Coaching

Coaching: D+

This is a tough one, as the Lions needed a win and they played really well throughout the game, especially on defense. The defense played well and had a very good scheme for the Packers in Week 11.

The coaching failure came with the play calling, especially the back-to-back runs when the Lions were in the red zone midway through the fourth quarter. They had first and goal after two big passing plays of 24 and 27 yards. Leshoure then carried the ball twice for one yard and the Lions were third-and-long.

They looked like they settled for a field goal when they could have really applied some pressure and stepped on the throat of the Packers. A touchdown puts the Lions up 10 points with 4:25 left in the game. Instead of playing aggressive, and to win, the Lions got conservative and settled for a field goal.

It's almost like the Lions didn't think the Packers could drive the ball down the field with that much time left. It was a gigantic mistake for the Lions to go as conservative as they did at that point in the game.