The Packers made a flurry of transactions this week.  They released Dallin Leavitt and poached Patrick Taylor off the Patriots' practice squad.  They released LB Christian Young from the practice squad and signed RB James Robinson to the PS.  The Packers placed Emmanuel Wilson and Luke Musgrave on injured reserve and then signed Robinson and WR Bo Melton to the 53-man roster.  The Packers elevated S Benny Sapp (2nd elevation) and FB Henry Pearson from the practice squad.  

The injured inactive players were Aaron Jones (Knee), WR Wicks (concussion/knee), ILB Campbell (Neck), CB Alexander (Shoulder), Deguara (hip), and Rudy Ford (biceps).  Caleb Jones was a heathy scratch.  QB Sean Clifford and RB James Robinson were active but did not play.

The Packers were not able to run the ball particularly effectively.  However, in the first half, the running backs gained 40 yards on 10 carries, with Reed and Love adding 18 more yards on 3 carries.  They ended up with 58 yards on 13 carries, a 4.5-yard average, with chunk plays of 17 from Dillon and 15 from Reed.  The running backs finished the game with 54 yards on 17 carries (3.17-yards per carry).  The Packers gained 14 yards on 7 carries in the second half.  For the game, the Packers gained 109 yards on 22 carries (a 4.95-yard average) buoyed by Love's 37-yard scramble to help seal the game.  The line is almost embarrassing in short- yardage situations.

The pass protection was good, overall.  The line allowed just 4 quarterback hits and no sacks.  Love only ran 3 times and often had ample time to throw the ball.  I thought Zach Tom had a few rough snaps but the ball came out fast or otherwise his loss of the rep was not a factor in the play. 

Dillon gained 43 yards on 14 carries (3.1-yard average) with a long of 17.  He addded 3 receptions on 3 targets for 38 yards, including a 22-yarder during which he showed some athleticism by hurdling a defenser.  Taylor gained 11 yards on 3 carries for a 3.7-yard average.  Taylor also caught a 4-yard pass.  Both backs did a good job in pass protection.  It might be surprising that Dillon did not play the vast majority of the snaps, but I think it just shows that team is quite confident that Taylor can play in the NFL.

Kraft caught both of his targets for 15 yards and a touchdown.  Sims had no receptions on 1 target.  Pearson had no statistics.  The heavy work load for Kraft was not unexpected.  The Packers played 1.25 TEs on average per play.  There were a number of 2 tight end sets.

Love had a fine day.  He completed 22 or 32 passes for 268 yards (8.375-yards/attempt) with 3 TDs and 0 interceptions, good for a 125.5 passer rating.  I did not see any turnover-worthy throws, though there were 2 passes that looked a little odd.  Love was accurate and made several throws into tight windows, including an across-the-grain throw to Malik Heath.  It might be a trifle too early, but the thought of an extension prior to the start of the 2024 season is no longer out of the question.  Love added 39 yards on 3 carries.

Christian Watson caught 5 of 7 targets for 94 yards (18.8 yards/rec) and a TD with a long of 53.  Love under-threw him a little on the 53-yard bomb and overthrew an open Watson on another bomb.  Watson also hauled in a little out pattern for a first down to move the chains.  Watson reminded fans why the coaching staff is giving him every opportunity to be the #1 WR.  Malik Heath caught all four of his targets for 46 yards, including a couple good for first downs, and he blocked ferociously.  Heath belongs on an NFL 53-man roster.  Doubs caught 3 of 4 targets for 37 yards.  He dropped a big 3rd down target that would have been good for a first down and would have helped seal the game.  [Not all drops are created equal.]  Reed caught 4 of 8 targets for for 34 yards and a touchdown while adding 16 yards on 3 carries.  Toure and Melton had no statistics.

Pro Football Focus provided a the routes run information in this article.  Watson ran 30 routes, Doubs 29 and Reed 26.  Watson's 3.13 yards per route ran is elite.  Doubs (1.28 yards/route) and Reed (1.31 yards/route run) are nothing to write home about.  Heath ran just 5 routes but saw 4 targets for 46 yards (11.5 yards/route).  Toure ran 2 and Melton 1 but neither saw a target.  Kraft ran a whopping 29 routes but saw just 2 targets and gained 15 yards.  Sims ran 4 routes and had 1 target.  Dillon ran 9 routes (3 targets) and Patrick Taylor 16 routes.  (1 target).  

The first thing to note is that Detroit ran 84 offensive plays to 56 for the Packers, and that they gained 468 yards of total offense.  The Lions converted 7 of 15 third-down opportunities but just 1 of 5 fourth-down attempts.  The defense played the big downs well while also forcing 3 huge fumbles.

Clark played a whopping 64 snaps.  He had just 2 assisted tackles, but he was a force on the field with 2 QB hits and multiple pressures, some of which set up big plays for other defenders.  Slaton had 2 tackles (1 solo).  Wyatt had 1 solo tackle and a QB hit.  Karl Brooks had 2 tackles (1 solo), a QB hit, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.  Wooden had no statistics.  The Packers played 2.45 true defensive linemen per play on average but did not slow down the Lions much, whose RBs finished with 125 yards on 26 carries (4.81 yards per carry).  There was enough pressure up the middle on passing downs to really help the Edge players.

All of the Edge rushers had good days.  Gary had 7 tackles (5 solo) including 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.  That's a good day at the office.  Preston Smith had a sneakily good game as he finished with 4 assisted tackles, 1 QB hit, consistent pressure and a pass defensed.  Van Ness had 3 solo tackles including a tackle for loss, and 1 QB hit.  Enagbare had 2 solo tackles and added 2 QB hits. 

As a team, the Packers had a whopping 12 QB hits and 3 sacks while forcing 3 fumbles while holding Detroit to 22 points.  That said, Goff completed 29 or 44 passes for 322 yards, 2 TDs and 0 interceptions, good for a 103.6 passer rating and the Lions gained 140 yards on 31 carries for a 4.5-yard average.  The Lions converted 3 of their 4 red zone trips into touchdowns.  The Packers played the other big plays well (Detroit was 1 of 5 on fourth down) and forced three fumbles while adding a defensive touchdown, but plenty of reps were lost as well.  McDuffie had 11 tackles (5 solo) and Walker had 6 tackles (5 solo).  

Jonathan Owens had 12 tackles (8 solo) and a fumble recovery which he took in for a defensive touchdown.  He came up in run support to hold the edge well on several occasions.  Although he allowed completions in coverage, he had a nice day.  Anthony Johnson, Jr. had 8 tackles (7 solo) and a pass defensed.  Ballentine had 7 tackles (6 solo) and definitely allowed some completions.  Valentine had 4 solo tackles.  Nixon had 4 tackles (3 solo).  

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Whelan had 4 nice punts, all inside the 20.  He forced 3 fair catches and his other punt was downed.  Carlson made a 43-yard field goal but missed another.  He made 2 of 3 extra point attempts.  

RB: 1.00

TE: 1.25

WR: 2.75

DL: 2.45

ILB: 1.85

OLB: 2.00

DB: 4.70

All statistics courtesy of NFLgsis.'

Photo courtesy of David Reginek of USA Today Sports