Could that game have been the last time we see Aaron Rodgers on an NFL field? The Detroit Lions avenged years of failure at the hands of the Green Bay Packers by going into Lambeau Field and knocking them out of the playoff race, potentially ending the great career of Aaron Rodgers.
Wouldn’t that be an ironic way for Aaron Rodgers to bow out of the NFL. Losing a win-and-your-in, redemption final regular season game at home to divisional archrival the Detroit Lions due to a bad interception after years of domaining and humiliating that very same organization.
The only way this result would have been more poetic (if it does end up being the end of Aaron Rodgers career) if it was the Bears, a team that Rodgers has openly proclaimed to be the owner of, that defeated the Packers at Lambeau Field.
Nonetheless, whether it was the Lions, Bears, or any other team in the NFL, the result is the same. The Green Bay Packers have been officially eliminated from the playoffs after a resilient 4-game winning streak that brought them back from the jaws of irrelevance. And, unfortunately for Packers fans, they bowed out of the playoffs rather meekly.
Aaron Rodgers completed just 17/27 passes for 205 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT, while the running game was uncharacteristically quiet as Aaron Jones only had 12 CAR for 48 yards, A.J. Dillion had 9 CAR for 33 yards, and the running game barely broke the 100-yard threshold with 103 total rushing yards.
Out of all the Packers offensive players, only Christian Watson did himself any justice as he was the lone threat that was constantly getting in behind the Lions defense with 5 REC for 104 yards. Now, I know the Packers have relied heavily on their running game this season, but I can’t help but wonder if it would have been better to just unleash Rodgers on the Lions defense.
Yes, he hasn’t had a great season, but he’s still the back-to-back MVP and one of the league’s all-time great quarterbacks, even though many are trying to take that away from him now. We’ve seen in the past that Rodgers is more than capable of taking the Packers on his back and carrying them to victory in important games.
Nonetheless, I really have to give some love and credit to the Lions. They were nothing short of sensational.
In an extremely hostile environment with “nothing to play for”, the Lions showed the character and courage head coach Dan Campbell has imposed upon them. The Lions defense really did bite the Packers offense’s kneecaps as they racked up 69 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 TFL, 2 PD, 7 QB hits, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 INT, and a stop on the final Packers drive that sealed the game for the Lions 20-16.
Players like Alex Anzalone (8 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PD), Kerby Joseph (5 tackles, 2 PD), Aidan Hutchinson (4 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 2 QB hits), Mike Hughes (7 tackles), John Cominsky (4 tackles, 1 QB hit), etc. proved that they are legit playoff-caliber defenders with the talent and determination to compete against even the best offenses and QBs in the league, which is what they showed as they drastically improved from being the league’s worst defense at the start of the season to now one that only gave up 20 PPG in the final 8 games of the season.
Reversely, the offense was just as impressive as it stumped and tricked a really solid Packers defense.
Jared Goff played one of his best games in a Lions uniform as he completed 23/34 passes for 224 yards, 0 TDs, and more importantly, 0 turnovers. The one thing that has plagued Goff ever since he was drafted 1st overall by the Rams all those years ago was that in the biggest and brightest of moments, he would cough up the football to lose his team the game.
And that was mostly true as it was the reason he was shipped off to Detroit in exchange for Matthew Stafford and a bunch of draft picks.
However, against all the betting odds, the general fan consensus, the roaring Lambeau Field, and the overwhelming momentum the Packers were riding into the game, Goff was calm and composed under pressure as he didn’t force any throws and recovered his only fumble.
He was simply an effective game manager as he spread the ball out to Kalif Raymond (4 REC, 66 yards), D’Andre Swift (7 REC, 61 yards), and Amon St. Brown (6 REC, 49 yards) to move the chains and relied upon Jamaal Williams’ (16 CAR, 72 yards, 2 TDs) bone breaking rushes to relieve some of the pressure and tension from the atmosphere. It was a fantastic performance.
Plus, I would also like to point out how funny Jamaal Williams is. Even though I only understood about 15% of his SNF introduction, it was obvious to see that the guy exudes confidence and is a good character for that Lions locker room. I’m glad he had a good game in order to honor his late great-grandfather who passes away a few days prior to the game.
As for the Packers defense, their boneheaded mistakes and costly penalties proved they are too young for the biggest stage.
What was Quay Walker (7 tackles) thinking pushing one of the Lions medical staff? Especially after the heroics of the Bills medical staff early in the week, there has never been a time were pushing one of the vital medical personnel was okay. It’s good that he was crying leaving the stadium as he deserved to be ejected for such a dumb play.
Anywho, the big story coming out of the game other than the Packers elimination was the fact that Rodgers hinted at retiring. From refusing to give away his jersey as he wanted to “keep onto this one” to walking off Lambeau Field shoulder-to-shoulder with longtime receiver and friend Randall Cobb (2 REC, 11 yards), it looked very much so that it was a solemn send off to the Packers faithful.
I hope it’s not as Aaron Rodgers has always been one of my favorite quarterbacks but if it is, then he has nothing to regret. He’s a 4X league MVP, a Super Bowl MVP, 4X First Team All-Pro, 10X Pro-Bowler, 2010’s All-Decades Team, and a Super Bowl champion. He has nothing left to prove.
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