Where's Our Lunch Money?

Door at Lambeau Field. 8/9/2002 dwm

 Everything was in position for the Packers to advance to the NFL postseason, except no one told the Detroit Lions. 

 The Lions had nothing to play for as the win by Seattle earlier in the day eliminated them from the playoffs.  Still, they reached their second goal, which was to keep the Packers out.

 We turned the ball over twice and more disturbing, they out-toughed us in the trenches on offense and defense.  

 

 The Packers had two notable mental errors that gave Detroit life.  

 

As the Lions lined up to kick a field goal at the end of the first half, Rasul Douglas took a penalty when he hit the football before it was snapped.  In the second half, after a strong defensive play, Quay Walker pushed a Detroit Lion trainer who tried to get past him to treat a Lion player.  Walker got a penalty and was thrown out of the game.

 

It was four-point defeat, 20 - 16 Detroit but it felt like a much bigger loss than that.  

 

The Packers had won four straight to get to 8 - 8 and a playoff appearance in their grasp.  It was either too much to ask or maybe the team's lucky streak fell apart.   

It's also fair to ask fellow Packer fans who hold season tickets in Lambeau Field about their fandom.  There was a lot of Honolulu Blue in the stands this week, as there was Viking Purple the Sunday before - if you can't go to the game yourself, you should be selling your tickets to Packer fans not the opposition.

That has nothing to do with the loss - the Lions played a heck of a game and were the tougher team Sunday night.  

 

My fearless forecast for the Packers, published here September 11, 2022 was optimistic, very optimistic.  I had Green Bay finishing the season 14 - 3.  Instead their actual record was 8 wins and 9 losses and it took winning four of the last five to get there.

What happens next for the Pack?  It probably starts when the quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, decides if he wants to play in 2024 or if he's riding into the sunset.  There is talent on Green Bay's roster but there are holes that need to be filled and changes that need to be made to get the Packers back to where they should be... contending for the play-offs and championships.  Go Pack, Go!