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But hey, at least the Giants didn't trail, 24-0 at halftime like the Packers did, before attempting the futile comeback against the Lions. There has been lots of attention this week, naturally, on the five missed kicks by Mason Crosby, which obviously would have been the difference in the game. If he was a rookie kicker, or a first year free agent signing, he would have been fired on Monday. But he wasn't, so they didn't, and the Packers even engineered an in-game confidence booster at the end of the game to let him make one final, meaningless field goal. (Heaven forbid if he had missed that one!) So the Packers are sticking with Crosby, and I think they should given his history. But the leash on Crosby should be considered to be very short at this point. He can't keep costing the Packers games and keep his job.
The Lions played well, and better than I expected, to get this win. But it is also true that the Packers were snake-bit. First there was the botched punt return, allegedly skipping off the back of Kevin King, that led to an easy touchdown. (I thought the replays were inconclusive, thus the original call would have been upheld either way.) Then there was the strip sack of Rodgers, leading to a field goal. At least the Lions went out and created that turnover, while the first one was a gift. But ten seconds into the second quarter, the score was 17-0. Without those two turnovers and the first of Crosby's many misses, maybe it is 7-3 Lions, which would create an entirely different situation for the rest of the game.
Meanwhile, the Packers gained more yards on the ground than the Lions, despite McCarthy stubbornly sticking with his rotating running backs. (Pro tip to McCarthy: start and emphasize Aaron Jones!) And they more than doubled the Lions' passing yards, despite missing both Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison. All three rookie WRs played in this game, including the divinely named Equanimeous St. Brown (although there was no Saint Brown, as the guys from Packers Therapy are fond of reminding us). So it is easy to see how the Packers could have won this game. But the Lions, to their credit, didn't make the kind of mistakes the Packers did. Good for them. I am moving on past this game, and I hope the Packers can, too.
On Monday night, the Packers will host the 49ers at Lambeau Field. The 49ers have already lost their starting QB, Jimmy Garoppolo, for the season. Their promising young RB, Matt Breida, is listed as doubtful for the game. I saw some stat that the 49ers are 9-1 on Monday Night Football under their last 4 quarterbacks (not including Beathard). I don't care. This is a game that they should win, and I would say must win, if they hope to turn around their sluggish start to the season. Fans in Wisconsin apparently are paying more money for Brewers playoff tickets than for the Monday Night Packers game. I am not much of a baseball fan, but I can get that. The Brewers are in the playoffs, whereas a possibly mediocre Packers team will be playing a game against another mediocre team that, at the end of the day, doesn't mean nearly as much. We will be watching the game Monday night with our cousins, and John is both a Packers fan and a Dodgers fan, so I will get some exposure to both games.
I am sick of the Packers starting every game slowly, and starting the season like swimming in quicksand. The start of the season is already behind us, but how great would it be to see the Packers score a TD on their opening drive? That hasn't happened this year. Monday night would be a good time to rekindle that tradition. If they start strong and play a full 60 minutes on both sides of the ball, it will be a good way to send the team and the fans into the bye week.
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