Lions’ Defense Too Much For Packers

The Detroit Lions bounced back from their Week 2 loss with a 19-7 win at home over the rival Green Bay Packers.

Ford Field was rocking when Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers’ electrifying offense was held to an uncharacteristic 223 total yards. The Lions’ defense continued their streak of holding opponents to less than 80 rushing yards per game. Second-year running back sensation Eddie Lacy  topped out at 11 carries for 36 yards, and his counterpart James Starks finished with eight rushing attempts for 38 yards.

Defense was the story of the day, starting from the first few snaps of the game. Nick Fairley stripped Lacy, and Lions safety Don Carey scooped and scored for the first Lions’ points of the game. The Lions’ defense continued to control the game with a safety and limiting the Packers to only four third down conversions on 10 attempts.

The Lions’ offense was slow to start, but finished strong in the second half. Detroit controlled the clock for 19 minutes, despite Matthew Stafford’s three turnovers. Constant quarterback pressure forced Stafford into two unfortunate interceptions and a strip sack from Julius Peppers. Joique Bell and Reggie Bush combined for 115 yards and a touchdown, but need to get better moving forward if they want to take some pressure of the passing game.

Next week, the Lions travel to MetLife stadium to face the New York Jets, who have a questionable secondary to cover all of the Lions offensive weapons. The Lions are 2-0 at home with their one loss on the road. A win over the Jets could prove that Detroit can beat middle-of-the-pack teams and would take them to 3-1 on the season and first place in the NFC North.


Chris Boggus is a multimedia Journalist for Impact Sports