The Green Bay Packers were so proud to launch their 100th season of football five months ago but it was a pride of Detroit Lions that brought the celebratory campaign to an unimaginable close.
A 31-0 loss to the division rivals at Lambeau Field Sunday may actually have been the fitting end to a season that was so full of injury, sub-standard play, bickering, firings, and extreme disappointment.
The Packers finished 6-9-1 with a rudderless ship listing badly.
There was nothing the supposed captains of this ship could do about it.
Mike McCarthy at least was spared this finale but Aaron Rodgers could not. Knocked out of the season opener with a knee sprain against the Bears, only to rescue the team with an incredible rally, he got knocked out literally in the closer, leaving after the first quarter with a concussion. The damaging hit may have come on the second offensive snap when he was sacked so hard by Jarrad Davis at the 9-yard line that his helmet rolled to the end zone. Rodgers would still come back for two more three and out series before he was led to the locker room.
DeShone Kizer would finish the day but he never even led the Packer offense into the Detroit red zone.
The Lions meanwhile, made plays look easy and at times, made the Packers look downright silly.
Leading 7-0 in the second quarter, Matt Prater lined up for a 26-yard field goal. Unbeknownst to the Green Bay special teams unit, tight end, Levine Toilolo split out wide to the left. By the time Prater took the direct snap and floated a wobbly ball downfield, it was too late. Toilolo stepped into the end zone for an embarrassing 8-yard touchdown catch.
As the game wore on, the number of dropped passes and missed tackles mounted. Green Bay's best scoring chance came when Kizer completed a nice 27-yard toss to Randall Cobb but on fourth and five from the 21, free agent Robert Tonyan dropped a pass that would have kept the drive alive.
Zach Zenner, Detroit's third-string running back, weaved his way through the flailing defense virtually untouched for a 13-yard touchdown in the second quarter and Matthew Stafford hit T.J. Jones for a five-yard scoring strike in the first and a 23 yarder in the 4th, both against rookie Josh Jackson.
Aside from Rodgers, left tackle David Bakhtiari (hip) and defensive tackle Tyler Lancaster (elbow) had game-ending injuries.
Davante Adams didn't even dress. A knee injury suffered against the Jets last week kept him inactive and denied him the opportunity to break a couple of single-season franchise records. He certainly would have had the first, needing only two catches to pass Sterling Sharpe's team record of 112 and he was 134 yards away from Jordy Nelson's receiving yardage record. It was a shame he didn't get the chance.
The bigger shame was in the team's performance for interim Head Coach Joe Philbin. So many players, Rodgers included, expressed how much they wanted to win for Joe, to give him the best opportunity to get serious consideration for the full-time job. That won't happen now.
The Packers were outgained 402-175. They managed only nine first downs, had the ball for just over 23 minutes and punted seven times. Hardly a resume builder for Philbin who went 2-2 after McCarthy was sacked with a 4-7-1 record.
Even if perceived key contributors who finished the season on injured reserve like Mike Daniels, Nick Perry, Kenny Clark, Muhammad Wilkerson, Aaron Jones, Geronimo Allison, Kevin King, Trevor Davis, and Jake Ryan all come back, there are plenty of holes on this roster that got exposed by a Detroit team that finished 6-10 in Matt Patricia's first season.
The first season of the 15th Head Coach in Green Bay Packers history in 2019, the start of the franchise's second century will be an interesting challenge to witness.
FAN CAM
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