Playing defense was voluntary in the Week 18 matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. There were 67 points combined between the two teams, but it was the Lions who took down the top-seeded Packers to close out the regular season.
Green Bay had no reason to get up for this game with the first-round bye already in hand. However, even with the starters playing most of the first half, they were still trailing going into halftime. The defense looked dejected as tacklers and made little to no attempt to cover Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. The Packers’ defense has been trending in the wrong direction for about a month and made no attempt to make any corrections on Sunday.
Unfortunately, Jordan Love couldn’t lead a second-half comeback, but it was beneficial for him to get some additional in-game reps before a long layoff. Outside of the starters getting some work, as well as Love, one positive takeaway is that no one was seriously injured. Wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling and corner Chandon Sullivan both exited the game early but hopefully were kept out for precautionary reasons.
It didn’t take long for the Packers All-Pro left tackle to make his presence felt. Aaron Rodgers was back to extending plays with his feet on the team’s first touchdown drive, and it helped to have a healthier version of the starting offensive line in front of him. Bakhtiari played his first snaps in 378 days and looked comfortable as ever on his repaired ACL. His day ended early, but it was more than enough to get him ready for the playoffs.
QB Aaron Rodgers
Even in limited snaps in a meaningless game, it was fitting that Rodgers capped off his season with an impressive performance. He completed almost 78% of passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. It may have been all Rodgers needed to win his fourth MVP award as he finished the year with 4,115 passing yards, 37 touchdown passes, four interceptions, and a 111.9 passer rating.
Adams needed only 22 receiving yards to break the single-season yardage record set by Jordy Nelson, but he came away with 55 for good measure. Adams now owns the franchise record for receptions, yards, and touchdowns in a season. His season is over with 123 catches, 1,553 yards, and 11 touchdowns, which should set him up for his second consecutive first-team All-Pro. Adams likely would have had his ninth 100-yard game of the season if he played the second half.
WR Allen Lazard
Lazard finished off the best season of his career with a two-touchdown performance. His two scores from the first half brought his touchdown total up to eight on the year, tacking onto a career-high that previously stood at three. Lazard caught five passes in total for 75 yards, which marked the first time in his career that he recorded at least 70 receiving yards in back-to-back weeks. He has worn the crown of Green Bay’s second-best receiver to finish the regular season. Lazard is definitely trending in the right direction heading into the postseason.
The Run Game
No Aaron Jones paved the way for AJ Dillon and Patrick Taylor to split carries on Sunday. Fans shouldn’t panic as the Packers were being cautious in hopes that Jones’ knee will feel better for the playoffs. Sans Jones, the ground attack managed just fine against a mediocre run defense. Dillon led the way with 63 yards on 14 carries for 4.5 yards a pop. He outran Jones by four yards in 2021, breaking Jones’ three-year streak as the team’s leading rusher. Taylor also ran well to end his day with 53 yards and his first career touchdown. After spending most of the year on Green Bay’s practice squad, Taylor will likely be back and fighting for a roster spot in 2022.
TE Josiah Deguara
Deguara has done a solid job replacing an injured Robert Tonyan, and he finished the year strong with a career-high 66 receiving yards. Of course, a huge chunk of those came on a tight end screen during the fourth quarter. With some help from his blockers, Deguara caught a short pass from Love and ran 62 yards nearly untouched for the longest touchdown of his career. This game will serve as a nice confidence boost for the young tight end heading into his first playoffs.
DE Dean Lowry
Lowry will be the only defensive player on today’s list. He’s one of the few guys that looked like they wanted to be out on the field, and the result was a standout performance. 2021 has been Lowry’s best season as a pass rusher and probably his best season as a pro in general. He has really shown his power throughout the year on his way to a career-high 5.0 sacks. After Evan Brown left the game with an ankle injury, Lowry started to have his way with backup center Ryan McCollum and continued to do so for most of the day. Lowry needed only one hand to walk McCollum into the lap of Jared Goff and secure the third-down sack. He also contributed in the run with a nice tackle for loss while tying his season-high of four tackles.
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