Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions
Final Score: Packers 17, Lions 20
Writer: Pranav Babarjung
Three Up
- Josh Jacobs – Jacobs transformed the offense in his first game of the season, being more productive as a receiver than on the ground.
- Jameson Williams – Williams matched his season high in targets and added to trips to the end zone to boot.
- Amon-Ra St. Brown – A classic high volume high yardage performance from the Sun God.
Two Down
- Sam LaPorta – LaPorta only caught one ball. Jared Goff didn’t realize it was National Tight Ends Day.
- Pierre Strong Jr. – Despite being the most productive back last week, Strong saw 0 touches this time.
Green Bay Packers
Quarterback
Jordan Love: 27/45, 274 Yards, 2 TDs, INT
Love posted a middling fantasy performance, which is surprising considering he was going up against the paltry Detroit pass defense and dropped back 45 times. He was pressured consistently, at least partially due to the Packers going down to their third-string center early in the game. Love was let down by some drops from his intended receivers, but this time around he threw some bad passes as well. The interception came after an intentional grounding call that made Tom Brady lose his mind in the commentator booth; he was outside the pocket, and Tucker Kraft was in the area. After this, he, seemingly on tilt, aired out two deep passes into double coverage, the second of which was picked off. After this, he went back to his usual self, leading two drives down the field but ultimately still losing the game off Trey Smack‘s multiple missed kicks.
Running Back
Josh Jacobs: 11 Carries, 36 Yards | 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 55 Yards, TD
Jacobs made his presence known in his first game back, though it was more through the air than on the ground. He was inefficient on the ground, likely also feeling the effects of the center substitution. He hit paydirt on a 25-yard touchdown reception that saw him break two tackles down the sideline. He almost caught a second TD pass, but the ball bounced off his fingers in the end zone.
MarShawn Lloyd: 6 Carries, 20 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 15 Yards
Lloyd still saw some touches as Jacobs gets ramped up, even logging one red zone carry. His workload will likely decrease in the future, but it was interesting to see that no other back saw any touches in this game.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Christian Watson: 8 Targets, 5 Receptions, 57 Yards
Watson was the leading receiver with just 57 yards. In the team’s numerous red zone trips, he still didn’t see any targets. He was the intended receiver on Love’s interception, but was double covered on a slightly underthrown ball; he had no chance.
Tucker Kraft: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 48 Yards, TD
Tucker Kraft got Green Bay on the board with his 14-yard touchdown reception at the end of the first quarter. He followed Love as he escaped pressure and made the wide-open catch as his third of the drive. He saw nothing through in the fourth quarter, but had a solid TE showing regardless.
Savion Williams: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 47 Yards | 2 Carries, 4 Yards
Matt LaFleur really wants to use Williams’ 4.48 speed. He logged two carries, but would have had a third if the play wasn’t blown up by an Aidan Hutchinson sack. He remains third in this wide receiver room, but outproduced Matthew Golden this time.
Matthew Golden: 12 Targets, 6 Receptions, 39 Yards
Another huge target game for Golden, but with little to show for it. Unlike last game’s drops, multiple of this week’s missed connections were due to under- or poorly-thrown balls by Love, or 50/50 contested catches. On the first drive, his end zone target was just way too low. The bright side is the decent floor set by the target volume.
Jonnu Smith: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards
Bo Melton: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
Melton dropped what would have been a 42-yard reception that hit him in the hands.
Mark Redman: 1 Target, 0 Receptions
Detroit Lions
Quarterback
Jared Goff: 22/32, 303 Yards, 2 TDs | 2 Carries, -1 Yards, 2 Fumbles (1 LOST)
Jared Goff continues his streak of games without an interception, though it was a little lucky this time. He threw two passes straight to defenders who couldn’t hold on to the ball, and had an interception wiped out by a defensive pass interference. Still, he logged his third game of the season with over 300 passing yards and threw for two (almost three) touchdowns in the process. When Goff has time, he delivers passes with almost surgical precision. It’s when he’s under pressure that he gets a little shaky. The passing attack in this game was focused almost entirely on Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Jahmyr Gibbs.
Running Back
Jahmyr Gibbs: 29 Carries, 116 Yards, Fumble (LOST) | 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 27 Yards
34 touches. The fact that this is a down game in terms of fantasy production for Gibbs is insane. He had the chance to score twice at the end of the game, but went down both times to guarantee the win. It’s clear that Dan Campbell is not afraid to give everything in this backfield to Gibbs in close games.
Sione Vaki: 1 Carry, 5 Yards
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Amon-Ra St. Brown: 11 Targets, 9 Receptions, 153 Yards | 1 Carry, -1 Yard
St. Brown posts another 20-plus point game in PPR formats coming out of the bye. He caught seven passes for 135 yards off nine targets in the first half and followed it up with a relatively quiet second half. He did still contribute to the third-quarter scoring drive. He somehow managed to get an unnecessary roughness call on Isaiah McDuffie on the Lions’ third-quarter touchdown drive while kicking a referee in the gut. The officiating in this game reared its head yet again.
Jameson Williams: 9 Targets, 5 Receptions, 91 Yards, 2 TDs
Boom or Bust Man hits Boom this week with two tuddies. He almost added a third after being targeted on both third and fourth down from the Green Bay six-yard line. He was even able to come down with the ball, but landed out of the back of the end zone thanks to Brandon Cisse. He was electric with the ball in his hands and showed why he deserves consistent targets.
Sam LaPorta: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 18 Yards
LaPorta’s abysmal target share in this game could be attributed to his off-the-field comments about his upcoming contract negotiations? I don’t know. He did get an end zone target, but that was his first look of the game, and it came at the end of the third quarter. Better days should be ahead for one of the Lions’ most reliable weapons.
Isaac TeSlaa: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 10 Yards
Tyler Conklin: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards