The Green Bay Packers were against the Detroit Lions what they have been throughout the season. A lot of yards, a lot of good plays, a solid defensive performance, but too many mistakes from everyone — which certainly includes quarterback Jordan Love.

Against a team as good as the Lions, though, it won’t take them where they want to go. And on Sunday, it took them to a 24-14 loss at Lambeau Field, dropping them to 6-3 in the season — and to 0-2 in the NFC North, after losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Lions. The Chicago Bears are next.

Jordan Love's interceptions are a problem

Jordan Love is naturally a gunslinger, and his willingness to make risky throws have allowed the Packers offense to do great things over the last two seasons. But he has made too many mistakes, and that's just the reality of where he is at this point. The ability to create while also taking care of the football to a certain degree is something that Jordan Love will have to develop, and it hasn’t happened in 2024.

Last season, Love threw 11 total interceptions in 17 games. This year, he had 10, including two pick-sixes, in seven games. Going back to the San Francisco 49ers game in the playoffs, Jordan Love has thrown at least a pick in each of his last eight games.

Two weeks ago after the win over the Houston Texans, head coach Matt LaFleur said that the quarterbacks' number one job was to take care of the football, but they didn't want to affect Love's playing style. That's fine, but at some point it's been an issue for the offense.

When a play can take them to a huge gain, it's fine to be risky. But in the pick-six to Kerby Joseph, Jordan Love was trying to dump it off to Josh Jacobs. The best realistic outcome for that play wasn't nearly as impactful as the interception was. So, just take the sack and move on. That play was an absolute game-changer, and it would always be hard to get back from it.

Overall, it was a good game from Jordan Love, as most of them have been this season. But there's always one or two bad, very bad plays a game. It's possible to win that way, but it's way harder against top teams.

---

Mistakes and sloppiness

To be fair, Jordan Love was certainly not the only one making mistakes. The entire team had them, including 10 penalties.

Special teams had multiple of them, one on the first play of the game, and the also a missed field goal from Brandon McManus, a 46-yarder — his first miss for the Packers.

The defense allowed only 17 points, which you would take against this opponent, but it also had their bad moments. For instance, an encroachment from Karl Brooks on a fourth down, allowing the Detroit Lions to get closer to the end zone and go for it, scoring with a pass from Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown. In the first drive of the second half, the Packers stopped the Lions offense on third down, but there was a holding call on Keisean Nixon. The Lions ended up scoring a touchdown from Jahmyr Gibbs on that drive.

The defensive front was also dominated. So while the defense didn't allow too many points, the Lions ran the ball however they wanted, with productive performances from Gibbs and David Montgomery.

As for the offense, the unit had several drops — Romeo Doubs, Chris Brooks, Tucker Kraft, Dontayvion Wicks — multiple for Wicks, including one wide-open in the end zone. False starts and holdings were all over the place as well. In the first half, the offense generated 218 yards, but scored only three points. In the second, there were at least three bad snaps by Elgton Jenkins, who was playing at center with Josh Myers out.

You won't beat great teams playing like that. And at the same time, if you play like that week in and week out, at some point this is simply who this team is.

---

Bye week, a relief

The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for the Packers. It might not be good to get an extra week to prepare for a game with a sour taste after a big loss in a huge divisional game, but this case is very particular and important for Green Bay.

Jordan Love is the most relevant part of that. With two weeks until the next game, the quarterback will certainly look much healthier than he was against the Lions.

Moreover, huge parts of the secondary missed the game. Presumably, cornerback Jaire Alexander and safety Evan Williams will be back against the Chicago Bears — and tight end Luke Musgrave will already be eligible to return from injured reserve.

It’s tough to digest a huge loss like that and to fall to 0-2 in the NFC North standings, but there’s a lot of games to be played. Gladly for the Packers, none of them will be next week.

There are only two edge rushers who make sense for the Packers ahead of the trade deadline

Green Bay could get better acquiring Chase Young or Jadeveon Clowney