Penalties, turnovers, missed tackles and an inability to stop the Packers' rushing attack unfortunately was the storyline for the Detroit Lions in Green Bay Sunday.
After jumping out to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter, Detroit's play turned sloppy on both sides as they gave up 28 unanswered points in an eventual 42-21 loss that drops them to 0-2 to start the season and 0-2 in the division.
Running back Kerryon Johnson and wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. scored early for the Lions, but Detroit allowed touchdown passes to running back Aaron Jones (7 yards), tight end Robert Tonyan (11), Jones again (75), and a pick-six quarterback Matthew Stafford threw to Packers cornerback Chandon Sullivan without an answer to find themselves down big.
There were several mistakes for the Lions Sunday that all played into the final result. Detroit had some untimely penalties, sacks (four total) and the Stafford turnover in the third quarter was a big one.
Detroit was penalized seven times for 70 yards in the game, but a few of those came at critical moments, including a hold by Oday Aboushi late in the first half that saved Green Bay 40 seconds on the clock, and then two subsequent personal foul penalties on Lions safety Will Harris on the next Packers possession that helped Green Bay march down the field in the two-minute offense and secure the lead for good on the Tonyan touchdown grab with 19 seconds left in the first half.
Detroit trimmed the lead to 34-21 early in the fourth quarter on a 24-yard pass from Stafford to Marvin Hall, but Green Bay responded right back with a 14-yard Jones touchdown. No comeback was in the cards for the Lions Sunday.
QB comparison: Aaron Rodgers wasn't his sharpest, but he didn't need to be with how the Packers ran the ball. He completed 18-of-30 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns for a 107.6 passer rating.
Stafford completed 20 of his 33 pass attempts for 244 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He had a 91.0 passer rating for the contest.
Promising trend: Tight end T.J. Hockenson had another nice game for the Lions to start the season, leading the team with 62 receiving yards on four catches. He's caught all nine of his targets the first two games and has a touchdown grab as well.
Worrisome trend: For the second straight week, the Lions had no answer for the run game. Last week, Chicago racked up 149 rushing yards in a 27-23 win.
It was worse this week in Green Bay, as the Packers racked up 259 yards and two touchdowns. It's the most rushing yards the Lions have allowed since giving up 269 yards to Minnesota in Week 14 of the 2011 season.
Interesting stat: The 85 points the Packers have scored over the first two weeks are the most since scoring 88 back in 1945.
Injury report: No significant injuries to report for the Lions.
