It's a storyline that played out on a seemingly endless loop for the Detroit Lions this season.
Detroit jumps out to a lead, doesn't maintain the lead, and can't find a way to make the one or two plays late that separate winning from losing.
Detroit led Green Bay 17-3 at halftime, but quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers mounted a second-half comeback to upend the Lions, 23-20, on a last-second field goal.
The loss drops the Lions to 3-12-1 on the year as Detroit finished the season on a nine-game losing streak.
Rodgers led Green Bay on an eight-play, 68-yard drive in the final one minute, 27 seconds of the fourth quarter to set up a game-winning 33-yard field goal from Mason Crosby as time expired. The Packers beat Detroit, 23-22, on a last-second field goal Week 6 in Green Bay.
Detroit had the football with a chance to drive and win the game themselves, but they went three and out in just 13 seconds after getting the ball with one minute, 40 seconds left on their own 26-yard line after an Amani Oruwariye interception.
The Packers (13-3), who won the NFC North last week, secured a first-round bye as one of the top two seeds in the NFC playoffs with the win. The Lions secured themselves a top 3 pick in the NFL Draft.
Rodgers was just 6-of-18 passing for 90 yards in the first half. But proving why he's still one of the best in the business, Rodgers completed 21 of his 37 second-half passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns.
Lions quarterback David Blough caught a touchdown pass from wide receiver Danny Amendola on a trick play, Kerryon Johnson had a 1-yard touchdown run, and Matt Prater added field goals from 42 and 56 yards, to round out Detroit's scoring.
First strike surprise: The final game of the season is a perfect time to pull out all the stops if you're Detroit. The Lions struck first Sunday on a little trickeration from offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.
On Detroit's second possession of the game, Bevell dialed up a reverse to Amendola, who then threw the ball to a wide open Blough for a 19-yard touchdown.
Blough joins Gary Danielson (1984) as only quarterbacks in team history to catch a touchdown pass.
Moving up the ranks: Prater's fourth quarter 56-yard field goal was his 53rd field goal from 50-plus yards of his career, passing Lions Legend Jason Hanson for second on the all-time list of 50-plus field goals behind Sebastian Janikowski (58).
QB comparison: Blough finished the year 0-5 as Detroit's starting quarterback after finishing 12-of-29 passing for 122 yards with no touchdowns, one interception and a passer rating of just 39.7. He also caught a touchdown.
Rodgers was 27-of-55 passing for 323 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He finished with a passer rating of 72.0.
Promising trend: The Lions seem to really have something with the combination of Kerryon Johnson and Bo Scarbrough in their backfield.
For the second consecutive week, both Johnson (4.8) and Scarbrough (4.7) averaged better than 4.0 yards per carry.
Ty Johnson added 65 yards on three carries as Detroit rushed for 171 yards as a team in the contest.
Worrisome trend: Detroit's inability to maintain a lead has been a worrisome trend all year long, starting Week 1 in Arizona, when Detroit blew a 24-6 fourth-quarter lead to tie the Cardinals.
Detroit led in 14 games this season and ended up winning just three of those contests.
Injury report: Wide receiver Kenny Golladay was injured in the second quarter after catching a 40-yard pass that would ultimately turn into the Johnson touchdown run. He was evaluated for a concussion and never returned.
He finished the game with three catches for 72 yards. Golladay finished a Pro Bowl worthy third season with 65 receptions for 1,190 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Linebacker Devon Kennard also left the game and did not return. He's been battling a hamstring injury the last couple weeks.
Detroit also lost tight end Isaac Nauta to a hamstring injury and defensive end Austin Bryant left in the fourth quarter favoring his left arm.
