Rodgers, Packers lose 20-16 to Lions, miss playoffs
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers will have the entire postseason to ponder his future.
The four-time MVP and the Green Bay Packers will miss the playoffs.
Rodgers was intercepted by Kerby Joseph on what could have been the final pass of the future Hall of Famer’s career, and Green Bay lost 20-16 to the Detroit Lions on Sunday night in a game the Packers they needed to win to make the playoffs.
Although he is under contract for next season, Rodgers, 39, has said he does not know if he will continue to play.
“It’s a little raw right now. It’s just a little bit after the game, so I want to take the excitement out of it and have the conversation and see where the organization is and see how I feel after some time has passed.” Rodgers said.
After winning four straight games and getting plenty of help from other teams, the Packers were in control of their postseason destiny heading into the final game of the NFL regular season. But they came up short against the Lions, who had been eliminated from the playoffs earlier Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams 19-16 in overtime.
“We basically found out in the pregame warmup or coming out, and I’m telling you, we weren’t fazed,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We knew what we were coming here for, and it was to earn some respect and show what we’re capable of, no matter what. We knew the only way to do that is to win. So our guys were locked in , they weren’t affected by that, because we knew what the goal was.”
Seattle (9-8), on the other hand, clinched the NFC’s final playoff spot and will play San Francisco (13-4) on Saturday. The Packers (8-9) missed the playoffs for the first time in Matt LaFleur’s four seasons as coach.
Rodgers went 17-for-27 for 205 yards with a touchdown and became the eighth player in the NFL to complete at least 5,000 carries.
After the final seconds ticked off the clock, Rodgers walked off the field, staring into the stands, next to Randall Cobb, perhaps taking in the sights and sounds.
“At some point the merry-go-round stops and it’s time to get off, and I think you know when that is,” Rodgers said. “And this is what must be contemplated. is it time Also, what does the organization do? This is also part of it. But the competitive fire will always be there. I don’t think that will ever go away.”
Jamaal Williams’ second 1-yard touchdown run of the night against his former team put the Lions ahead (9-8) with 5:55 left. Williams had 17 touchdowns to break the Lions’ single-season scoring record set by Barry Sanders in 1991.
Green Bay only got as far as its own 33 on its next drive before Joseph caught Rodgers’ deep throw on third-and-10 with 3 1/2 minutes left.
Detroit held the ball for the rest of the game. Facing fourth-and-1 at the Green Bay 15, the Lions missed a field goal attempt and got a first down on Jared Goff’s 9-yard pass to DJ Chark. Goff had also connected with Chark for a first down on fourth-and-2 during the Lions’ opening game.
The Lions rebounded from a 1-6 start to win eight of their last 10 games.
“The hard part about it is that it’s over for this season, because it’s a special group,” Campbell said. “But, hey, if you have to go down in this one, if it’s the last one of the season, man, what better way to go out than in 2022.”
Playing to extend their season, the Packers often lost their composure.
Linebacker Quay Walker was ejected during the Lions’ drive after shoving Lions team doctor Sean Lynch, who was tending to an injured Detroit player. It was the second ejection of the season for the rookie first-round pick, who was also ejected from a loss at Buffalo for pushing Bills practice squad tight end Zach Davidson.
Detroit’s Michael Badgley made a field goal to end the first half after a personal foul on Green Bay’s Rasul Douglas turned what would have been a 48-yard field goal into a 33-yarder.
“I have a much higher standard for our players than to do dumb things like that,” LaFleur said. “I mean, we’ve had a guy get ejected twice. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in my career. And we’ve got to be a lot tougher mentally.”
Green Bay led 9-6 after a first half that featured five field goals and numerous missed opportunities. Then, on the Packers’ first possession of the second half, Mason Crosby’s 53-yard field goal attempt hit the crossbar and bounced back. Crosby had gone 3-for-3 on field goal attempts in the first half.
The Lions took over and took the lead for the first time in the game. Goff threw a 43-yard pass to Kalif Raymond to set up Williams’ 1-yard TD.
The Packers answered on their next drive. Rodgers connected with Christian Watson for a 45-yard completion that set up his 13-yard touchdown pass to Allen Lazard.
On the Packers’ final possession, Rodgers threw two incompletions before being intercepted by Joseph for the third time this season. Joseph had two of the Lions’ three picks in a 15-9 win on Nov. 6 and had another potential interception on Sunday that was nullified by a penalty.
This is the third straight season the Packers have finished their season on the losing end at Lambeau Field. They had the best regular-season record in the NFC the last two years, but fell to San Francisco in the divisional playoffs last season and to Tampa Bay in the conference championship game a year earlier.
There will be no playoff games for the Packers this season, at Lambeau Field or anywhere else.
INJURIES
The Lions were without cornerback Jeff Okudah (elbow) and defensive tackle Michael Brockers (ankle). Packers CB/KR Keisean Nixon left in the fourth quarter to be evaluated for a concussion.
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