It would be accurate to say that the "Same Ol' Lions" showed up today at Lambeau Field to play the Packers. The Lions were terrible on offense, defense, and special teams, and some of the coaching decisions were questionable as well. All of those things led to the Packers shutting down Detroit and winning 26-0. Despite how poorly the Lions have played over the years, this was the first time they were shut out since December 2001 when the Bears won 24-0 and handed the Lions their 14th loss of the season.
Just like we saw many times last year, the Lions fell behind early and were basically out of it from the start. Although the Packers had a touchdown on the opening kickoff called back because of a holding penalty, they scored soon after on a long touchdown pass to James Jones. The Lions couldn't do anything on offense when they got the ball, and the Packers answered that with another touchdown. Things slowed down considerably after that and the Packers were unable to get into the end zone again during the rest of the game despite moving the ball effectively so often. They had to settle for 4 field goals instead, giving Green Bay 26 points on the day.
Although the Lions weren't technically out of it until the second half because the defense kept holding Green Bay to field goals, it was obvious Detroit had no chance of winning. The offense was downright atrocious from start to finish, and only twice did they threaten to score. The first threat ended on 4th and short when Kevin Smith was dropped for a loss, and the second threat ended when Drew Stanton was picked off in the end zone.
Wait. Drew Stanton? Why was he in the game? Well, Daunte Culpepper appeared to tweak his hamstring while scrambling on the second play of the third quarter, and he came after the next play and never returned. Stanton didn't play all that bad up until the interception in the end zone, as his first pick was really Brandon Pettigrew's fault.
The Lions are on a bye next week, which really couldn't have come at a better time. The injury list was bad enough coming into this game, and it only got worse when all was said and done. The Lions' starting quarterback, top receiver, and the majority of the defensive line are injured. Beyond that there are a ton of players that simply need a week off, because they are just banged up. The bye week will hopefully allow the team to get healthy enough to the point where they can come back in a couple weeks against the Rams with all of their weapons intact. Losing to the winless Rams would just suck, and I honestly don't know if the Lions can win if they are without Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson yet again.