The Green Bay Packers received a golden opportunity to take the lead late against the Detroit Lions in Week 7. But the Packers failed to seize the opportunity.
Green Bay’s defense stopped the Lions on fourth-and-1 at the Detroit 24-yard line with under four minutes left in regulation. At the time, the game was tied.
At the very least, the Packers were set to take the lead because they were already in field-goal range.
A series of mistakes, though, resulted in the Packers not scoring at all. The most gut-wrenching play of the sequence was a Josh Jacobs dropped touchdown on third down.
Unfortunately for Jacobs, the mistake was then magnified with kicker Trey Smack missing a 35-yard field goal on the next play. Lions defensive lineman D.J. Wonnum blocked the attempt with two fingertips.
The Lions scored the game-winning field goal on the next possession as time expired.
After the loss, quarterback Jordan Love responded to what potential negative impact Jacobs had on the offense with his drop.
“No, I feel like a game like today, we left a lot of points out there that we didn’t finish in the red zone.,” said Love. “We didn’t finish with kicks. So, it’s disappointing. We left a lot of points out there.
“I thought we did a decent job moving the ball, and we got to look at it, but we got to do a better job finishing. To score 17 points in a game we should have scored a lot more is disappointing.
“So, definitely the red zone area is something we got to clean up. Special teams, we got to be able to finish those kicks, but left a lot of points out there.”
Smack’s blocked kick late in the fourth quarter was his second miss of Week 7. The Packers lost 20-17.
Jordan Love Speaks out on Crucial Josh Jacobs Drop in Defeat to Lions
Love is usually pretty diplomatic with his answers to the media. But that answer was more matter of fact and a borderline put-on-notice message to Smack.
But one can’t blame Love for that. Love played pretty well against the Lions, throwing for 274 yards with two touchdowns and a pick. He could have easily had more yards if the Packers had done a better job of taking advantage of all their opportunities.
That includes the perfect pass Love delivered to Jacobs. If the running back hauled that in, Love would have thrown a third score. The Packers also would have had the lead with about three minutes left.
Instead, Green Bay fell to 4-3. The Packers were 1 for 4 scoring touchdowns in the red zone Sunday.
Jacobs Apologizes to Packers After Loss to Lions
Jacobs didn’t need any harsher words from his quarterback about his dropped touchdown. The running back was a big critic of himself to reporters after the game.
Jacobs admitted to the media that he told his teammates he was sorry he didn’t deliver when the team needed him late in the fourth quarter.
“I apologized to the guys because at the end of the game, I called that play, where I dropped a touchdown in the end zone,” said Jacobs to reporters. “That’s one thing I told them, ‘Like man, for my standard, I like myself 10 out 10. That’s a play you gotta make.’ I said, ‘If you wanna blame anybody, blame me.'”
Jacobs also told reporters he thought the ball reached him a bit faster than he anticipated but that he didn’t lose it in the lights.
Jacobs finished the game with 36 rushing yards on 11 carries. Jacobs also caught five passes for 55 yards. The running back hauled in a 25-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
Packers’ Jordan Love Reacts to Key Josh Jacobs Drop in Loss to Lions