Sep 14th 2008 6:03PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: Lions, Packers, NFC North
It was fleeting. It was Haley’s Comet. It was the Lions looking not only like a competent team, but one that could actually be taken seriously. And then it was back to being the Lions.
After scoring 16 unanswered points in a little over 5:30 in the fourth quarter to take a 25-24 lead, the Packers turned three Jon Kitna interceptions in 21 points (including two pick-6s) in a matter of 84 seconds to turn the game back into the blowout it was before the Lions found a brief spurt of ability.
And really, that spurt should really be called The Calvin Johnson Miracle Moment, because he took over the game, catching two touchdowns (of 37 and 48 yards) on his way to 129 yards. Other than that, there were no bright spots for the Lions in this game.
The Packers, to be fair though, don’t have much to celebrate either. Sure, Aaron Rodgers looked great again, going 24-of-38 for 328 and three touchdowns, but that effort was almost not good enough to beat the Lions, who were inexplicably leading with under eight minutes left. Against a better team, the Packers lose control, and so the lack of killer instinct (a repeat from last week) is slightly worrisome. And, yes, the defense came through when it mattered, but intercepting Kitna is not exactly a difficult undertaking, and the fact remains that they needed that huge defensive comeback to win a game against an inferior opponent that they were dominating.
So, yeah, 48-25 is an impressive score. The story behind it? Not so much.
