Packers Film Room: Green Bay receivers let the team down in Week 9

To put it bluntly, the Green Bay Packers receiver corps was a total and complete disaster on Sunday in the rain versus the Detroit Lions . They were the single biggest reason the offense could not score more than 14 points versus their division rival, who only managed 17 points on offense. To be somewhat fair to the receivers here, briefly, it did not help that Jordan Love also threw an inexplicable interception that ended up as a pick-six.

Earlier this season, I wrote about how two of Jordan Love's three turnovers versus Minnesota were primarily receiver errors and how these plays can change narratives and perceptions. This game was no different, but the only important play football fans will remember is the pick-six and not much else.

But aside from Love's interception in the final minute of the first half, he actually played well throughout this game considering the injury he's been hampered with, saddling him with limited mobility, and an offense around him that moved them back with four false starts and one holding penalty. Two of those false starts were by skill position players.

To make matters worse, the receivers were credited with five dropped passes, six if you count the one receiver Bo Melton couldn't hang onto as he got completely obliterated by safety Brian Branch but it only didn't go down as a dropped pass because the play didn't count due to the penalty on Branch.

Still, it was a horrendous performance all around from the pass catchers and one that cannot be blamed on the weather as the Lions receivers did not drop a single pass in this one. The Lions also haven't played an outdoor game all season until Green Bay.

Right away on the first drive of the game, the pass catchers dropped two easy passes and set the tone for the entire game for the offense. Here on this drop, they're already behind the chains from a false start on the previous play.

The play is a basic slant/flat concept with Love reading the flat defender movement post snap for his cue to either throw the slant or throw the flat. Here, the defender chases the flat route so Love throws a dart to Romeo Doubs on the slant behind the defender. The pass should have gone for a 10-15 yard completion but it set them even deeper in the hole on 2nd down.

On this drop, Doubs let the ball get into his chest instead of attacking with his hands. Receivers shouldn't really ever cup their hands for a pass above their waist, especially one at their chest, but Doubs hands were cupped, not allowing him to securely catch the ball because he could not cushion the throw.

Later on in the first drive on 3rd-and-5 inside the red zone, running back Chris Brooks dropped a pass a better pass-catching running back would have caught and probably scored on.

A catch here at least gets a first down for the offense inside the 10-yard line. And Brooks was able to get separation due to poor field conditions. It's far easier for a receiver running forward to plant and move laterally than it is for a defender to backpedal and move laterally on a wet field.

The pass, while not a great pass by any means, was behind Brooks but still on his body for a completion. The pass was slightly behind because Love threw it while fading away from the Lions blitz. It's still a ball that should've been caught.

The Packers' offensive woes continued into the second quarter where two more drops (only one counted) continued to plague the pass catchers and the offense. After a failed drive where Matt LaFleur called one pass play in a high-leverage situation on a third and long, the offense was out again and behind the chains after a 1st and 10 incompletion on a deflected bubble route run-pass option and a holding penalty by the offensive line on the next play.

On the resulting 2nd-and-20, Bo Melton was the target this time and was the victim of an extremely late hit to the head that warranted an ejection when Brian Branch hit him with forcible contact to the head and neck area after taking multiple steps.

Love does a great job showing patience in the pocket as the routes develop and allowing Melton's deep crossing route to get open near the left sideline. The throw is slightly behind again but is still on Melton's body, enough to make a catch in bounds. Melton couldn't make the play but the Packers got a free 15 yards anyway, an additional 15 yards for Branch's stunt after being flagged.

They had a chance three plays later to get closer in scoring position but failed to do so when Tucker Kraft dropped a pass that would have gone for a first down.

On 3rd-and-6 here, the play call is a high-low smash concept to the left side of the formation with Christian Watson running a corner route and a short flat route by Kraft. With the Lions running quarters coverage, the corner and the safety run with Watson on the corner route, leaving Kraft open against the nickel defender.

The defender slips on the turf and Kraft is open for a first down. All he has to do is catch the ball. He doesn't. It goes right through his hands. On the next play, the kicker Brandon McManus missed the field goal, squandering another opportunity.

From here on out it was an uphill battle. All of these drops came in the first half of the game and all of it was compounded by Love's impending interception, but before that, the score was still 10-3.

There's no way to sugarcoat this, it was a supremely awful throw and decision and you can see that he's 100% hampered by his leg in the process as his mobility limited his ability to escape the pocket and look for a throw.

At that point, he has to realize that he has to throw the ball away or throw it at the feet of his receiver. Instead, it ended up as a pick-six for the Lions, who took a 17-3 lead into halftime.