Packers hope they'll get third chance vs. Lions in playoffs - ESPN

DETROIT — Whether the Green Bay Packers want to admit it or not — and most, if not all, of them fall into the latter category — they have a problem. And that problem was outfitted in Honolulu blue and silver on Thursday night.

The Detroit Lions didn't just sweep the season series with their thrilling 34-31 win at Ford Field. It was their sixth win over the Packers in the past seven meetings. It's a run that dates to the regular-season finale in 2021.

This after Packers coach Matt LaFleur won his first five games against Detroit. Lions coach Dan Campbell, with his aggressive approach, has flipped this division.

LaFleur, however, left his team with this message in the visitor's locker room: «I told our team, I mean, we're going to have to earn the right to potentially come back here, and it's not going to be easy. And we've got to put in the work, but I'm confident in the resiliency of our group and that they're going to continue to fight and push each other to get better and stay connected, because I do think we have a pretty good football team.»

Simulate your own scenarios and check the latest playoff picture. Playoff Machine »
• Playoff picture » | Standings » | More »

After what happened Thursday, however, it's a team that may have to go on the road in the playoffs. The NFC North is now all but lost for the Packers, who at 9-4 trail the Lions (12-1) by three games and would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Vikings (10-2) are sandwiched between them.

«We lost by three points,» Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark said. «We played good football, we've played good games. They're not a team that we're scared of by any means.»

Clark is right: It was a game that could have gone either way.

Yet it was a familiar result