GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aaron Rodgers will have all of the postseason to think about his future.
The four-time MVP and the Green Bay Packers will not make the playoffs.
Rodgers was intercepted by Kerby Joseph on what may be the last pass of his future Hall of Famer career, and Green Bay lost 20-16 to the Detroit Lions on Sunday night in a game the Packers had to win to make the playoffs.
Despite being signed for next season, Rodgers, 39, said he doesn’t know if he will continue playing.
“Right now it’s a bit raw. It’s just a little bit after the game, so I want to take the emotion out and have the conversation and see where the organization stands and see how I feel after some time has passed,” Rodgers said.
After winning four straight games and receiving plenty of help from other teams, the Packers were in control of their postseason destiny en route to the final game of the NFL regular season. But they failed against the Lions, who were eliminated from the playoffs the previous Sunday The Seattle Seahawks beat the Los Angeles Rams 19-16 in overtime.
“Basically, we figured it out in the pre-game warm-up or when we were eliminated, and I’ll tell you we were unimpressed,” said Lions coach Dan Campbell. “We knew what we came here for and we wanted to gain respect and show what we’re capable of no matter what. We knew the only way to do that was to win. So our guys were locked in, they weren’t affected because we knew what the goal was.
Seattle (9-8) has instead earned the NFC’s final playoff spot, playing in San Francisco on Saturday (13-4). The Packers (8-9) missed the playoffs for the first time in Matt LaFleur’s four seasons as coach.
Rodgers rushed for 205 yards on a 17-of-27 touchdown and became the eighth NFL player to have at least 5,000 career completions.
With the final seconds ticking down on the clock, Rodgers left the field and peered into the stands alongside Randall Cobb, perhaps taking in the sights and sounds.
“Eventually the carousel stops and it’s time to get off, and I think you know roughly when that is,” Rodgers said. “And that’s something to consider. is it time And what does the organization do? That is also part of it. But the competitive fire will always be there. I don’t think that will ever go away.”
Jamaal Williams’ second one-yard touchdown run of the night against his former team put the Lions (9-8) ahead with 5:55 to go. Williams had 17 touchdown runs to break the Lions’ single-season record set by Barry Sanders in 1991.
Green Bay only got as far as his own 33 in his next series before Joseph picked up Rodgers’ deep throw in third and tenth by 3 1/2 minutes.
Detroit held the ball for the rest of the game. Faced with fourth and 1 from Green Bay 15, the Lions missed a field goal attempt and scored a crucial first down on Jared Goff’s 9-yard pass to DJ Chark. Goff had also connected with Chark for a first down in fourth and second during the Lions’ starting drive.
The Lions bounced back from a 1-6 start by winning eight of their last 10 games.
“The difficult part is that it’s over for this season because it’s a special group,” Campbell said. “But, hey, if you have to go on this one when it’s the last for the season, man, what better way to go than for 2022.”
Playing to extend their season, the Packers frequently lost their composure.
Linebacker Quay Walker was ejected during the Lions’ starting shot after shoving Lions team doctor Sean Lynch who was treating an injured Detroit player. This was the second throw of the season for the rookie first-round pick, who was also thrown after a loss in Buffalo for shoving Bill’s practice squad tight end Zach Davidson.
Detroit’s Michael Badgley made a field goal to end the first half after a personal foul on Green Bay’s Rasul Douglas turned a 48-yard try into a 33-yarder.
“I have a much higher demand on our players than doing stupid things like that,” LaFleur said. “I mean, we’ve had a guy kicked out twice already. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that in my career. And we have to be a lot tougher mentally.”
Green Bay led 9-6 after a first half with five field goals and numerous unused chances. Then, on the Packers’ first possession of the second half, Mason Crosby’s 53-yard field goal attempt hit the bar and bounced back. Crosby had gone 3 of 3 on field goal attempts in the first half.
The Lions took over and took the lead for the first time in the game. Goff threw a 43-yard pass to Caliph Raymond to set up Williams’ TD from 1 yard.
The Packers responded in their next series. Rodgers connected with Christian Watson for a 45-yard completion that set up his 13-yard touchdown pass to Allen Lazard.
On the Packers’ final possession, Rodgers threw two incompletions before Joseph intercepted him for the third time this season. Joseph had two of the Lions’ three picks in one 15-9 win on November 6 and had another possible interception on Sunday that was nullified by a penalty.
This is the third straight season the Packers have ended their season in a loss at Lambeau Field. They each had the NFC regular-season record for the past two years, but fell to San Francisco in the Divisional Playoffs last season and to Tampa Bay in the Conference Championship Game a year earlier.
There will be no playoff games involving the Packers this season, at Lambeau Field or anywhere else.
INJURIES
The Lions were without cornerback Jeff Okudah (elbow) and defensive tackle Michael Brockers (ankle). Packers CB/KR Keisean Nixon left the team in the fourth quarter for a concussion check.
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