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Stafford couldn't engineer another a magical fourth-quarter comeback this time around as the Lions fell to the Packers 24-20, dropping to 4-6 on the season.
"It's tough enough to lose this game without thinking about anything else," Lions head coach Jim Schwartz said after the game when asked about Detroit's fading playoffs hopes.
"This is a tough league and you have to be able to play your best every single week to be able to get a win and we didn't do that today.
"We had too many turnovers and when we had a chance to be able to make a play on defense, we weren't able to come up with it."
The Lions high-powered passing attack was grounded for most of the game by either bad passes, dropped passes or simple quarterback and receiver miscommunication. Whatever the reason, it didn't look right.
"I didn't play my best," said Stafford after the game, who finished 17-of-39 for 266 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
"We didn't play our best as an offense. We gave them too many opportunities and turned the ball over too many times and just didn't make enough plays.
And yet the Lions still had a chance to win the game with a defensive stop at the end.
But what's been the case it seems all season, the Lions couldn't make a big play at the key moments in the game to win it and that included both sides of the ball on Sunday.
Clinging to a three-point lead with 5:39 remaining in the game, the Lions had three shots from the 10-yard line to punch it into the endzone and give themselves a two-score lead to make things very difficult on the Packers.
Instead, they were forced to kick a 27-yard field goal after failing to get into the end zone, giving Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers a chance to make a play and do what the Lions offense couldn't.
Rodgers answered the bell.
Rodgers calmly moved the Packers downfield in just six plays, capped off with a 22-yard touchdown to receiver Randall Cobb with 1:55 left in the game to take a 21-20 lead.
Lions cornerback
"I thought our defense had done a really good job the whole game up until that drive," Schwartz said. "We played poor on that drive – started off with a draw play for 11 or 12 yards and then the play to (Jermichael) Finley (for 40 yards down the right sideline).
"We've got to be able to get off a block and be able to make a tackle right there and force them to go the whole field. A field goal doesn't beat us there. Then get another chunk and then get a touchdown where we don't find the ball in the endzone.
"Even though our offense wasn't able to get a touchdown to ice the game, make it a two-score game, we still had a great opportunity on defense to be able to get a stop and we didn't get it done."
With the loss, the Lions have all but taken themselves out of the playoff hunt with six games remaining. They still have yet to win a game in the NFC North.
The offense failed to complete a single pass on their next possession following the Cobb touchdown and the Packers added a meaningless field goal with under one minute left to pad their lead.
In the end, the Lions were left playing the lateral game in desperation. Simply put, the Packers made the plays when they had to.
One of those plays was a 72-yard pick-six by Packers safety M.D. Jennings in the third quarter that gave the Packers a 14-10 lead and was one of three Stafford turnovers in the game (two interceptions and fumble).
"It's frustrating," Stafford said. "Obviously to have spurts of playing good and then just not being able to be consistent enough with it."
The Lions wasted another good effort from receiver
"The season isn't over," Johnson said after the game. "We have six more games to go. We're going to fight for our lives."
Rodgers finished 19-of-27 for 236 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Sunday's loss followed an all too familiar recipe for the Lions. The Packers converted their touchdown opportunities and made key stops when they needed to.
The Lions, unfortunately, weren't able to do the same.
