It’s a heavyweight NFC North battle for the Packers and Lions on this week’s edition of “Thursday Night Football,” and for the Packers, things got off to an especially slow start. In their first three drives, the Packers opened with two punts and a fumble.
On the first two drives, Jordan Love connected on just one of his five passing attempts, hooking up for just a three-yard gain. He was sacked one other time. On the third drive, he had his first sizable completion, to Christian Watson for 20 yards, but Watson fumbled and gave the ball back to the Lions.
By the time the team looked up, they trailed 10-0 on the road.
But it was a third-and-5 play from the Detroit 47 with just over four minutes to play in the first quarter that caught significant attention from fans and earned Love a bit of sympathy.
Packers QB Jordan Love
© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
On that play, Love was under pressure as he attempted to find Watson for a short completion. He was throwing the ball as linebacker Ezekiel Turner tackled him from behind. As Love went down, defensive lineman Za’Darius Smith came in and clearly delivered a whack to Love’s helmet.
The consensus among viewers was that the officials missed the call. Love did little to sell the play, which is not surprising. He often is stoic in his demeanor, perhaps to a fault in this case.
As “Thursday Night Football” rules analyst Terry McAulay said on the replay, “It sure looked like this is forcible contact to the head and neck area of the quarterback. Roughing the passer should have been called on that.”
