Senior Player Nominees Announced for Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026

 By John Turney 

A couple of weeks ago, the Pro Football Hall of Fame released the preliminary list of 162 players nominated for the Hall's Class of 2026 in the Seniors category.

Here is the list with some brief commentary.

Quarterbacks (9): Ken Anderson, Charlie Conerly, Roman Gabriel, John Hadl, Jack Kemp, Don Meredith, Earl Morrall, Jim Plunkett, Doug Williams

Ken Anderson has had most of the momentum. He played 16 years and six or seven were good, and maybe four were elite, including his 1981 MVP campaign. I'd think he has a good chance to be a finalist.

Conerly, Gabriel, Morrall and Kemp also had MVP seasons in the NFL or AFL accepted by media organizations. Kemp, Plunkett and Williams started for league champions and Hadl was a backup for an AFL champion.

Backs/Running Backs (16): Alan Ameche, Ottis Anderson, Larry Brown, Earnest Byner, Roger Craig, John David Crow, Chuck Foreman, Cecil Isbell, Verne Lewellen, Jack Manders, Mercury Morris, Don Perkins, Billy Sims, Herschel Walker, Byron "Whizzer" White, Paul "Tank" Younger

Some new names here. My personal favorites are Larry Brown, Craig and Foreman among recent backs. But who I would most like to see advance to the pinnacle of the HOF process is Verne Lewellen. He was one of the best players of his era, at any position and checks all the boxes.

Ends/Wide Receivers/Tight Ends (30): Fred Arbanas, Todd Christensen, Mark Clayton, Ben Coates, Gary Collins, Isaac Curtis, Carroll Dale, Lavvie Dilweg, Boyd Dowler, Mark Duper, Henry Ellard, Jimmie Giles, Charley Hennigan, Billy Howton, Harold Jackson, Keith Jackson, Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, Brent Jones, Homer Jones, Steve Jordan, Eric Martin, Stanley Morgan, Jay Novacek, Art Powell, Del Shofner, Lionel Taylor, Otis Taylor, Rick Upchurch, Bobby Walston, Billy Wilson

Like Lewellen, I am for Lavvie Dilweg to get a bust one day. Both have similar credentials and were teammates in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Among the recent receivers, Del Shofner and Art Powell stand out in my eyes. Powell was close a couple of years ago but was voted down at the last moment. The major 'knock' was that his best seasons were in the early AFL, and many think the level of competition was not as high as it was later in the decade of the 1960s. Shofner was a five-time first-team All-Pro, but after his elite seasons, he kept getting hurt and didn't compile a pile of numbers like some of the others.

Harold Jackson and Stanley Morgan are mentioned a lot and have strong supporters on social media. Among tight ends, Todd Christensen has folks pushing for him. All excellent players, but their peaks, to me, don't match Shofner and Powell.

Offensive Lineman (35): Heartley "Hunk" Anderson, Bruce Armstrong, Stew Barber, Dick Barwegen, Ed Budde, Ox Emerson, Gale Gillingham, Charles "Buckets" Goldenberg, Ken Gray, Dennis Harrah, Jay Hilgenberg, Chris Hinton, Joe Jacoby, Mike Kenn, Bob Kuechenberg, George Kunz, Riley Matheson, Max Montoya, Jon Morris, Ralph Neely, John Niland, Bart Oates, Marvin Powell, Duane Putnam, Dick Schafrath, Jerry Sisemore, Doug Smith, Walt Sweeney, Bob Talamini, Fuzzy Thurston, Jim Tyrer, Bob Vogel, Ed White, Ray Wietecha, Al Wistert

My first choices would be Al Wistert and Ox Emerson. The Blue Ribbon committee that will narrow this list of 162 to 50 advanced Wistert last year, but not Emerson. I am hoping for both this year to make the next round.

The more modern linemen that I will support are Mike Kenn, George Kunz and Joe Jacoby. Jim Tyrer had his shot last year, and it seems the opposition to how his post-NFL career went is too strong to be overcome. 

Defensive Lineman (15): Houston Antwine, Gene Brito, Roger Brown, Earl Faison, Mark Gastineau, L.C. Greenwood, Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Jim Marshall, Leonard Marshall, Harvey Martin, Jerry Mays, Tom Sestak, Fred Smerlas, Neil Smith, Bill Stanfill

There are maybe a few types of players in this position group. First, guys with high peaks and short/shorter careers, i.e., generally guys who left a lot on the table or may have been felled by injuries. Those are Brito, Faison, maybe Roger Brown, Faison, Tom Sestak and Bill Stanfill.

Then there are the players with longevity, but didn't have as high a peak as the first group. Antwine, Greenwood, Too Tall, Jim Marshall, Martin, Smith and Mays.

Fred Smerlas had a high peak and also played for a long time. But he never gets much traction, being a nose tackle. 

If I could pick three, it would be Smerlas, but also would include Brito and Sestak.

One thing that strikes me is that this may be the strongest position group here, from top to bottom.

Linebackers (25): Carl Banks, Maxie Baughan, Cornelius Bennett, Bill Bergey, Matt Blair, Mike Curtis, Joe Fortunato, Larry Grantham, Tim Harris, E.J. Holub (also OL), Vaughan Johnson, Lee Roy Jordan, Seth Joyner, Greg Lloyd, Wilber Marshall, Rod Martin, Clay Matthews Jr., Bud McFadin, Karl Mecklenburg, Matt Millen, Tommy Nobis, Isiah Robertson, Pat Swilling, Darryl Talley, Keena Turner

Like the defensive linemen, this is a deep group. But in this group, it seems like the players with longevity get my preference. Baughan, for instance, is one of them. Clay Matthews as well.

But there are some all-around linebackers that I love here, but they seem like they will have a tough route to Canton. Bennett, Blair, Grantham, Joyner, Lloyd, Marshall and Talley.

Among the MLBers Nobis, Bergey and Jordan have the best cases but I wonder outloud if these players just cancel each other out because none really stand out among the others. Their cases are just too similar to differentiate. 

Defensive Backs (27): Dick Anderson, Bobby Boyd, Dave Brown, Joey Browner, Butch Byrd, Don Doll, Pat Fischer, Goose Gonsoulin, Dave Grayson, Cornell Green, Merton Hanks, Lester Hayes, Warren Lahr, Albert Lewis, Tim McDonald, Eddie Meador, Lemar Parrish, Jimmy Patton, Eugene Robinson, George Saimes, Jake Scott, Dennis Smith, Jack Tatum, Everson Walls, Charlie Waters, Abe Woodson, Louis Wright

Glad to see Abe Woodson make the list. He's all but forgotten, but in his day, he was an elite cornerback. I like Albert Lewis, Louis Wright and Lemar Parrish among the corners.

Eddie Meador and probably Tim McDonald are the top safeties -- at least I see them that way.

Kickers/Punters (3): Jim Bakken, Jim Breech, Nick Lowery

If you like analytics -- comparing players to how they compared to their peers then Bakken and Lowery would be Hall of Famers. Kicking percentages just get higher and higher, so you cannot compare kickers who played in the 1960s-1990s in the same light as now. A couple of good sources rate Bakken and Lowery as a cut above. 

Special Teams (2): Mel Gray, Steve Tasker

White Shoes Johnson and Rick Upchurch should be listed here, not with the receivers. They were starting receivers at times, but they were all-time great returners and why they should be considered for the Hall of Fame.

TUESDAY TIDBITS: "Success is Living Up to Your Potential"

By TJ Troup 

Which division of the eight in the NFL is playing the best overall football right now? Before the season began spent plenty of time trying to answer that question for myself, and felt the NFC North would again be the best; while the AFC West would also be top-notch. 

So far, the NFC West is playing the best, so the new question would be, can these four teams sustain their early success? This past weekend's games sure delivered in two statistical areas that are paramount for success; the first is "takeaways", with the sixteen winning teams taking the ball away 30 times (the losers just 9), and sacks, with the winning teams taking down quarterbacks 46 times (losing teams 24).

 Isiah Rodgers

Isaiah Rodgers of Minnesota joined a small fraternity of players who have returned both an interception and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in the same game. 

A former Minnesota Viking is the subject of my trip down memory lane for September 28th. The 0-1 defending NFL Champion Colts are at the Met to play the 0-1 Vikings. The result of this game will be far different than last year's Western Conference playoff game. Minnesota quarterback Joe Kapp has thrown 18 touchdown passes in his 27-game career entering this season, but on this day, he will become just the 5th player to throw 7 touchdown passes in a game. 

Joe Kapp

Kapp will complete 28 of 43 passes for 449 yards (the 8th best total in league history at this point in time) in the 52-14 victory. Six different receivers will catch touchdown passes from him (Gene Washington catches two). Minnesota gains 622 yards in total offense while the Viking defense allows Baltimore just 56 yards rushing, and intercepts three Colt passes. 

In Viking lore, this special group of men will forever be known as "40 for 60", led by Kapp, yet the title of today's saga is a quote from Kapp that sure fits then and now.

Heartbreak in Regulation for Packers in Cleveland

 By Eric Goska

Packers kicker Brandon McManus
(photos by Eric Goska)

For 60 minutes of game time, the Packers never trailed.

For 60 minutes of game time, the Browns never led.

Yet three hours and three minutes after initiating play, Cleveland – not Green Bay – claimed victory when its kicker, Andre Szmyt, nailed a 55-yard field goal as time expired to secure a 13-10 win.

This was going to be a story focused on Green Bay's pass defense. How it is allowing the fewest yards per completion in the league. How its efforts have been the best by the team in well over 50 years.

And we’ll still do that. But first we have to address yet another creative way in which the Green and Gold snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Early on, this game between Green Bay and Cleveland had the earmarks of being a defensive struggle. Neither the Packers (230 yards) nor the Browns (221) mustered much yardage.

Scoring did not come easily or quickly, at least not at first. Green Bay counted on a 39-yard Brandon McManus field goal (13 plays-43 yards; 7:23) and a 3-yard TD pass from Jordan Love to tight end John FitzPatrick (14-71; 7:41). Cleveland got its initial score – a 35-yard field goal by Szmyt – on a 12-play, 63-yard advance that took 5:48 off the clock.

Throughout, Green Bay never trailed.

Jordan Love

No matter. Cleveland rose to the occasion in the final minutes turning a Love interception into a touchdown and a blocked McManus field goal into Szmyt’s game winner.

Only once previously have the Packers gone 60 minutes without trailing only to lose in regulation. On Sept. 11, 1988, Tampa Bay’s Donald Igwebuike booted them into the loss column with a 28-yard field goal on the game’s final play.

Green Bay’s breakdowns on offense and special teams with the game on the line cannot take away from another fine performance by its defense. Jeff Hafley’s unit again kept completion yards to a minimum.

In opening 2-0, the Packers had allowed a league-low 7.73 yards per completion, nearly a yard better than the second-place 49ers (8.71). The Browns (8.61), meantime, were one of four clubs to average fewer than nine yards per completion.

As one might suspect, the Green and Gold clamped down on the Browns. Cleveland quarterback Joe Flacco completed 21 of 36 passes for 142 yards, an average of just 6.76 yards per success. He completed but two passes of more than 14 yards – a 17-yarder to Isaiah Bond and a 17-yarder to Jerry Jeudy.

To date, the Packers have given up 567 yards on 76 completions. That’s an average of 7.46 per, the lowest allowed by the team through the first three games of a season since 1967 (6.83).

But that club – which went on to win Super Bowl II – wasn’t tested to the extent of this current group. Coach Vince Lombardi’s last team in Green Bay allowed 164 yards on 24 completions through its first three games.

That season – 1967 – was also the last time the Pack limited each of its first three opponents to fewer than 250 yards. In going 2-1 this year, Green Bay held the Lions (246), Commanders (230) and Browns (221) below that mark.

Heartbreak in Regulation

Regular-season games in which the Packers trailed for less than 45 seconds but lost in regulation.
 
Seconds
Trailing   Opponent        Final          Date
0                  Browns                10-13            Sept. 21, 2025
0                  Buccaneers         10-13            Sept. 11, 1988
5                  Eagles                  17-20            Sept. 12, 1993
8                  Vikings                 7-10              Oct. 15, 1967
*                  Bears                    7-10              Oct. 22, 1933
**                Bears                    7-14              Sept. 24, 1933
35                Bears                    14-17            Sept. 25, 1960
 
*second-to-last play of the game
**third-to-last play of the game

TUESDAY TIDBITS: "We've Got to Play Better, Simple as That"

By TJ Troup

Two weeks so far in what is going to be a very interesting season filled with compelling drama and excitement. Going to begin by praising McCaffrey of the 49ers, any player that can join Faulk, and Moore as the only three players in history to rush for 50 touchdowns, and catch 30 touchdown passes is an outstanding achievement! Especially when you consider how many outstanding versatile backs we have seen in league history. 

Shifting gears to prognostication, no doubt there are folks who enjoy predicting the team won/lost records each year. This is certainly a daunting challenge, yet there is a "writer" named Adam Rank who foolishly predicted the outcome of the NFC North as follows: Bears 11-6, Packers 10-7, Lions 8-9, and Vikings 7-10. 

What did he base his predictions on, especially since he is off to a horrendous start. Coach TJ has the advantage of two weeks into the season, so this should be easy, right? Well, lets look back at the end of the season and see who did better, me or Adam Rank. The Vikings will finish 9-8 for the year, the Lions will finish 11-6, and the Packers 12-5, oh need to predict the cuddly soft little Bears? Let's take a quick look at what the defense has accomplished, shall we. Have allowed 73 points in the last five quarters of play. Their defensive passer rating is 136, which if they continue would be the worst in league history (league average is about 93). 

Had no expectation that the Bears secondary of 2025 would exceed the '63 or '85 Bears in efficiency, yet when a team is forced to play Stevenson, they are going to be a) shredded, b) torched c) destroyed, of d) all of the above! Against Detroit, they allowed 5 plays of over 30 yards, the most of any team in the last 10 seaons. Would relish all of you sharing the worst coaches in the last 55 years, and some of you might have Eberflus & Gibron on your list. Ben Johnson will not join those two as he has too many positive qualities, yet he is sure dealing with a learning curve, and the title of this week's saga is a quote from him. Oh, the final record for the this woeful pathetic excuse of a team? The Bears will finish 6-11, and with the Adam Rank's brilliant expertise, the Bears need to go 11-4 the rest of the way for him to be correct. 

Mike Haffner with a fingertip touchdown catch

How many of you see hell freezing over right now? When that happens the Bears will go 11-4 the remaining games of 2025. Every team has a history, and some teams have an interesting story to tell, and will end with the Denver Broncos and their game against the Jets on September 21st, 1969. 

All-AFL DE Gerry Philbin takes down Steve Tensi

All-AFL DE Rich Jackson sacks Joe Namath

Though they had never had a winning season, this early-season clash with the champion Jets draws a record crowd to Mile High! Over the course of the last 53 games Denver had played their record against everyone except the Jets was 12-35, but against New York 3-3! 

Could they possibly beat the defending champs on this crisp day in Denver? New York builds a 13-0 lead, but Floyd Little's 52-yard punt return sets up his 1-yard score to put points on the board (Little pounds out 104 rushing yards against the tough Jets defense). Tensi is injured and Pete Liske (former Jet) enters the fray.

Steve Tensi

Lou Saban had him on the Buffalo roster in '64 but since he had Lamonica and Kemp he left for Canada, where he played outstanding football, and now Saban needs a backup to Tensi and brings Liske back. Pete lofts a pass to a wide-open Mike Haffner who stretches and makes a fingertip catch for a touchdown, and later Liske finds Denson open and the Broncos now lead. 

The Jets respond and score, and must go for two to gain a tie, but fail. Though they are outgained, the Broncos have knocked off the Super Bowl champs to have a record of 2-0. No, Denver does not have a winning season in '69 ("they're killing me Whitey, they're killing me"), there is continued excitement in Denver for years to come. 

This coming Sunday the Broncos play the Chargers in a key AFC battle, for me a game to watch. See ya next week.

History for the Taking at Lambeau Field

 By Eric Goska

Commanders fans visited Lambeau Field on Thursday.
(photos by Eric Goska)

Making history, denying history – the Packers of 2025 are off to a flying start.

Offense, defense – Green Bay flashed an abundance of both in running its record to 2-0.
 
As they did against the Lions in the season opener, the Packers jumped in front of the Washington Commanders and never trailed in securing a 27-18 victory at Lambeau Field. Green Bay rolled to 404 yards while allowing just 230 in notching a second straight win over a playoff team from a year ago.
 
Jordan Love and his offensive mates uncorked touchdown drives of 96 and 92 yards in building a 14-3 halftime lead. The first advance consisted of seven plays while the second utilized ten.
 
Go ahead. Scour the scoring summaries from every one of the more than 1,400 regular-season games the Packers have played since 1921. Not once will you find two Green Bay touchdown drives of 90 or more yards occurring in the same half.
 
Digging into the past yields four games in which the Green and Gold twice rang up touchdowns on drives of 90-plus yards. But in all four instances, those end zone excursions were separated by halftime festivities.
 
Two chunk plays aided Green Bay on its first two six-point payouts. Love connected with tight end Tucker Kraft for 57 yards on the first long-distance salvo and he found Malik Heath for 37 on the second.
 
Just twice did the Packers encounter third down, once on each advance. Love erased a third-and-nine with a 14-yard scramble and Josh Jacobs overcame third-and-one with a 3-yard rumble.
 
Love completed six of eight passes for 148 yards and a TD (156.25 passer rating) on the two drives combined. Jacobs rushed for 26 yards on eight carries including the score that put Green Bay ahead 14-0 midway through the second quarter.
 

Former Packers kicker Chris Jacke signed autographs before the game.

While the Packers’ offense cruised to a franchise first, their defense prevented Jayden Daniels from making history of his own. Green Bay defenders held the elusive quarterback to 17 yards rushing on seven carries, leaving him 24 short of 1,000 for his career.

 
Had Daniels gotten to 1,000, he would have done so in his 19th regular-season game. That would have been two games faster than any quarterback who ever suited up in the NFL.
 
Seemingly forever, dual-threat passers – those who can run as well as throw – have been the bane of the Packers.  Think Jalen Hurts grabbing 157 on the ground in the Eagles’ 40-33 win in 2022. Or, Michael Vick reeling off 103 in the 2010 opener.
 
For you old timers, harken back to Bobby Douglass producing an even 100 as the Bears prevailed 31-17 in 1973. Or, Greg Landry gliding his way to 76 on a quarterback sneak – yes, a sneak – as the Lions pounced 40-0 to kick off the 1970 campaign.
 
Nothing of the sort happened on Thursday. Colby Wooden, Edgerrin Cooper (twice), Javon Bullard (twice), Quay Walker and Kingsley Enagbare each tackled Daniels before the 24-year-old could inflict serious damage.
 
Daniels’ long gain was eight. He was held to one or fewer yards on five occasions.
 
Not once did he earn a first down with his feet.
 

As a rookie last season, Daniels helped revitalize Washington’s rushing attack. The Commanders gained 1,027 more yards in 2024 (2,619) than they did in 2023 (1,592).
 
Six times did the club surpass 200 yards rushing. Six times did the club win.
 
In limiting Daniels, Green Bay continued its run-stifling ways. Through two games, its opponents have managed 97 yards on 41 tries (2.37 per attempt).
 
Though Daniels didn’t boost his career total above 1,000 against the Packers, he can do so when Washington hosts Las Vegas in Week 3. If the second-year veteran does so against the Raiders – in his 20th regular-season game – he will have gotten there faster than record-holders Robert Griffin III, Lamar Jackson and Justin Fields, all who needed 21 games to surpass 1,000 career rushing yards.
 
In a Rush
Quarterbacks who needed the fewest regular-season games to attain 1,000 career rushing yards. Jayden Daniels has gained 976 in 19 games.
 
G       Quarterback               Year
21       Robert Griffin III           2013
21       Lamar Jackson               2019
21       Justin Fields                    2022
22       Michael Vick                   2002
23       Cam Newton                   2012
23       Josh Allen                        2019
24       Kyler Murray                  2020
 
Driving 90
The five regular-season games in which the Packers engineered more than one touchdown drive of 90-plus yards.
 
No    Date                     When
2        Sept. 11, 2025       2 first half
2        Oct. 8, 1939          1 first half, 1 second half
2        Oct. 5, 1952          1 first half, 1 second half
2        Oct. 21, 1984        1 first half, 1 second half
2        Dec. 23, 2018       1 first half, 1 second half

TUESDAY TIDBITS: The Best QB's Anticipate, They don't react"

By T.J. Troup

Cedrick Hardman

One week in the books, and no doubt one of those weeks that will have lasting memories since there were so many exciting games. Always relish all of your thoughts and opinions on the games, so folks , please share! 

Could go hours on four games; the Steelers vs. Jets (seven lead changes), the Lions vs. Packers (passion at Lambeau), Ravens vs. Bills (the game is never over till it's over), and the Bears vs. Vikings (4th quarter surge by a team that knows how to win). 

The week two slate might have answers, but since it's so early in the season, we know so much can happen over eighteen weeks, yet for me the Monday night game between the Raiders and Chargers is a must-see, especially since almost 45 years to the day was a dandy in the long-time rivalry. 

The Raiders, after back-to-back 9-7 seasons of not going to the playoffs, have made significant roster additions, and the Chargers after earning a playoff berth in '79, are at home on September 14th to take on the silver & black. When Cedrick Hardman sacks Fouts and forces a fumble that Willie Jones returns 11 yards for a touchdown, the Raiders have the lead 17-10, but San Diego is very resilient. 

Jim Plunkett's touchdown strike to Raymond Chester down the middle in the end zone ties the game, but in overtime, the Chargers win as Fourts delivers an accurate pass to John Jefferson for 24 yards for the winning score. 

Jim Plunkett

The title of today's saga is a quote from Fouts and in this game, he is sacked and throws five interceptions, but he keeps pitching. Jefferson and Kellen Winslow combined for 18 catches and 242 yards in the game. For the season, he will break his own record by gaining 4,715 yards passing and the division title. 

Dan Fouts

At the time, not sure how many would have surmised these two rivals would meet for the right to go to the Super Bowl? Oh, they do? Well, that is a story for another day.

Matt LaFleur's First Season Opener at Lambeau Field is Worth the Wait

 By Eric Goska

Behind the Desk: Bill Cowher (left), Nate Burleson (center) and Matt Ryan (right)
were on the scene at Lambeau Field as CBS broadcast Sunday's Packers-Lions game.
(photos by Eric Goska)

The wait is over.

For six consecutive seasons, Matt LeFleur and his Packers had opened on the road. Sunday, finally, the 45-year-old head coach kicked off a campaign within the friendly confines of Lambeau Field as his team hosted division rival Detroit.

In general, NFL schedule makers grant first-time head coaches an opener at home within a year or three of their hire. But since 2019, those charged with arranging dates, times and locations apparently overlooked Green Bay.

While fellow NFC North coaches Dan Campbell (Lions) and Kevin O’Connell (Vikings) began their careers at home in 2021 and 2022, respectively, LeFleur had to sit tight. While Arthur Smith (Falcons) and Matt Rhule (Panthers) stayed put in each of their first three seasons as head coaches, LeFleur traveled out of state.

LeFleur’s patience paid off.

Steve Owen’s never did.

In LaFleur’s first five seasons, his Packers initiated play at Chicago (2019, 2023), at Minnesota (2020, 2022) and at New Orleans (2021). Last year, they flew to Brazil to get the ball rolling against the Eagles.

Logging so many miles is unique in team history. Every other Packers head coach – from Curly Lambeau (Hagemeister Park, 1921) to Gene Ronzani (City Stadium, 1950) to Vince Lombardi (New City Stadium, 1959) to Bart Starr (Milwaukee County Stadium, 1975) – opened their first season at home.

Biding time as LaFleur did is rare. Only three coaches in NFL history had to wait longer.

Owen, head coach of the New York Giants from 1931 through 1953, never opened a season at home. He spent 23 years initiating play on foreign soil.

The other two: Roy Andrews (8 years; 1924-31) and Jim Lee Howell (7; 1954-60).

Fans wait in line to gain admission into Lambeau Field.

Jim Nantz, who handled the play-by-play for the Packers-Lions matchup, noted the significance of the opener.

“They (the Packers) have not had a home opener in Week 1 since 2018,” he announced after Green Bay had scored its first touchdown. “So it’s the first time Matt LeFleur has been given that courtesy as well. And what a way to start your season with a touchdown drive ending with (Jordan) Love hitting six different targets including (Tucker) Kraft at the end for the score.”

Motivated, focused, LaFleur’s charges controlled the Lions from the outset, registering a convincing 27-13 win over the reigning NFC North Division champs.

Pass defense played a major role in the victory. Jared Goff rarely had time to get comfortable in the pocket or take a shot downfield. The Lions quarterback launched 39 throws and completed 31 for an underwhelming 225 yards. He averaged a meager 7.3 yards per completion.

One measure of Detroit’s ineffectiveness is the number of short completions it had. The majority of them – 25 to be exact – netted fewer than 10 yards each.

That’s a lot of baby steps. Only twice before have the Packers forced so many short aerial gains in one regular-season game. The Giants (Kerry Collins) fired 25 in a 34-25 loss on Jan. 6, 2002, and the Bears (Mitch Trubisky) had 26 in a 35-16 setback on Jan. 3, 2021.

Declaring a defense successful because of a near record number of short throws may seem counter-intuitive. But every one of those modest gains had the potential to morph into something more, yet Green Bay refused to allow it.

The Packers and Lions have been tangling since the 1930s.

Consider Jahmyr Gibbs Exhibit A. The running back – often a last resort when nothing materialized downfield – served as Goff’s top target hauling in all 10 passes thrown his way.

But – and this is a biggie – the three-year veteran only gained 31 yards on those 10 connections.

Translation: Gibbs went virtually nowhere before or after the catch.

According to Stathead at Pro Football Reference, there have been just over 1,750 instances of a player snagging 10 or more passes in a regular-season game. Only one of those double-digit dippers – Alvin Kamara of the Saints in 2023 – averaged fewer yards per catch (2.5) than Gibbs’ 3.1.

More than a third (11) of Goff’s completions went for fewer than five yards. Two wound up as negatives.

Goff’s longest hookup was a 32-yarder to tight end Sam LaPorta early in the third quarter. That, and that alone, was the Lions’ only pass play of 20 or more yards.

While the recently acquired Micah Parsons played a role in this uptick in Green Bay’s pass defense, the improvement appeared to be a team effort. The question then becomes: Can the unit duplicate its stinginess against Jayden Daniels – a younger, more elusive quarterback than Goff – and his Commandeers come Thursday.

The Waiting Game
NFL head coaches with the longest wait before opening a season at home.
 
Years    Coach                    Team(s)         Years
  23         Steve Owen              Giants            1931-1953
    8         Roy Andrews           many              1924-1931
    6         Matt LaFleur           Packers          2018-2024
    6         Tom Flores              Raiders          1979-1984
    6         Joe Walton              Jets                 1983-1988
 
Coming Up Short
Teams with the most completions of fewer than 10 yards in a regular-season game against the Packers.
 
No.   Date                 Team                  Result
26     Jan. 3, 2021       Bears                    GB won, 35-16
25     Sept. 7, 2025     Lions                    GB won, 27-13
25     Jan. 6, 2002      Giants                  GB won, 34-25
24     Nov. 29, 1981    Vikings                GB won, 35-23
23     Dec. 19, 2021    Ravens                 GB won, 31-30
22     Oct. 18, 2015     Chargers             GB won, 27-20
22     Oct. 6, 2024      Rams                    GB won, 24-19