Winners and losers: 5 takeaways from Packers crushing loss to Lions in Week 14

The Packers enjoyed a golden opportunity to knock off the Lions in Detroit on Thursday Night Football but were ultimately undone by Dan Campbell's bold decision to go for it on fourth down late in the fourth quarter. The loss dropped Green Bay to 9-4 and leaves them three full games behind the Lions in the NFC North.

That means it's time for head coach Matt LaFleur and his team to focus on the Wild Card. The division crown is now practically out of their grasp with just four games to play. None of this means the Packers can't make a significant postseason run, but it does mean they'll be forced to do so from a tougher seeding spot than they would have liked.

The news for Green Bay is not all bad coming out of the three-point loss, but the vibes inside the building won't be sunny this week. As such, the Packers have more losers than winners after their gut-wrenching defeat.

Packers winner No. 1: Christian Watson

Green Bay's wide receiver group suffered from a strange target share this week but Christian Watson was the big winner. He reeled in four catches for 114 yards which proves he has what it takes to produce big plays in big games. He did cough up a costly fumble that hurt his team but that was the one blemish on the tall wideout's overall performance.

The key for Watson is just to add more consistency to his game. He's a valuable deep threat but he needs to add in more volume to his catch repertoire. A couple of extra grabs on third down from Watson could have turned this game in Green Bay's favor.

Watson benefited from Jayden Reed's reduced workload and Romeo Doubs' absence in Week 14 but he made the most of his opportunity. Time will tell if this is a turning point in the young wideout's season.

Packers winner No. 2: Isaiah McDuffie

Middle linebacker isn't the most important position in modern NFL defenses, but it's a crucial spot against a physical running attack like the Lions possess. Edgerrin Cooper missed out due to injury on Thursday, but Isaiah McDuffie filled his spot in the lineup and led Green Bay with 15 total tackles.

His physical play up front helped the Packers limit the Lions' running back due of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery under 100 yards rushing as a pairing. That was not enough to earn the Packers a victory but it did prevent them from being beaten up on the ground.

McDuffie will never develop into an All-Pro linebacker but he's a perfectly serviceable starter when the Packers suffer any sort of injury on the second level. This performance goes down as a win for the young linebacker.

Packers loser No. 1: Jayden Reed

Jayden Reed being held to a single target against the Lions amounts to coaching malpractice for Green Bay's offensive staff. The fact that he also wasn't given a chance to hurt Detroit on the ground is further proof that the Packers need to find more ways to get the explosive wideout involved.

Part of the problem for Green Bay is that Jordan Love was running for his life for long stretches. He simply didn't have time to read through multiple progressions. Since Reed typically isn't his first option, that drastically reduced his ability to be a factor on intermediate or deep routes down the field.

The solution is to engineer ways for Reed to get the ball on screens and short passes. He has the juice to turn short throws into big gains. He could have made a difference for the Packers in this game but the coaching staff did not put him in a position to succeed.

Packers loser No. 2: Green Bay's offensive line

The Lions only tallied one sack on the day but they were all over Love from the opening snap. They harassed and hurried Green Bay's offensive talisman to prevent him from ever getting comfortable in the pocket. Love did a good job to produce some nice gains with his legs but he isn't a dynamic enough rusher to thrive in the sort of chaos he faced against the Lions.

The interior of the Packers' offensive line struggled mightily to blunt the interior of Detroit's defensive front. That forced Love to move laterally much sooner than he prefers. Effectively cutting the field in half made things much easier for the Lions secondary.

The Packers need to protect Love better if they want to make a serious playoff run. Failing to do so against an undermanned Lions' front was a disappointment in this game.

Packers loser No. 3: Green Bay's defensive line

It's impossible to win games elite competition when you're dominated on both sides of the lines of scrimmage. That's what Green Bay tried to do on Thursday and they paid the price.

Rashan Gary was really the only standout for the Packers up front. He had the team's only sack of the night and added in another quarterback hit. The rest of Green Bay's defensive line was largely anonymous when it came to getting after Jared Goff.

The lack of pass rush is not a new problem for the Packers but that does not make it any less of a disappointment. The group had a chance to change the narrative surrounding them on the national stage and failed to do so. Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley will need to take more risks down the stretch to help overcome this weakness.