GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers tight end Jermichael Finley believes that Sunday's 45-41 win over the Lions without Aaron Rodgers and other key starters will send Detroit into the playoffs "with a little limp." But Finley almost left the game with more than a little limp.
A play by Lions defensive end Cliff Avril had Finley questioning the motivations of Detroit's defense after the game. Avril blocked Finley near his knees on one play, the latest in a series of on-field antics that have made Detroit the NFC's biggest villain heading into the postseason.
"You seen that?" Finley responded when asked about Avril blocking him towards his knees. "Doing something like that, you're messing with somebody's career, their livelihood. It's just wrong."
Lions coach Jim Schwartz became a popular topic in the NFL earlier this season after his postgame run-in with 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. On Sunday, as Detroit went back and forth with the Packers through 11 lead changes, Schwartz twice threw his headset on the ground and was very animated midway through the second quarter when officials ruled a would-be touchdown catch by Titus Young as incomplete. By that time, Schwartz was out of challenges after using both and winning only one.
But it was the play of Schwartz's defense that had the fiery coach most upset after the game.
"They couldn't have played worse," Schwartz said of his secondary. "We covered poorly, we tackled poorly, we played man-to-man poorly, we blitzed poorly, we played zone poorly."
With Rodgers resting before the playoffs, Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn set franchise records for TD passes (6) and passing yards (480) in a game.
Detroit had an opportunity to clinch the fifth seed in the NFC with a win, but with this loss to Green Bay and Atlanta's win, the Lions are the sixth seed and will have to travel to New Orleans next weekend.
Losing to a 15-1 Packers team shouldn't hurt the Lions too much if it were under normal circumstances. But it's an embarrassing loss considering that Green Bay had nothing to play for. Rodgers was inactive, plus other Pro Bowlers like linebacker Clay Matthews and cornerback Charles Woodson were rested for the playoffs.
"We can't cry over spilled milk right now," Detroit cornerback Alphonso Smith said. "The fact of the matter is that we lost the game. We battled, but we had a tough game. We had a chance to win it defensively. The offense gave us a chance to win it towards the end, but we didn't execute."
While the Lions can be happy that they're in the playoffs for the first time since 1999, they haven't earned much respect from the Packers. In the teams' first matchup on Thanksgiving, Lions lineman Ndamukong Suh stomped on the arm of Green Bay offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith and was ejected and later suspended two games.
On Sunday, Suh celebrated a sack by doing Rodgers' "belt" move to the Lambeau Field crowd. That was met with a chorus of boos.
"They need to fix (the way they play) before they get to the playoffs," Finley said. "We don't want them to get far in the playoffs."
For the Lions to get past the first round, they'll need a much better performance than what they showed on Dec. 4 in New Orleans, where they lost 31-17 less than a month ago.
"We're going to use this as motivation," said quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was 36 of 59 for 520 yards and five TDs. "We've got to get on a run here. That's what it's all about in the playoffs, playing hot, and hopefully we can get that going."
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