2YT3BFH Detroit Lions wide receiver Tim Patrick (17) celebrates after a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers during the second half of an NFL football game in Detroit, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
• Josh Jacobs scores the hat trick: Six different players have three rushing touchdowns in a game this season. The Green Bay Packers running back is the only player to accomplish that twice.
• Tim Patrick scores twice in an increased role: Patrick found the end zone for the first and second time as a Detroit Lions player while taking some snaps from Jameson Williams.
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PFF’s fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2024.
Packers miss Romeo Doubs: The Packers’ outside receiver missed his second-straight game due to a concussion.
The Packers’ plan at wide receiver was exactly the same as last week. Dontayvion Wicks started, and both he and Christian Watson played more than Packers receivers usually do because they were no longer competing for the same snaps. Bo Melton and Malik Heath were their backups.
The injury to Doubs had no impact on Jayden Reed’s playing time. Over the first 13 weeks, Reed had played 90% of Green Bay’s 11 personnel snaps and 2.6% of the 12 personnel snaps. Those splits were very similar last week and similar in this game despite Doubs being out. Similar to how teams often have running backs who rush for a lot of yards in wins and not as many in losses, Reed averaged 130 receiving yards per game in the Packers’ losses and 34 in the Packers’ wins prior to this week.
Many expected Reed to have a big night since the Lions had given up the most receptions (85) and receiving yards (1,084) to wide receivers lined up in the slot by a distant margin. Instead, Watson was able to take advantage of the defense. The Lions lead the league in man defense rate and Watson is the one Packer with notably better yards per route run against man compared to zone.
Reed has been the most frustrating good wide receiver from a fantasy football perspective this season. He only has four weeks as a top-24 wide receiver compared to seven weeks outside of the top-40, including this game. The only wide receivers with similar splits among the top 40 in fantasy points are D.J. Moore and Calvin Ridley. Those two are full time players who had slow starts to the season due to their offenses, in general, starting slow. The only real reason for optimism for Reed is the Packers playing at the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17, as they might be playing from behind in that game.
Wicks took a big hit late in the fourth quarter and was able to walk off the field on his own power. Melton and Heath split the limited snaps after Wicks left. The Packers never got the ball back, so it’s hard to know how serious the injury is. If Doubs and Wicks miss a game, expect Melton and Heath to split the role. If Wicks misses time and Doubs is able to return, expect Watson to continue playing more than usual.
Tim Patrick’s role continues to rise: Patrick scored his first two touchdowns of the season while playing more snaps.
Patrick had a slow start to the season after getting released by the Denver Broncos on cutdown day, taking a little time to get used to the Lions offense. He eventually settled into the third wide receiver role but was in somewhat of a rotation with Kalif Raymond. Patrick saw a temporary boost in snaps during Weeks 8 and 9 when Jameson Williams was suspended.
Patrick saw a more permanent boost last week as Raymond landed on injured reserve. This left Patrick on the field more consistently in three-receiver sets.
The increase in snaps in this game was a result of more usage in 12 personnel and other plays with few wide receivers on the field. He had typically played one-third of snaps, at best, in 12 personnel, mostly rotating in for Williams. Similarly, St. Brown and Williams rotated as the sole wide receiver in three tight end sets in the last month. Patrick only played two snaps from that personnel group all season prior to this week. In this game, he and Williams were in more of a 50-50 split in those personnel groups.
Williams tended to play more on pass plays while Patrick played more on run plays. However, Patrick scored on a a play out of 12 personnel where he was on the field and Williams wasn’t and he scored his second touchdown on a play out of 13 personnel. Both receivers’ change in playing time shouldn’t be a massive difference in the next three weeks, but it was in this game.
Miscellaneous Notes
• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.
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