The Green Bay Packers fell to the Detroit Lions 34-20 on Thursday at Lambeau Field, struggling offensively despite the return of two valued playmakers. The presence of running back Aaron Jones and wide receiver Christian Watson wasn't nearly enough for Green Bay to consistently move the ball against a fierce Lions defense, though, no big surprise given the inexperience of Jordan Love—not to mention the absence of key starters on the offensive line.
After the game, Packers coach Matt LaFleur addressed the status of star offensive tackle David Bakhtiari, who was placed on injured reserve hours before kickoff amid nagging pain in his surgically repaired knee.
“I hate the situation Dave's in. I feel for him,” LaFleur said, per Jason B. Hirschborn of SB Nation. “He's been battling and battling and battling to make it back. It's just a bad injury, unfortunately.”
Bakhtiari played in Green Bay's season-opening win over the Chicago Bears, but experienced swelling in his left knee immediately after the game. He hasn't taken the field since, still dealing with discomfort stemming from the torn ACL he suffered late in the 2020 season.
While being placed on injured reserve only keeps Bakhtiari out for a minimum of four games, it looks increasingly likely that his season has already come to a close. The 31-year-old reportedly underwent a knee scope on Thursday, a necessary procedure before he soon goes under the knife for a more significant surgery that's poised to keep him out of the lineup until 2024, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Rasheed Walker, a seventh-round pick in last year's draft, started for the Packers at left tackle against the Lions. He was part of a makeshift offensive line that allowed five sacks and a whopping 11 hits on Love, keeping Green Bay from gaining any semblance of consistency on offense until Detroit opened up a massive lead.
The Packers, 2-2, are back in action on October 9th against the Las Vegas Raiders.
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