What they’re saying about the Lions’ loss

Quotes from players and coaches following Detroit’s 34-27 loss to the Packers in Green Bay on Sunday.

Lions coach Jim Caldwell

On the first half: “We couldn’t stop them. Rodgers was hot, completed a lot of big passes on us. He really gave us some problems in that area. We just couldn’t slow him down. It was kind of the ‘tale of two halves’ the second half. It was a little bit different. We were able to get some stops. The offense moved the ball decently in the first half, but just didn’t finish a couple of drives there. In the second half, they fought back and made a game of it.”

On why linebackers were lining up against Jordy Nelson: “It kind of depends on the scheme, what call is made. Those things happen. You can’t always match up exactly man-on-man in those situations. It just depends on what was called if they happen to catch us in that situation.”

On if injuries affected the game: “Not at all. We talk about injuries not prohibiting us from playing and I think the guys, the way they played in the second half, kind-of proves that. I think they played well and played tough. We just played poorly in the first half.”

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford

On being down 31-3: “Obviously, it’s a difficult situation. We put ourselves in that situation. On offense we didn’t score enough points in the first half. We had some chances down there. We just didn’t put touchdowns on the board, that makes it tough. I’m proud of the guys for fighting back. I had a really good rhythm going there in the second half, but again I had to settle for a field goal on one of those drives. I was proud of the way we fought, we just didn’t get it done.”

On Marvin’s two touchdowns: “I thought he played really well. He had some opportunities on the right side and did a really nice job of making some big plays. I thought Eric (Ebron) played well, really all the receivers, especially guys on the outside played really well.”

On Marvin Jones Jr.’s play: “I think all the guys we have, every receiver can make plays, no question. Marvin did a heck of a job today. Made some really nice catches, made some big plays. It was beneficiary of being just to the calls, some really good beaters to that coverage and made some plays. That’s awesome."

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Lions receiver Marvin Jones Jr.

On his performance compared to losing the game: “There’s not too much balance, in terms of me, personally, but I feel like what we did in the second half was to be commended, but obviously we didn’t get it done. In the first half we didn’t play up to our standards, and we came back and we fought, and we ran out of time and it wasn’t enough.”

On how he exploited the defense: “I just know that whatever play was called, I ran it. I ran it to the best of my ability. That’s pretty much it. Matt (Stafford) had some pretty awesome throws, particularly in the second half.”

Lions cornerback Darius Slay

On Green Bay’s offense: “They were just making plays. It wasn’t something we couldn’t do; they were just making better plays than us. Our defense is getting better. They struck on us first and then we calmed down and had a pretty good defense in the second half.”

On giving up 31 first half points: “It is rough. We want to be able to get it done on defense, but we will come back and try to move forward.”

On Jordy Nelson: “He and Aaron have a good connection. They have good timing.”

Lions safety Glover Quin

On Rodgers’ key first down run in last few minutes of the game: “He just scrambled out of the pocket, broke contain, and picked up the first down. It was a key play in the game.”

On Eddie Lacy’s big day: “We needed to do a better job of stopping the run. We wanted to make them one-dimensional. You have to give yourself a chance. It is one of the main things. We settled down in the second half, but we can’t come out that way. We can’t wait until the second half to get stops and make plays on the ball. We have to come out that way.”

Lions receiver Golden Tate

On the offense: “I thought we moved the ball very well. We had a lot of yards and guys showed up to play, but we kind of ran out of time I think. I thought we did a great job of fighting back. Matt (Stafford) did a great job leading us. Obviously Marvin (Jones Jr.) had a heck of a game, a career game for him.”

On the loss: “We are not discouraged. That (Green Bay) is a good football team. We are making plays, we are moving the ball. We just need to iron out some things. We are running a little thin on personnel, but we just need to have the next man up and make plays. That is what we are expecting. We would love to be 3-0 right now, but the good news is we get another opportunity to come out and do something special.”

Packers coach Mike McCarthy

On the Packers offense dominating the first half: “Well, just our execution. I thought players did an excellent job throughout the week. I really liked Thursday’s practice. Saturday’s practice wasn’t quite where we needed to be. We’ll get that corrected the next time we have a Saturday practice. I thought we were dialed in. We were playing against a team that has an explosive offense. It was important for us to have a healthy run and pass mix. That was my thought process throughout the week and obviously how I called the game. I just thought our guys executed at a high level. Frankly, I thought that maybe we could control the ball a little longer. But we had a lot of explosive plays and played at a real high level, particularly in the first half.”

Packer guard T.J. Lang

On the offense’s performance and Aaron Rodgers: “He looked pretty comfortable back there. That’s the type of football that I think we would all prefer to play every week. There were a couple of plays where he had to do the scramble drill, but it was working for him. No complaints about that. He looked at me after one of the touchdowns and he just kind of smiled and headbutted me and said, ‘I’m back.’ It’s definitely good to see him go out there and just get back to his dominant fashion.”