DETROIT – On second-and-2 from the Lions’ 10-yard line, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur called what he thought was a successful running play to AJ Dillon.
Instead, Dillon was marked down at the 9. LaFleur was fuming. He ran all the way down the sideline to the 10 to talk to the official.
“That was an interesting dynamic,” LaFleur explained. “So, I was told that we got the first down. And, obviously, they said they marked him short.”
LaFleur had already called a play for first-and-goal at the 8. He decided to stick with it on third-and-1 from the 9.
“I was confident with it as a third-down call, as well,” he said. “It was one of those deals where if I didn’t like the play-call, you would have to use a timeout in that situation. But I felt comfortable with the call and those guys, they made it work.”
Rookie tight end Tucker Kraft really made it work.
He lined up on the right side of the formation against the Lions’ best defender, Aidan Hutchinson. Kraft initially engaged Hutchinson as if it was a running play. After perhaps a half-second of run blocking, Kraft pulled Hutchinson past him and slipped into the route.
He was all alone at the 5 for an easy touchdown.
For Kraft, the third-round pick who got the start with Luke Musgrave on injured reserve with a kidney injury, it was his first career touchdown.
“I was very excited,” Kraft said. “As soon as the play was over, though, I was getting back to three-point stance, blocking gap scheme [for the extra point]. Next-play mentality, take care of business, one snap at a time. That’s kind of my mentality moving forward is just play in the present, don’t wait on the next play, don’t worry about the past play, be where my feet are.”
That mindset persisted after the game.
“I’ll let it soak in,” Kraft said. “But we’ve got to get back to work. We’ve got a lot more games to win. We’re starting to be on the right side of these close-game victories and it feels good. We’re enjoying this feeling. We got two games in a row where we come out and we’ve put points on early and the defense has played well. That’s the formula and we’re going to keep sticking to it.”
The Packers entered the game with their rookie class delivering NFL-leading totals of 97 receptions for 1,221 yards. On Thursday, with Musgrave and receiver Dontayvion Wicks out due to injuries, Malik Heath (four catches, 46 yards), Jayden Reed (four catches, 34 yards, one touchdown) and Kraft (two catches, 15 yards, one touchdown) combined for 10 receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns.
That’s eight touchdowns and counting for the Packers’ rookies.
“Trust, that’s the biggest part,” Kraft said. “Jordan’s finding a way to put the ball in the hands of guys that he trusts. He’s finding the open guys. He’s making incredible plays downfield; same with the receivers.
“In the NFL, you don’t get a lot of second chances. As we’ve grown and progressed through the season, we’ve learned a lot about each other, a lot about ourselves and growing with each other in the offense. There’s a lot of young guys; the coaches are tired of hearing that and so are we. In a couple months, we’re going to be vets. Start acting like it now.”
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