Former Lions player T.J. Lang works as sideline reporter. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Former Lions OL Calls Packers 'Soft'

Originally posted on Detroit Lions on SI
By Christian Booher | Last updated Sep 26, 2026 2:00 PM ET

The Thursday Night Football game in Week 3 was eye-opening for the NFC North.

In a home game against the Atlanta Falcons, the Green Bay Packers delivered a disappointing performance. Viewed as a contender for the division title, the Packers were dominated at home by a Falcons team that had struggled to move the ball in losing their first two games.

Ultimately, the Packers dropped to 1-2 on the season with a 35-14 defeat. It was a surprise result for a team that is viewed as a primary challenger for the Detroit Lions in their quest to win the NFC North for the third time in four years.

This showing by the Packers elicited some strong reactions across the NFL landscape, including a former player turned analyst in T.J. Lang. A 10-year NFL veteran who played his first eight seasons in Green Bay, Lang is now a sideline reporter for the Lions' flagship radio station.

Lang played collegiately at Eastern Michigan before being drafted by the Packers in 2009, and would play eight years for Green Bay before logging his final two seasons in Detroit.

In an appearance on 'The Valenti Show With Rico,' Lang had some strong words for the state of his former team.

“Obviously, if you’re the Packers, you’re missing Josh Jacobs. Depending on his situation, who knows when he gets back. Micah Parsons, you’re missing probably two of your top three players on that team," Lang said. "The guys that they have right now, it didn’t look physically tough enough, it didn’t look mentally tough enough to overcome some of the issues that they had. They got smacked in the mouth, and they had no answer for it. I thought that Green Bay looked like an incredibly finesse, soft football team.”

The Packers surrendered 21 pressures in Thursday's game, which led to quarterback Jordan Love being under constant duress. Additionally, the Packers struggled on the defensive side as running back Bijan Robinson rushed for 194 yards and two scores on 29 carries.

Lang noted that there was an element of pride missing from the Packers' performance in Thursday's game.

“When you have a quarterback, like blocking for Aaron Rodgers or Jordan Love, you have to have pride. You have to have a certain attitude about you," Lang explained. "You have to have a certain motivation that I’m going to do everything in my power to not get these guys hit and to be the big brother. I’m gonna stick up for guys, and that just hasn’t been the case with Green Bay. Their whole offense was let’s just take shots and shots and shots. Let’s try to get the ball downfield. There was no toughness to that team that we saw (Thursday) in Green Bay.”

While the Packers could certainly turn things around after a tough start to the season, there are valid concerns the team is facing. Detroit won't square off against Green Bay until Week 7 on Oct. 25, which directly follows the Lions' bye week.

This article first appeared on Detroit Lions on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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