The Green Bay Packers could not find the end zone without the arm of Aaron Rodgers to carry them as their play-off hopes took a dent on Sunday.
The Detroit Lions knocked Rodgers out of the game and ended a trio of dubious streaks in a 7-3 win. Drew Stanton threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Will Heller, the tight end, midway through the fourth quarter and Detroit held on.
Rodgers started his 45th consecutive game in the regular season since replacing Brett Favre in 2008, but that streak might be in jeopardy because of his second concussion this season.
The Lions (3-10) broke a five-game losing streak overall, a 10-game slide against Green Bay and a 19-game run of losses against teams in the NFC North in what was the NFL's worst slump within a division since the merger four decades ago.
Detroit's last division win was on October 28, 2007, at Chicago.
"Was it 20 games ago? Wow," Dominic Raiola, the centre, said. "There were a lot of streaks."
Rodgers was hit hard by Amari Spievey and Landon Johnson in the second quarter.
Green Bay took a timeout after the quarterback got up slowly, perhaps to give him time to recover, then he was sacked on the next play. He finished the drive, but did not come back into the game.
Rodgers also had a concussion in an overtime loss at Washington in October and played the following week.
"I can't really measure the level of a concussion at this point," Mike McCarthy, the Packers coach, said. "He'll go through the normal protocol this week. I was just told that his head is clear and he has a headache."
When Rodgers was in the game, Detroit's pass rush, Green Bay's lack of a running game and a dropped pass led to his lacklustre performance.
Rodgers was seven of 11 for 46 yards with an interception that was not his fault as Greg Jennings allowed a pass to pop out of his hands, which Spievey picked off.
That was just one of many missed opportunities for the Packers (8-5) in a game they desperately needed to win for play-off positioning.
Green Bay got better news later in the day, when the Chicago Bears were routed by the New England Patriots to keep their NFC North lead at one game.
As poorly as the Packers played in Detroit, they still had a shot to win in the final minute, despite only having a field goal from Mason Crosby to show for their endeavours.
Matt Flynn, the seldom-used back-up quarterback, got them to the Detroit 31-yard line before turning the ball over with an incomplete pass into the end zone just past a diving Jennings.
Instead of trying to simply pick up the first down, Green Bay opted for a high-risk, high-reward call.
"That was the play called in the huddle," Jennings said.
McCarthy took the blame. "I probably shouldn't have put Matt in that position," he said.
At a glance
American Conference
East W L T PF PA
New England 11 2 0 415 276
NY Jets 9 4 0 273 242
Miami 7 6 0 225 244
Buffalo 3 10 0 256 339
South
Jacksonville 8 5 0 295 331
Indianapolis 7 6 0 347 318
Houston 5 7 0 288 321
Tennessee 5 8 0 291 265
North
Pittsburgh 10 3 0 290 198
Baltimore 8 4 0 260 201
Cleveland 5 8 0 235 252
Cincinnati 2 11 0 262 345
West
Kansas City 8 5 0 295 268
San Diego 7 6 0 354 253
Oakland 6 7 0 314 307
Denver 3 10 0 269 376
National Conference
East W L T PF PA
Philadelphia 9 4 0 374 308
NY Giants 8 4 0 308 247
Washington 5 8 0 238 310
Dallas 4 9 0 321 366
South
Atlanta 11 2 0 335 243
New Orleans 10 3 0 330 240
Tampa 8 5 0 260 267
Carolina 1 12 0 164 338
North
Chicago 9 4 0 253 228
Green Bay 8 5 0 306 189
Minnesota 5 7 0 227 253
Detroit 3 10 0 285 309
West
St Louis 6 7 0 245 268
Seattle 6 7 0 261 329
San Francisco 5 8 0 243 280
Arizona 4 9 0 243 351
This week's results
Tennessee 28, Indianapolis 30
Buffalo 13, Cleveland 6
Carolina 10, Atlanta 31
Detroit 7, Green Bay 3
Jacksonville 38, Oakland 31
Pittsburgh 23, Cincinnati 7
Washington 16, Tampa Bay 17
New Orleans 31, St Louis 13
San Francisco 40, Seattle 21
Arizona 43, Denver 13
Chicago 7, New England 36
NY Jets 6, Miami 10
San Diego 31, Kansas 0
Dallas 27, Philadelphia 30
Top performances
• Tom Brady, Patriots: 27-for-40 passing, 369 yards, two TDs
• Jason Campbell, Raiders: 21-for 30 passing, 324 yards, two TDS
• Ryan Torain, Redskins: 24 carries for 172 yards
• LeSean McCoy, Eagles: 16 carries for 149 yards
• Tim Hightower, Cardinals: 18 carries for 148 yards, two TDs
