One has to wonder what motivated the Detroit Lions to defeat the Green Bay Packers Sunday night. After all, the Lions had been knocked out of the playoffs by the win by the Seattle Seahawks’ win over the LA Rams.
But according to Lion players, their motivation was simple: they felt disrespected by Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Apparently, Rodgers had been throwing shade at them all season and the Lions didn’t forget. Rodgers was quoted as saying this after their week 9 loss to the Lions:
“We can’t lose a game like that against that team. So that’s going to hurt for a while,” Rodgers said.
James Houston said that the Lions were so mad about that quote and felt like Rodgers was talking smack about them.
Houston’s teammate DeShone Elliot was also upset and he went on his own rant about Rodgers.
“Yeah, he’s a Hall of Famer, but I just don’t like the way he’s been talking about my guys all year,” Elliott said. “The way he carries himself. I don’t like none of that [expletive].”
Lions defensive back DeShon Elliott said Aaron Rodgers and the Packers "don't respect us."
"Yeah, he’s a Hall of Famer, but I just don’t like the way he’s been talking about my guys all year," Elliott said. "The way he carries himself. I don’t like none of that [expletive]." pic.twitter.com/BNjbj0Ej3Y
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) January 7, 2023
Even Lions head coach Dan Campbell said their sole motivation for winning was to keep the Packers out of the playoffs and it worked. Detroit pulled the 20-16 upset over the Pack and reigning MVP Rodgers whom they picked off at the end of the game to end their season and theirs as well.
Not a bad way to end the season.
