Everything was supposed to be back to normal in Green Bay Sunday. The Packers had lost two in a row, but the Lions were coming to Lambeau Field. Surely the Packers couldn’t lose to the one-win Lions, who hadn’t won at Lambeau Field since 1991.
Well, they did.
The Lions (2-7) won 18-16 to knock the Packers (6-3) out of first place in the NFC North. It’s one of the most shocking upsets through the first 10 weeks of the 2015 NFL season. But where does it fall on the list of the season’s most shocking upsets?
A lot of survivor pools have been busted this year, and these games are to blame.
No. 10: Jaguars 23, Dolphins 20
Remember when the Dolphins were supposed to challenge the Patriots in the AFC East?
As laughable as that prediction seems now, it was still plausible when the Dolphins came to Jacksonville after a season-opening win over the Redskins. The Jaguars, meanwhile, still looked like the Jaguars after starting the season with a 20-9 loss to the Panthers. But the Dolphins never led in this one and three weeks later Joe Philbin was fired.
No. 9: Saints 31, Falcons 21
The Falcons entered this Thursday Night Football matchup at New Orleans 5-0 and the Saints were 1-4.
The Saints lost at Philadelphia 39-17 three days earlier and Drew Brees was struggling through a shoulder injury.
This upset deserves a spot on the list, but would be higher if the Falcons’ stock wasn’t artificially inflated. They needed overtime to beat Washington at home the week before and had trailed in the second half in four of their five games.
Also, division wins on the road are never a given in the NFL.
No. 8: Buccaneers 26, Saints 19
Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers were annihilated by Marcus Mariota and the Titans 42-14 in Week 1. So Winston just turned around and earned his first pro victory at New Orleans, breaking Tampa Bay’s seven-game losing streak at the Superdome.
The Saints, now 4-6, entered the game 0-1, but that loss was at Arizona and their upcoming struggles weren’t yet evident. Considering what we knew in Week 2, this was a stunner.
No. 7: Jets 20, Colts 7
This Week 2 Monday-night upset signaled that the Jets would be better than advertised and Andrew Luck’s smooth NFL career was going to get bumpy in 2015.
Even though the Jets entered this game at Indianapolis 1-0 and the Colts were 0-1, the preseason prognostications for both teams still stood. The Jets’ 31-10 home win over the Browns didn’t turn many heads and the Colts lost 27-14 at Buffalo, not a total shocker considering the Bills were going to be fired up in Rex Ryan’s debut.
But the Jets, now 5-4, showed they have the defense to contend for a playoff spot, intercepting Luck three times and forcing five turnovers. Also, Ryan Fitzpatrick has turned out to be a wise offseason acquisition. He threw two touchdown passes that night and has 15 so far this season.
No. 6: Colts 27, Broncos 24
As the season goes on, this Week 9 tilt might not seem like such an upset. But it was the Broncos’ first loss of the year and it came against a team with a 3-5 record at the time and a banged-up quarterback in Andrew Luck.
The Broncos came in at 7-0 and had turned in a 29-10, statement victory over the Packers in a battle of unbeatens the week before.
Coincidentally, Luck and Peyton Manning both completed 21 of 36 passes with two touchdowns. The difference was that Luck didn’t throw an interception and Manning threw two. The Colts converted the first one into a touchdown and the second came immediately after Adam Vinatieri kicked a 55-yard field goal to give the Colts a 27-24 lead with six minutes left in the game.
The Broncos didn’t touch the ball again.
No. 5: Rams 24, Cardinals 22
It’s not surprising now to see Todd Gurley running for 146 yards, but this Week 4 contest at Arizona was the rookie’s breakout game. He gained 144 of those yards after halftime to help the Rams, 1-2 at the time, hand the Cardinals their first loss after a 3-0 start.
The Rams, now 4-5, opened the season by beating the Seahawks at home but combined for just 16 points in losses to the Redskins and Steelers. They didn’t seem a likely candidate to join the Seahawks and the Jim Harbaugh-led 49ers as the only teams to win at Arizona since Bruce Arians became head coach in 2013.
This upset cracks the top five because it’s stood the test of time. The Cardinals are now 7-2. So unlike other upsets on the list it seems just as unlikely now as it did then.
No. 4: 49ers 17, Falcons 16
Considering this Week 9 game was won by Blaine Gabbert, it should be higher on the list.
But the Falcons, 6-2 at the time, were coming off a loss that is higher on the list. The market correction on their stock already had occurred.
Still, this should have been a bounceback game for the Falcons.
The 49ers, now 3-6, were in ruins and had just benched Colin Kaepernick in favor of Gabbert, who had a 5-22 record as a starter. Gabbert hadn’t started a game since 2013 and hadn’t won a start since 2012 with the Jaguars. But Gabbert threw two touchdown passes and Devonta Freeman was held to 12 yards, his lowest total of the season.
Falcons have won six straight after a bye week going back to 2009, including a win over the Colts and QB Curtis… https://t.co/Y75F3Td6dp
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) November 16, 2015
No. 3: Buccaneers 23, Falcons 20 (OT)
This Week 8 game is the Falcons’ highest appearance on this list.
They had rebounded from their first loss with an ugly 10-7 win at Tennessee the week before and were returning home to face the two-win Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay had blown a 24-point lead to Kirk Cousins and the Redskins the previous week, the biggest comeback in Redskins’ history.
The Falcons dominated this game, out-gaining the Buccaneers 496-290 and possessing the ball for 39:05 to 30:11 for Tampa Bay. Atlanta turned the ball over four times, however, and failed to force a turnover. All 20 of Tampa Bay’s points in regulation came off those turnovers, and the Falcons had to rally from a 20-3 deficit just to force overtime.
The Buccaneers won the toss and kicked a field goal on their first OT possession and the Falcons couldn’t answer.
No 2: Chiefs 29, Broncos 13
The stunning elements of this game go beyond the upset itself.
Sure, Peyton Manning had been struggling. But his decline wasn’t supposed to accelerate against a team that allowed an average of 276 passing yards in its first six games.
The Chiefs (4-5) improved those numbers against the Landry Jones-led Steelers and the Lions in London. But it was going to be a different story Sunday at Denver.
Except that it wasn’t.
Manning was benched in the third quarter after throwing his fourth interception. He completed just five of 20 passes for 35 yards as the Chiefs jumped out to a 29-0 lead and eventually hung on.
In case you missed it: Peyton Manning’s grade vs. the Chiefs was the lowest we’ve ever given a QB in a single game: https://t.co/vW70RsFvXX
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) November 16, 2015
The Chiefs had won two in a row, but the streak couldn’t be taken seriously considering the competition. They seemed like the perfect remedy for a Broncos team coming off its first loss. Instead, the Chiefs broke a seven-game losing streak against the Broncos, (7-2) and won at Denver for the first time since Tebowmania.
No. 1: Lions 18, Packers 16
There’s no bigger upset this season than the Lions’ stunner at Lambeau on Sunday.
When the Lions last won at Green Bay in 1991, most people hadn’t heard of the Internet. Ronda Rousey, who was pretty much in the same boat as the Packers this weekend, was 4 years old.
Combine that historical significance with the fact that the Packers’ two previous losses came at Denver and at Carolina. Denver was unbeaten at the time and Carolina is still unbeaten.
The Lions, on the other hand, won for just the second time this year.
Will Aaron Rodgers tell Packers fans to R-E-L-A-X this time?