The 34-31 loss last-second field goal loss was a stinger because the Packers were “that” close to going on the road and upsetting the Lions. It’s not as if they played poorly in the loss, either. They went toe-to-toe with arguably the best team in the NFL at the moment and even held a fourth-quarter lead.

What ultimately happened was that the Lions had just a few more plays in their pocket and they also possessed the ball last, which meant they could use kicker Jake Bates to break the 30-30 tie as time expired.

It was a tough loss for the Packers, who now will look to bounce back against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15, but not all is lost after the loss. In fact, veteran defensive lineman Kenny Clark left the game sounding more confident in his squad, even in a losing effort.

“We lost by three points. “We played good football; we’ve played good games. They’re not a team that we’re scared of by any means,” Clark said after the contest, according to ESPN.

The Packers may be able to get back to Detroit by way of the NFC Championship game, but their road to the playoffs will go through the Wild Card and ultimately that means that they’ll have to play on the road. That makes this upcoming game against the Seahawks a great test. There are also a few lessons they can take from the loss to the Lions, though, moving forward.

Josh Jacobs must touch the ball every red zone trip

Running back Josh Jacobs was once again a man-possessed for the Packers. Yes, the Lions have a beat-up defensive front, but they play as physically as any team in the NFL even with their backups. Still, Jacobs was able to rush 18 times for 66 tough yards and three touchdowns.

Most importantly for the Packers, all three of his touchdowns came in the red zone, which means all eight of his rushing touchdowns over the past four games have come off red zone touches.

He’s as close to an automatic six as it gets down near the goal line, and the Packers found that out the hard way late in the fourth quarter when they settled for three points after three of their four called plays were passes.

Jacobs can carry the load, and head coach Matt LaFleur has to trust that and not get cute in the red zone.

The Packers can handle the road environment

It was testy in Detroit on Thursday night. The Lions were doling out punishment, and their fans were a wild mixture of angst, anger, and hype (perhaps too much so).

The Packers took a shot to the mouth when Detroit marched for an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to start the game. They had their backs to the wall going into halftime, down 17-7.

Green Bay came out of the locker room focused, though, and immediately put 14 points on the board thanks to a long touchdown drive featuring Jacobs, an interception from Keisean Nixon that set them up with great field position, and another touchdown drive featuring Jacobs.

The Packers swung the game from 17-7 to 21-17 in a matter of minutes, and in the process, they proved that they can take the big punches that come with playing in a road, playoff-like environment and punch back.

That’s a lesson the Packers can take with them moving forward.

Good things happen when Jordan Love takes care of the football

Jordan Love had his third straight game without an interception and even though he and the passing offense started slow, he proved again that he’s one of the best throwers in the league when he makes good decisions with the football.

Love completed 12-of-20 passes against the Lions for 206 yards and a touchdown with a passer rating of 111.7.

The Packers don’t need him to be a superstar to win games with the way the run game is operating, but they do need him to take care of the football. As long as he keeps throwing touchdowns instead of interceptions, the Packers will have a chance to win out the rest of their games.

Either way, at this point of the season, Love and the Packers need to take it one game, and even on possession at a time. There’s no use crying about the past or looking too far ahead to a likely postseason berth.

“Obviously, we got a couple games left here, and we’re trying to finish on the right note and win out these last couple of games, handle business, take it one game at a time, and obviously we’ll see what happens postseason time,” Love said, according to ESPN.

Lots of positive takeaways despite the loss.