GREEN BAY, Wis. — Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia was about to enter the interview room when he stopped and changed direction.

He hobbled on his boot, walking slowly toward Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford. He bent down and she gave him a hug.

“The guys are hurting,” Patricia said in her ear, in a cramped hallway, after the Lions lost to the Green Bay Packers, 23-22, on Monday night at Lambeau Field.

Yes, this hurts.

You can point to several reasons why the Lions lost. At the most basic level, the Lions kicked too many field goals (five) and didn’t get enough touchdowns (one).

But the refs played a critical role, too, blowing several calls that led to a touchdown and the winning field goal.

“We are not playing the officials,” Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “We are playing the Packers.”

Well, a lot of Lions fans would disagree with that.

But I digress.

One thing is certain: The Lions offense has to be better to beat a team like Green Bay at Lambeau Field. The Lions got into the red zone three times but scored one touchdown. You can’t beat Aaron Rodgers – and the refs, too – when you kick five field goals.

“It’s the story of the game in my opinion,” Stafford said, of the red zone problems. “The defense played well enough for us to win the game. We made some big plays on offense. We just didn’t put the ball in the end zone. Can’t do that on the road against a good team.”

He’s not wrong.

And it was a problem all night.

The Lions started the game with a flea flicker, a brilliant call. Stafford handed off to Kerryon Johnson, and the Packers' safeties crashed. That opened up the field and Stafford hit Kenny Golladay for an easy 66 yards.

“We practiced that all week and felt good about it,” Golladay said. “Let’s go make a play. Let’s start the game off with a bang.”

But here’s the problem: The Lions settled for a field goal, which was the story of the game.

“It was just another situation where we wish we had come out with seven points instead of three,” Golladay said.

Yes, that's too much wishing and not enough doing.

The Lions started their second possession with another big play when Stafford threw a 58-yard pass to Marvin Hall. Johnson scored a 1-yard TD and the Lions had a 10-0 lead.

But the touchdowns disappeared after that.

Stafford said it wasn't a change in philosophy. They just missed on the big plays.

“In the red area, execution has to be at its highest, whether it’s communication or alignments,” Patricia said. “We have to clean that up.”

The Lions will look back at this game and point to several plays that would have made a difference.

T.J. Hockenson couldn’t hang onto a touchdown pass.

“Certainly, we have to get touchdowns,” Patricia said. “Obviously, we’ve got to get those points."

The Lions were 3-for-13 on third down.

What’s wrong?

“It’s fundamental stuff,” Stafford said. “We just have to just throw and catch better. That’s what third down is about most of the time. We just gotta execute better.”

In the third quarter, the Lions wasted another opportunity, after Dee Virgin caused a fumble on a punt.

The Lions advanced inside the Packers 25 and had to settle for a field goal. Technically, it wasn’t inside the red zone. But it was another blown opportunity, wasting a short field.

“We need to get better,” wideout Danny Amendola said. “You kick yourselves offensively with missed opportunities and getting five field goals. … We just have to finish it off. We did some good things tonight and made some good plays, yet there are opportunities we missed and we can’t miss those opportunities and expect to win.”

No. Not when you have to beat Aaron Rodgers.

And the refs.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.