Packers fans hate Za’Darius Smith again after dirty hit on Jordan Love

There was already no love lost between Za’Darius Smith and the Green Bay Packers. Smith’s tenure in Green Bay got off to a sensational start with double-digit sacks in 2019 and 2020. But after an injury-plagued 2021 season, the Packers released the edge rusher to get out of his contract … only to see him end up with the division rival Minnesota Vikings .

Smith ended up spending just one season in Minnesota and was traded to the Cleveland Browns in 2023 – an AFC destination that most Packers fans barely notice. But if anyone in Green Bay had forgotten their grudge against Smith over the last 18 months, they were forcefully reminded of it Thursday night.

Thanks to a deadline deal with the Detroit Lions, Smith finds himself back in the NFC North. That made Thursday night’s matchup between the Lions and Packers a revenge game of sorts, with Smith hoping to lead his new team to a victory that would help solidify its control of the division and the top spot in the NFC playoffs consolidate.

But Smith wasn’t content to simply let his play do the talking. He wanted to make sure Jordan Love and the Packers felt his presence no matter what, even if it meant crossing the finish line: When Green Bay faced a third down in the first half, Smith got to Love shortly after his free kick Pass that clearly hit the quarterback in the head with his right hand. However, the referees did not see fit to call the passer call and declined to throw a flag that would have kept the Packers’ drive alive.

It was clearly a failure on the first iteration, with even Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit immediately mentioning it in the Amazon broadcast. That’s little consolation to Packers fans who watched an old nemesis get away with a cheap shot at their franchise quarterback. If Dan Campbell and Co. want to contradict the “Dirty Team” allegations, they should try a little harder to make sure games like this don’t happen as often near Detroit.