Three Studs and Duds from the Packers Loss to the Titans

The Green Bay Packers lost at home to the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night. It was the first time that Tennessee won in Lambeau field. The Titans offense was able to sustain long drives that kept the Packers defense on the field for far too long. In the end, it wore down the defensive unit and took the offense out of rhythm. Still, there were some good individual performances, but with fewer and fewer games remaining in the season, one has to wonder if they are “too little, too late.”

Three Studs

Christian Watson

The Packers’ second round draft pick had four receptions for 107 yards and three touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. He followed it up four days later with another multi-touchdown performance. Christian Watson finished with four receptions for 48 yards and two more touchdowns. He now leads all rookie wide receivers in touchdowns and became the first Packers rookie wide receiver with back-to-back multi-touchdown games since Max McGee in 1954.

.@ChristianW2017 with ANOTHER TD! #TENvsGB | #GoPackGo

📺 Prime Video pic.twitter.com/yHqCVejYBR

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 18, 2022

Randall Cobb

After missing the last few weeks with a sprained ankle, Randall Cobb returned to remind everyone what he brings to the Packers offense. The savvy veteran wide receiver finished the night with six catches for 73 yards. Additionally, he recovered Aaron Jones’ fumble in the first half, preserving the Packers’ scoring drive.

Aaron Rodgers blasts a laser to Randall Cobb's way 💥pic.twitter.com/MjJ8x2V2JM

— Packers Nation (@PackersNationCP) November 18, 2022

Preston Smith

The Packers defense was pretty brutal for most of the night, but Preston Smith individually had a solid game. As the only quality edge rusher left, he was still able to accumulate five tackles and recorded 1.5 sacks.

Preston Smith is feastin' on his birthday! 😤pic.twitter.com/KPnJ5dr6Oz

— Packers Nation (@PackersNationCP) November 18, 2022

Other players worth shouting out here include Quay Walker, who had 12 tackles before leaving early with an injury. Keisean Nixon was a breath of fresh air in both the kick and punt return units, returning one punt for 25 yards (not that the Packers took advantage of that, or anything). It is also worth noting that the Packers’ run defense, which has been awful all year, held Derrick Henry to 87 yards on 28 carries (3.1 yards per carry).

Three Duds

Joe Barry

What is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Such is the existence of the 2022 Green Bay Packers defense. While they were playing without De’Vondre Campbell and Eric Stokes, the defense looked woefully unprepared for this game. That falls on the defensive coordinator, Joe Barry. All night long, it seemed as if the Titans were able to convert on third downs because of zone coverages or some very weak man coverage. A great deal of that does fall on the players, but they are also playing within Barry’s system. The system is not working, and he is not adjusting.

The Packers Secondary

To be honest, I was ready to give this spot solely to Darnell Savage. He did, indeed, have an awful game (again). However, the fact of the matter is that the entire Packers secondary miscommunicated all night, left wide receivers open, and were, to be frank, just plain bad. Sure, Rasul Douglas had an interception in the second half, but as a whole the secondary played well-below their standards. As mentioned above, a great deal of blame for this goes to Joe Barry, but these are professional football players. They need to be better.

Aaron Rodgers

The future Hall of Fame quarterback played adequately well for most of the game. However, with the game (and perhaps the season) on the line late, Rodgers could not complete the most clutch passes. He overthrew Allen Lazard a few times, and threw a very questionable pass to Sammy Watkins, who (to be fair) seemed to give up on the route early. Additionally, Rodgers almost cost the team a safety by being flagged for intentional grounding. Fortunately, his foot came out of the end zone just before he released the ball. Unfortunately, Christian Watson was wide open downfield.

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