Here we go again. Another game that ended with the same story for the Green Bay Packers: a strong start followed by a stalled-out finish. Then to top it off, a defense that can’t stop a nosebleed. The Packers might have officially hit rock bottom after an embarrassing 23-21 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday afternoon. This week’s takeaways for the Packers are anything but good, except for one.
Takeaway Number One: Packers’ Offensive Line Played Well
Perhaps the ONLY positive takeaway for the Packers game is the fact that the offensive line took a major step forward. Despite missing star left tackle David Bakhtiari, they played extremely well. The coaching staff benched right tackle Royce Newman and it seemed to work. No sacks were given up against a challenging Commanders’ defense. It does not get any easier moving forward as the Packers face the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys in the next three weeks. All three teams have excellent pass rushers. Let’s hope the coaches finally found a lineup of good tackles and guards that works moving forward, barring injuries. Now… here comes the bad, and ugly. (Deep breath).
Takeaway Number Two: Defense Bent And Broke
For a defense that showed great improvement last year, they are not living up to the hype this season. More disturbingly they have a knack for bending and breaking. In Sunday’s game, the defense started so well, but couldn’t maintain it. They scored seven of the Packers’ 21 points yesterday. Watch this interception by linebacker D’Vondre Campbell. But sadly, the positives end there. They once again struggled to stop the run, allowing 166 yards.
Over the last four weeks, the Packers’ defense has allowed at least 150 rushing yards per game. It might be due to a combination of factors. The defense as a whole has no energy due to fatigue. The game plan by defensive coordinator, Joe Barry, is poor. Or it could be a bad effort and they don’t care. Whatever the reason, that is the glaring weakness of the Packers’ defense but it will not get figured out any time soon. In addition, the Packers had a few killer defensive penalties which speak to how undisciplined they are.
Takeaway Number Three: Packers’ Passing Game Is Non-Existent
The last takeaway for the Packers game is that the passing game is non-existent. The wide receivers couldn’t catch a cold if they tried. Now, part of the blame does go to quarterback Aaron Rodgers for some of his inaccurate passes and he’s been struggling to trust the young receivers all season long. But, the majority of the 35 passes he threw yesterday were catchable. The receivers dropped ten passes in Sunday’s game which held the offense back. Let me say that again: the Packers had TEN drops. Although Rodgers needs to not overthrow or under throw receivers on the occasions he does, when he puts it in the right place for his receiver to be able to catch, there are no excuses.
Closing Thoughts
There’s a dark cloud hanging over the Green Bay Packers organization right now and it will, unfortunately, be there for quite a while no matter what changes occur after this season. This current team is not good enough. They are now in a rebuild and unfortunately, fans have become so accustomed to winning at least 13 games under head coach Matt LaFleur that it is difficult to lower expectations. But it is time to do just that. This is the first time they have faced real adversity in a long time. With the loss to the Commanders, the Packers have now lost three straight games dropping their record to 3-4 and it does not get any easier next week as they travel to Buffalo to face a Super Bowl favorite in the Buffalo Bills.
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