Packers Snap Their Losing Streak with a Win Against the Rams

 

            In ugly fashion, the Packers finally snapped their four-game losing streak against the Rams on Sunday. The game wasn’t pretty by any means, but holding a team to three points in the National Football League is still pretty impressive. Although Matthew Stafford was out of this game, it was great to see the defense capitalize on a weak Rams offense.

            The defense was the story of this game and the secondary needs to be talked about. Without Rudy Ford and the loss of Rasul Douglas, multiple guys stepped up in their absence. Carrington Valentine stepped in as the number two cornerback and made the most of his opportunity. Johnathan Owens and Anthony Johnson each made huge plays, both had a play that resulted in a turnover. It was also great to see Jaire Alexander finally back to making the huge impact on the game that he is used to making.

            The offensive side of the ball is still a work in progress but, the Packers did snap their streak of not scoring a first-half touchdown thanks to Aaron Jones. Jones handled the rock a ton, twenty carries to be exact. Even with a fumble, it was still great to see Jones get the carries he deserves. It was also great to see that Matt LaFleur remembered 33 is still a Green Bay Packer and realized that if he wants people to stop talking about his job security, the simple solution is to give Aaron Jones the football.

            The youth on the offense continued to show, the drops and penalties are still an issue that this unit needs to clean up. Jordan Love didn’t throw an interception which is good news, but I think we still want to see more from him. The only way we will see more is if the receivers pick it up, the dropped passes and miscues are still clearly evident and something that needs to improve drastically by the end of the season.

Luke Musgrave did score his first touchdown on a unique play call that would end up being Jordan Love’s only touchdown of the game. Hopefully, we see more incorporation of Musgrave in the second half of the season in the Packers’ offense.

Injuries before the game and during it affected the Packers once again. Quay Walker and Rudy Ford were ruled out before the game and during it, the Packers lost Kenny Clark and Christian Watson. Hopefully, those injuries don’t linger around long-term.

What does this win mean for the Packers? It’s hard to be mad at a win, especially after what this team has looked like in the past four games. It is also hard not to think about the Packers’ draft position for next season and that is straight-up loser talk. “Yes, I am guilty of it myself.”

More than anything, we want to see growth and the win against the Rams showed us even the most minimal growth if any. Next week the Pack will be tested against a very well-coached Steelers team under Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh. It could get ugly but with the momentum from a win and the way the defense played, anything is possible.

It’s crazy to think, but we are officially past the halfway mark this NFL season. The Packers currently sit at 3-5 and have a lot of ground to make up if they even want to sniff the playoffs this season. But, on any given Sunday, right? That’s the attitude real Packer fans should be having for the rest of this season.🧀