The Packers Have a Lot to Clean Up if They Want to Be Serious Contenders

Photo via Madison Morris, packers.com

After watching the Green Bay Packers tie the Dallas Cowboys last night, there are three common themes I’ve noticed since the Packers won their last Super Bowl.

Each season, the Packers hurt themselves through either injuries, self-inflicted mistakes, or playing down to their opponent instead of playing to win. Last night, there were a million reasons the Packers should’ve lost that game. There were also a million reasons they should’ve won.

I’m going to hold off on the offensive slander until later, even though it was a huge factor in them not winning this game. The defense was abysmal. The juice we saw from this unit the first three games of the season was nowhere to be found. I’m not sure where it went, especially considering the magnitude of this game around Micah Parsons’ return to Dallas. Credit to Parsons for playing his butt off and getting held almost every play (get used to it folks, the NFL loves offense). There was no help from the surrounding cast. Edgerrin Cooper had his worst game ever as a Packer, the secondary was trash, and Rashan Gary and company were nowhere to be found.

The unit was completely exposed. Credit to Dak Prescott, who gets a lot of hate. He stayed calm in the pocket and didn’t let what little pressure the Packers brought affect him all game long. Even Micah Parsons acknowledged how well he played after this game. At the end of the day, Jeff Hafley and this crew have a lot of work to do during the bye week before playing the Bengals in two weeks.

Special teams. Boy oh boy. Special teams. At this point, it’s a Packers staple—the special teams are always going to suck. I feel like Matt LaFleur has a problem with firing guys he really likes. I think Rich Bisaccia (the highest-paid special teams coordinator) is one of those guys, just like Joe Barry was. You cannot be this consistently bad at your job and not be held accountable for it. I have a feeling that in the near future, Ed Policy is going to have something to say about this after the season.

The Packers’ offense had a lot of great takeaways but also a lot of mistakes in this game. The obvious issue was Matt LaFleur and his non-aggressive play-calling at the end. The clock management is one thing, but not letting Jordan Love throw more than once into the end zone in overtime is criminal. He was throwing seeds all game and the passing offense was rolling. Does Matt LaFleur not trust Jordan Love? Is he playing not to lose? This isn’t the first time those questions have been asked about him, and after a game like this, it’s perfectly fair to ask again.

The Packers’ offensive line, overall, held up. They had a couple of false starts and holds, but I do believe they held their own. Thankfully, the Cowboys’ defense isn’t anything special, but they got the job done regardless. Josh Jacobs erupted in this game alongside Emmanuel Wilson (dawg) to showcase that the Packers can still run the ball.

The passing offense in this game was great. This was one of Jordan Love’s best games as a Packer, as it should’ve been against a struggling Cowboys defense. The fact Romeo Doubs had three touchdowns and the Packers still didn’t win is going to haunt me for a while. I still don’t understand how LaFleur didn’t trust Love to go and win this game with ample time left. It makes no sense. Jordan Love was clutch in multiple situations late in the game while throwing the ball and using his legs. This was the ultimate Matt LaFleur “try not to lose” game and he succeeded in that, unfortunately.

There is so much football left, but the Packers have a lot of questions. After two weeks, they were the supposed Super Bowl champs and now? They’re 2-1-1, with a loss against the Browns and a tie with the Cowboys. Two teams who probably won’t even be in the postseason by the end of the year.

Matt LaFleur and the Packers head into the bye week with a lot to reflect on before a home matchup with the Joe Burrow-less Bengals. Although LaFleur hasn’t been outstanding immediately after the bye week, his overall record after the bye is 28-11.

At this rate, Packers fans need to take this team one game at a time. Simply because who knows what we’re getting week in and week out from the green and gold. I still think this is a great team that can make a run, but they need to clean it up. The NFL season is a grind, and all we can hope for is that this team grows in the face of this early season adversity.

Real Packer Fans Know🧀


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