Dynamite to dud
Falcons-Packers matchup lacks promise it once held
GREEN BAY, Wis. — How fortunes have changed in less than two years for the Atlanta Falcons and the Green Bay Packers.
The participants in the NFC title game in January 2017 are floundering this season.
The Packers already have fired coach Mike McCarthy. Falcons owner Arthur Blank reaffirmed support for his coach, Dan Quinn, this past week after a fourgame losing streak dropped the team out of the playoff picture.
Today’s game between the Falcons (4-8) and Packers (4-71) at Lambeau Field was once circled on the NFL calendar as a potential matchup of contenders jockeying for a home game in the playoffs.
Instead, it has turned into a matchup of disappointing teams, with each trying to avoid a losing season.
“I think what you want to do when you go through a difficult stretch is you want to make sure you take the lessons first, and when you do that, there’s something that you have to gain,” Quinn said. “Sometimes you don’t like to admit it, but that’s where the learning takes place the most.”
It sounds a lot like what’s happening in Green Bay, where the future is clouded by uncertainty.
Offensive coordinator Joe Philbin took over as interim head coach when McCarthy was fired after a stunning 20-17 loss last Sunday to the lowly Arizona Cardinals. A coaching veteran with a dry sense of humor, Philbin has delivered simple messages at a time of upheaval.
“I told the offense we’ve got to block, we’ve got to throw and catch, we’ve got to run hard with the ball. That’s really ultimately what wins games,” Philbin said. “Schemes are important, but not as important as guys playing together and playing with great effort and playing fundamentally sound. That’s really the focus.”
The Packers have lost three straight games and five of their past six. They need lots of help to get into the postseason even if they can somehow win their last four games.
“I think everybody’s kind of realizing that we’re all under the microscope even more. Who knows what the changes are going to be after the season?” said Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a two-time MVP whose quest for a second Super Bowl title isn’t likely to be realized this season.
“I feel like the energy was good today,” Rodgers said this past week. “Unfortunately the urgency that you need early in the season, we kind of had out in practice today.”
At least the game could be worth watching for the quarterback play. Rodgers’ 61.8 percent completion rate this year is his lowest since 2015 (60.7 percent), but he has thrown just one interception all season against 21 touchdowns and his 3,504 passing yards are fifth in the NFL this season. He has thrown a franchise-record 336 passes without an interception, trailing only New England Patriots star Tom Brady (358 in 2010-11) for the longest such stretch in league history.
On the other side of the quarterback duel is Matt Ryan, who won the 2016 NFL MVP award while leading the Falcons to the Super Bowl. His 3,814 passing yards this season are third in the NFL, and he has completed 326 of 460 of his passes (70.9 percent) with 25 touchdowns and just five interceptions.
But the Falcons have the NFL’s worst rushing attack, having averaged just 79 yards a game. They were held to 34 on the ground in last week’s 26-16 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens, and that was an improvement a week after their season-low 26 at New Orleans.
“When we’re at our best, we’re running the football and we’re able to create play-action passes,” Ryan said.
This might be the week they get things going. Green Bay allowed a season-high 182 rushing yards last week to the Cardinals, who have the league’s second-worst rushing offense.
One of the Falcons’ goals is to jump-start their abysmal third-quarter scoring. Atlanta has been outscored 71-34 in third quarters this season, including 6-0 against Baltimore as the Falcons ran only five plays and held the ball less than two minutes in the period.
Injuries have played a major part in Atlanta’s misfortune, though Quinn has not mentioned them as an excuse. The Falcons have put eight players on injured reserve this season, including long snapper Josh Harris this past week.
They finally had a key starter return from IR last week, when linebacker Deion Jones set a career high with 15 tackles — the most by a Falcon this season — and a sack against the Ravens. Jones missed 10 games after breaking his right foot in the season opener at Philadelphia.
Early last week, Quinn said the missing players “have had a significant impact” in the Falcons’ “style and attitude.”
“We’re always bummed when we don’t have those players here,” he said. “That is part of it, we recognize, in the game. Some years you have more (injuries) than others. This happens to be one of the years we have more.”