Packers offense going from bad to worse
GREEN BAY − The first words out of coach Matt LaFleur at his postgame news conference said it all about his Green Bay Packers offense Sunday.
“That was obviously tough to watch,” LaFleur said.
Indeed. If you were thinking the Green Bay Packers offense had bottomed out last week at Denver, think again.
The story has been the same for more than a month now and appears likely to continue for a while. LaFleur’s and Jordan Love’s offense can’t do anything until the Packers get desperately behind in the second half. Then, even when they get something going, it’s still a struggle to put up anything on the scoreboard.
In their 24-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at Lambeau Field, the Packers even had a chance late to get in the thick of a game they had no business being in. But down 24-10, three fourth-quarter possessions, including two with great field position, yielded zero points.
The Packers’ issues are myriad. If their young pass-catching corps is improving, it’s not showing up on game days, what with critical dropped passes and the failure to make a tough play or two that could change a game. Their offensive line has been more problem than solution all season with key penalties and blown assignments, which continued Sunday.
And Love? There’s certainly no pinning all these woes on the Packers’ firstyear starting quarterback. But it’s also true that in recent weeks he hasn’t done much to elevate the play of everyone around him, most especially when things are going badly or the offense is behind the chains. There were plenty of times Sunday where ,if you didn’t know better, you’d have thought the Vikings had 12 or 13 defenders on the field.
“Myself, it’s too bumpy right now,” Love said afterward. “I need to find consistency in my play where I’m able to make every play, go to the right place on every play. It’s got to be more consistent from me.”
Minnesota Vikings linebacker Danielle Hunter strip-sacks Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love.
LaFleur defended his quarterback, who at least by the eye test has not progressed in the past month. LaFleur said by the team’s count, the Packers dropped six passes on the day.
Fifth-round draft pick Dontayvion Wicks had a huge one on a simple slant that would have converted a first down inside the 5 on one of the fourth-quarter drives that came up empty. If you want to be a tough grader, Christian Watson dropped two contested touchdown passes in the last 7 minutes – one on a short fade route (the play after Wicks’ drop), the other in traffic that would have been a 34-yard touchdown just inside 2 minutes to play.
But Love also missed some throws, including a deep out to Romeo Doubs in the third quarter on which the quarterback threw off his back foot, and overleading an open Watson streaking down the sideline late in the game.
“There’s going to be some plays you want back,” LaFleur said of Love, “but also we’ve got to make some plays for him, too. We had like six dropped balls. That’s going to be tough to overcome.”
Maybe the biggest problem is that LaFleur, Love and the entire offense seem lost until they’re a couple of scores behind well into the third quarter. Then they go hurry-up because they have to.
In Week 3, it worked in that they came back from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the New Orleans Saints. But in their current four-game losing streak, it’s been too little, too late.
Against the Vikings, Kirk Cousins’ 20-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Jordan Addison with 7 minutes, 48 seconds left in the third quarter put Minnesota up 24-3. The Packers had to go hurry-up to have any chance and answered with a touchdown that gave them life, if only they wouldn’t have shrunk after a big special-teams play (blocked field goal) and a turnover from the defense (a strip sack and recovery by Preston Smith).
The failure to convert either of those possessions into a touchdown was borderline criminal.
“We’re running 2-minute offense for half the game,” LaFleur said. “What you work on all week and what you plan for, you can’t even get into your normal rhythm because you’re not moving the chains. That’s what’s disappointing.”
The bigger question is, where’s this all leading? What’s the endgame here? Will Love, Watson, Doubs, Jayden Reed and Luke Musgrave at some point this season start clicking? So far, they’ve shown only glimpses of talent. It’s going to take a lot more to be considered progress, let alone to win games.
Love’s confidence is surely getting tested as the weeks roll by and the offensive struggles continue. Over the past five games, the Packers are averaging 15.6 points and he’s put up 67.1 rating. On Sunday, he threw one interception, a slightly underthrown ball down the seam that safety Josh Metellus ripped out of Reed’s hands
Love also was sacked four times, including at least two on which he held the ball too long. When asked if he was less decisive Sunday than earlier in the season, Love couldn’t disagree.
“I’d say you’re right,” Love said. “That’s where I need to continue to grow, continue to be better for the team, just being that decisive player that’s going to go through my reads, know where I need to go with the ball, and put the ball in the right place. … Some of those situations where I was holding the ball too much, the sack, the strip fumble, that’s where it comes down to, just decision making, making decisive reads. That’s where I’ve got to be better, 100%.”
To a large degree, this is what the Packers’ decision-makers signed up for last spring when they decided to trade Aaron Rodgers, give Love his shot and start over at the pass-catching positions. They knew there would be tough times and plenty of struggles.
But what stands out seven games in is that the troubles moving the ball and putting points on the board are, if anything, getting worse, not better. Everything is hard for this team. Even on the lone touchdown drive, it took four plays to get in the end zone from first-andgoal at the 1.
LaFleur and his offensive staff, up to now, have failed. Things are trending the wrong way. They still have time to get the arrow pointing back up, but the weeks are starting to slip away.
Said LaFleur, “We’ll find out what everybody in that locker room, what we’re all made of.”
Columnist USA TODAY NETWORK – WIS.