The Green Bay Packers sought to maintain their perfect season against the Cleveland Browns, a matchup in which Vegas favored them by more than a touchdown. However, the Packers sleepwalked their way through the first half, putting up just three points. The biggest news of the half was Zach Tom going out after he appeared to re-aggravate an injury on the first snap of the game.
While the defense put up yet another masterclass, the offense wasn’t doing much. Despite their slow start, they finally managed to score a touchdown late in the third quarter, making it a 10-0 game.
Cleveland fought back, tying the game up with a field goal and some help from Jordan Love, who threw an interception that was almost returned for a score. Later, Browns rookie Quinshon Judkins punched the ball in from a yard to make it a 10-10 game with three minutes to go.
The Packers got the ball deep into Cleveland territory with just two minutes left in the game. From there, pandemonium ensued with what can be best described as a dubious call on a Josh Jacobs fumble and recovery. From here, the Packers had yet another special teams gaffe when the Browns blocked what would have been a game-winning kick.
Cleveland ended up capitalizing on great field position and drilled a 55-yard kick to win the game.
Here are five numbers that tell the story of the game.
5
The Browns sacked Jordan Love five times this week, consistently putting him under pressure. While a lot of the talk of the first two weeks centered around just how good the defense had been, the offense was able to thrive due to their ability to protect Love and allow for long-developing plays.
It was always going to be an uphill battle for the offensive line going up against Myles Garrett and Co. It became even harder when Tom exited the game, leaving the line without one of its most important members.
A big reason behind the Packer offense’s inability to move the ball effectively down the field is getting dominated at the line and struggling to give Love the time he needed to dissect the defense like he did in weeks past.
1.9
The O-line also struggled with its ability to run block, and Jacobs averaged just 1.9 yards per carry. Usually, when the team has a lead, they lean on Jacobs in the fourth quarter to beat up on a worn-down defense and get four or five yards per touch.
That didn’t happen on Sunday because the Jacobs couldn’t get going at all, and Cleveland’s defensive line didn’t allow the offense to run long-developing plays.
Green Bay also couldn’t run the ball. Therefore, they had to use Jacobs as a checkdown option. He caught a season-high five passes, recording nine targets and leading the offense in both categories, while finishing second in receiving with 44 yards.
If the Packers’ offense wants to get back on track next week, they are going to need to open up lanes for Jacobs to operate and wear down opposing fronts.
93.2
The Packers had a 93.2% win probability with just 3:56 left in the fourth quarter. Despite the offense looking anemic for most of the game, they still appeared to be in firm control, as the defense had snuffed out any Browns scoring opportunities, forcing them to settle for a field goal when they had a first-and-goal at the one-yard line.
In some ways, the Packers let Cleveland back into the game by themselves. Love’s interception set the Browns up just four yards away from the end zone with a chance to equalize.
Even when they looked like they were going to hit the game-winner, a special-teams blunder allowed the Browns to block the kick and put themselves in great position to win the game. While this loss is frustrating for a whole host of reasons, the Packers can take some solace in knowing this loss was more self-inflicted than anything else.
1.7
Jordan Love’s average depth of target was 1.7 yards. Against the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders early in the season, the offense excelled at getting vertical in the passing game and stretching opposing secondaries.
With Tom’s injury and the poor pass protection throughout the game, it was expected that the offense might look to use more quick passes to get going. However, an ADOT of 1.7 is a far cry from what we had seen in the first two games of the year.
Seventy-six percent of Love’s yards came after the catch, and 80% of his throws were short of the sticks, something that is almost unheard of from a Matt LaFleur offense. Despite all this, Love had 2.57 seconds to throw, slightly more than Joe Flacco.
14
The Packers looked extremely sloppy today, committing 14 penalties. While the poor offensive line play and inability to move the ball were significant reasons for the loss, an even bigger one was the undisciplined play, especially on defense. They committed multiple pass interference penalties in the end zone, which gave the ball to the Browns at the one-yard line.
In a game where Cleveland’s offense struggled to move the ball at all, Green Bay’s defense bailed them out in key situations. Even on the final drive of the game, when the Browns still had to get around 20 yards to be in field goal range, the defense gifted them five free yards on the first play of the drive with Parsons lining up in the neutral zone.
While the Packers should have won this week regardless, you can’t expect to win these kinds of games when you get flagged 14 times.
