Last week, the Green Bay Packers were anointed NFC Super Bowl favorites on the heels of a pair of dominant wins over playoff-caliber teams. The sky’s the limit, everyone said. They’re just scratching the surface.
Left tackle Rasheed Walker dared to utter the “U” word. But all the ridiculous talk of an undefeated season was quickly washed away in the final four minutes in Cleveland, and now Walker says he’s done talking to the media. Great idea. Maybe try not to get three penalties called on you, while we’re at it.
The collapse in Cleveland was stunning, and so many players contributed. It starts with the fateful Jordan Love interception that breathed life into a Cleveland Browns team at a time when the priest was delivering last rites. It was an absolutely horrible decision by Love, no question. Safety Grant Delpit made a great play moving off Tucker Kraft and stepping in front of Dontayvion Wicks. It was the first turnover of the season for the Pack and also the first for Cleveland’s defense.
Matt LaFleur shares a major piece of the blame, with a head-scratching play call on third-and-three. Just run the ball, and if you don’t convert the third down, punt it. Daniel Whelan had been tilting the field all day, averaging 53 yards per kick, and the Browns had not shown the ability to sustain a long drive all afternoon. It was highly unlikely they were going to beat Green Bay’s defense – the one bright light on a gloomy afternoon.
Which brings us to Green Bay’s potential game-winning final drive. It opened with a great Savion Williams kick return and included a couple of nice pass plays that put the Pack in position to run the clock down and kick the game-winner.
They dodged a major bullet when Josh Jacobs was ruled down before the ball was punched out. I thought for sure he turned the ball over, but then I was watching the game from a bar in Bloomington, Ind., on one small screen out of 18 in front of me. That allowed the Pack to trot out Brandon McManus to put the game on ice, and we all know what happens next. Rich Bisaccia’s special teams unit fails miserably once again. This time Jordan Morgan and Tucker Kraft allowed Shelby Harris to block it.
Naturally, the ball ricocheted toward Cleveland’s side of the field, where they only needed 15 yards or so to attempt the game-winning field goal. Micah Parsons’ inexplicable offside penalty gave them a head start, the 14th penalty of the day called on the Pack. That’s the most the team has had in 15 years. Eight came in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Parsons was flagged twice, Walker three times, and then there were what seemed like countless penalties on the defense when the Browns finally reached the red zone late. This is inexcusable for a team with title aspirations. Their 29 flags through three games is tied for fourth-most in the league.
The offense shoulders much of the blame for the loss, managing just 10 points against what is a dynamite defense that held the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens to less than 400 yards of offense combined.
The Packers still haven’t unlocked the running game, with every team stacking the box and daring them to throw. They have taken shots downfield against man coverage, but Love never had time to throw deep. The five sacks are tied for the most he’s ever taken. Cleveland pressured him on 13 of his 31 dropbacks, 42% of the time.
Love came into the game leading the league, averaging 12.5 yards per target; he managed just 1.6 against the Browns. The offensive line was banged up, but LaFleur and Love need to find a way to adjust to the situation – move him out of the pocket more and make that aggressive pass rush pay with Love’s legs if you have to. Even shorthanded, there are too many capable weapons on this team to get shut down like they were on Sunday.
Early on, it looked like we were witnessing the Matthew Golden breakout game, with a career-long 34-yard reception early on. He caught all four of his targets, but it felt like a day when his number should have been called more often.
Granted, the pressure took away deep-shot opportunities, but they should have found him on some quick hitters. The Pack never really took advantage of slot corner, the one hole in Cleveland’s defense.
So, was this a wakeup call, or are the Packers not the team they looked like in the first two weeks? We’ll get a good idea when we see how they respond in prime time when Parsons makes his return to Big D.
The Dallas Cowboys are coming off a miserable performance and have some injury concerns. Sunday night is a chance for the Packers to rebound – they are early 5.5-point favorites – and run up the score against a toothless defense in a stadium where they’ve never lost.
This will be a week for every player and coach to look themselves in the mirror, as Jacobs said after the game. They need to understand that a collapse like the one in Cleveland cannot happen again. Twenty-nine penalties through three weeks is inexcusable. They’d better clean up their business now, or any Super Bowl dreams they might have will be just that — dreams, with no basis in reality.
