With their victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, the Green Bay Packers ended a two-game losing streak and maintained their hopes of making the playoffs. These are our three main conclusions.
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin: The Giants humiliated the Green Bay Packers. The Buccaneers had embarrassed them. The Panthers nearly embarrassed them.
Green Bay defeated Carolina 33-30 on Sunday to get away from there. Not only did it boost their chances of making the playoffs, but it also ensured one more crucial game. Jordan Love and this incredibly gifted group of young players will eventually be in the playoffs. They will be better prepared for the big game thanks to this big-game experience.
Here are this week’s Three Overreactions.
1. LaFleur Flirting With Disaster
After the Bucs’ defeat the previous week, head coach Matt LaFleur had good reason to fire Joe Barry, but he chose to retain the troubled defensive coordinator. Why? Who knows? LaFleur frequently claims that this is a results-based industry, and the outcomes in the defense sector have been appalling.
Tommy DeVito, the quarterback for the Giants, defeated the Packers and won the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award. After defeating the Packers, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield won the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award. If Bryce Young, the quarterback for the Panthers, had succeeded in finishing the comeback, he could have also won NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Kirk Cousins may now beg the Vikings coaches to allow him to play the Packers the following week, even if it means using a cane. For the chance to play Green Bay in the championship game, Josh McCown, Cade McNown, and every other unsuccessful Bears quarterback from the previous few decades may get into a brawl outside Soldier Field.
On Sunday, Green Bay had a somewhat encouraging first half, but over the last 30 minutes, they were completely destroyed. The Packers were more or less saved by the bell than they actually won the game. The Panthers scored 30 points, their first 20-point total in four games. They scored four touchdowns after failing to reach the end zone in the previous two weeks.
This goes beyond the defensive meltdown on Sunday.
Of all things, the coin flip proved to be a disaster. LaFleur had three captains, but cornerback Jaire Alexander, who had been out for six games, wasn’t one of them. Regardless, he went outside for the first coin toss.
Alexander remarked, “I don’t think Coach knew I was from Charlotte.”
Yes, of course he knew and was indifferent.
Alexander made a terrible flip, which made things worse. He stated that the defense desired to take the field rather than postponing the decision until the second half. That is not equivalent to that. Thankfully, the humiliation of kicking off to begin the game and the second half was avoided thanks to a pregame conversation between LaFleur and the referees.
Alexander said, “I told them, ‘I want our defense to be out there,’ and they all looked at me like I was crazy.” “What I said is quite straightforward. “I would like the defense to be made public.” “You mean defer?” they ask, and I respond, “Yeah, I guess.”
The roster of the Packers is young. Immature frequently translates to young. It’s time, no, past time, for LaFleur and the organization’s upper echelons to take control of Alexander’s rogue behavior. It’s time to tidy up. Take the defensive coordinator’s place. Get rid of the assistants on defense. And deal Alexander along with anybody else who isn’t all in on creating the team that will win the next championship.
2. Packers Need a Running Back
Aaron Jones’ throwback performance was one of the game’s major stories. Despite missing most of the season due to injuries, Jones managed to rush for 127 yards on 21 attempts. He recorded season highs in yards gained (54), average (1.4), and carries (one). He was more influential than the stats as Green Bay jumped out to a 13-3 lead.
It was the first 100-yard receiving or rushing performance of the year for Green Bay. It couldn’t have come at a better time, with the Packers in desperate need of a victory and the pass-catching corps beset with injuries.
Quarterback Jordan Love exclaimed, “That’s huge.” Of course, everyone is aware of the kind of player Aaron Jones is. It was tremendous to be able to get him back to full health, and he had a terrific day rushing the ball and making some plays in the passing game. Try to get him the ball as much as you can whenever we can get him back to 100%. We are aware of the kind of player he is.
Jones is still one of the best running backs when healthy. But Jones is only 29; this time next year, he will be 30. Jones has only missed four games in the last four years, so it’s not like he’s prone to injuries. However, running backs who are thirty years old typically don’t get any better or healthier.
Jones demonstrated what Love and an improving passing game can accomplish with a dynamic running back. It will be time to locate a 21-year-old Jones in April.
3. Running the Table? No Way.
The Packers are 7-8 and 10th in the NFC. The New York Times, however, projects that the Packers have a 90+ percent chance of making the playoffs if they can defeat the Vikings the following week and the Bears in the championship game.
But let’s be honest. It is not possible for the Packers to advance to the postseason.
Their defense is, to put it mildly, appalling.
The run defense is constructed out of cardboard. That is an organizational issue rather than a Barry one. In terms of yards allowed per carry since LaFleur took over as coach in 2019, it is the lowest in the NFL.
There are more holes in the pass defense than in a block of Swiss cheese. Barry’s favorite zone defense was dismantled by the Bucs last week. He therefore played man and was utterly destroyed in the second half by a rookie quarterback who had not passed for a touchdown in his previous four games or reached 200 passing yards in seven straight games.
What will Justin Jefferson do next week if D.J. Chark and Adam Thielen of Carolina combine for 192 receiving yards? Given that Tommy DeVito is expected to amass 259 passing and rushing yards, what role will Justin Fields play in tandem with D.J. Moore?
The United Nations has fewer flags than the special teams.
It made sense in August that the Packers’ inexperienced passing attack would keep them out of the playoffs. Right now, that young passing game is the only aspect of the team that matters.
