It was a ugly three quarters for the Green Bay Packers. After falling behind 28-0, they made a valiant comeback, but ultimately feel short in a 31-29 defeat. Green Bay had four turnovers including three interceptions from Jordan Love. They did force three turnovers of their own that got them back in the game. Here are some takeaways from the defeat yesterday.
The Green Bay Packer Defense was Horrible in the First Half, but Solid in the Second Half
The game could not have started any worse for the Green Bay Packers. After dropping an interception on the first drive, Sam Darnold found a wide open Jordan Addison for a touchdown. There was no Jaire Alexander for the Packers yesterday and it showed. The trio of Eric Stokes, Carrington Valentine, and Keisean Nixon was picked on all afternoon.
The defense was much better in the second half and gave up only three points. The Vikings attempted to score the sealing touchdown after a Tucker Kraft fumble, but held their own and gave the offense life in the last few minutes. Moving forward, they have the start better on the defensive side of the ball.
The Green Bay Packers Have an issue at Kicker
Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
It was not a good training camp at the kicker position. Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph did not earn the job. As a result, the Green Bay Packers cut both kickers and signed Brayden Narveson from Tennessee. So far, he has missed a kick in every single game, The Tennessee game did not count as his missed field goal was after a penalty. Narveson missed field goals of 37 and 49 yards. You can move past the 49 yard attempt, but every NFL kicker has to make field goals inside 40 yards. There is no excuse for that.
What might be worse is the Packers are likely stuck with Narveson for the rest of the year. They might not be able to move on to another kicker. Narveson could improve as the year goes along, but the improvement has to happen fast.
There is Way Too May Mistakes Through Four Games
There is zero excuses for the amount of mistakes this team has made through four games. It is a young tea,m, but they have played too much together to continue to make the amount of pre-snap penalties and other penalties. It’s a result of a lack of focus and not being fully involved in the game. It’s brutal but it’s a fact.
For as much as it is on the players, it’s also on the Green Bay Packers coaching staff. Matt LaFleur needs to be better in game week preparation. It starts with him. I also think this continues to be an issue in his tenure. There is no doubt he is a fantastic coach and one of the better head coaches in the league, but way too many times do we see his team have a lack of focus at times in games. It has to be better and it should have been by now.
The Green Bay Packers Will be Just Fine
Just think about all the mistakes and penalties this team has made in their two losses. It’s crazy when you think about it. It’s also happened against a good Philadelphia Eagles team at full health and a Minnesota Vikings team that is clearly better than I and most thought. The Packers have lost these games by a combined seven points.
The Green Bay Packers have beaten themselves in two losses. Credit absolutely goes to the Vikings in this game because they were dominant in the first half, but you see the talent this Green Bay Packers roster has. If they can clean up the easy things, there is not many teams in this league that will beat the. It’s all correctable errors and it will be cleaned up as the year goes along. The panic meter should be at a zero right now.
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