🏈Opening Kickoff
The Packers dropped to 5-2-1 after a stunning 16-13 loss to the Panthers at Lambeau Field. What was expected to be a routine home win on Jordan Love’s birthday turned into a frustrating setback that snapped Green Bay’s momentum and raised new questions and concerns heading into November.
🗞️The Headline Recap
Sunday's duel with the Panthers felt like an easy opportunity to continue building momentum, but the Packers never found it. Green Bay entered Sunday favored by 13 points, yet exited Lambeau with a loss to Carolina. Fans left the stands in a state of shock. Despite out-gaining Carolina 369 to 265 yards, the offense sputtered in the red zone while the defense repeatedly surrendered ground dominance. Chuba Hubbard piled up 130 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and rookie kicker Ryan Fitzgerald drilled a 49-yard walk-off field goal as time expired following a game-winning drive led by Bryce Young.
For the Packers, Jordan Love finished 26-of-37 for 273 yards with one interception and no touchdowns. Despite a mostly clean game from Love, while his offensive linemen and wide receivers struggled, he received criticism for throwing into triple coverage on 1st-and-10 on his interception. He also drew scrutiny for throwing up a prayer on 4th down into the end zone that landed directly in the mitts of a Carolina cornerback, despite it seeming like Romeo Doubs bailed on the route.
To put it bluntly, the Packers were dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball, and that's where football games are won. The standard of excellence witnessed in Pittsburgh just a week ago vanished in an instant. Both execution and energy were missing, and the result was a loss that is leaving both fans and the general public confused as to what type of team the Packers actually are.
🤓By The Numbers
The Packers are now 0-2 this season in games they were favored by 10+ points.
The Packers' offense generated just 0.02 EPA per play against Carolina—one of the league's worst defenses—continuing a two-week slide from +0.21 EPA/play in their Week 8 blowout of Pittsburgh. (h/t CBS Sports)
The Packers are averaging a league-worst 5.0 yards on punt returns. No surprise there.
📈Stock Report 📉
Stock Up
Aaron Banks - He finally had a somewhat decent game and was PFF's top-graded Packer against the Panthers with an 86.1 rating.
Bears fans - It's their Christmas and Super Bowl when the Packers lose.
People Who Believe in Fate and Patterns (Really struggling to find winners from this game) - The last time the Packers lost their star tight end in their second loss of the season—a 16-13 defeat—was in 2010 when Jermichael Finley went down against the Commanders. Coincidence? Nope, Packers are winning the Super Bowl this year, confirmed.
Stock Down
Brandon McManus - He missed yet another field goal against the Panthers from 43 yards out. McManus is now 3-for-8 on field goal attempts outside the red zone this season. Kicker controversy in Green Bay?
Nate Hobbs - One game after getting benched for Carrington Valentine, Hobbs went down with an MCL sprain that is expected to keep him out for at least two weeks. He is unfortunately shaping up to be one of the more disastrous free agent signings of the Gutekunst era, making $18 million this year.
Matt LaFleur - Bad playcalling, questionable decisions—whatever you want to call it. Packers fans can almost unanimously agree Sunday was his worst coaching performance of the season, choosing to be conservative and aggressive at all the wrong times.
🔥 Quick Hits
Our worst fears were realized Monday: Tucker Kraft is out for the season after an MRI confirmed his torn ACL. We literally just aren't allowed to have nice things, I guess. Wishing Kraft a speedy recovery.
Matt LaFleur said that Matthew Golden and Colby Wooden are "day-to-day" and that concerns about their injuries are not long-term.
The Packers made no moves prior to the 4 p.m. ET NFL trade deadline on Tuesday. The last time they made a move the day of the trade deadline was 2010.
Matt LaFleur said the Packers will be sticking with Brandon McManus at kicker for now. He hinted that McManus is still working through health issues but that they chose to start him based on what they had seen in practice.
🏆 The Big Take from Brian
The dust has settled on a shocking loss for the Packers that sent the fanbase into panic—unless you're me, because I was never in panic over this loss.
Look, I'd be lying if I said I thought the Panthers marching into Lambeau and winning was anything short of a miracle before kickoff. But I actually don't care that the Packers lost (aside from the playoff seeding implications), and this does not alter my expectations for the rest of the season at all. Let me explain.
First off: can we just acknowledge that the Panthers simply aren't that bad? They are 5-4. We are almost halfway through the football season, and they have more wins than losses. Perhaps they just don't receive their flowers because there is nothing shiny or flashy about their brand as a franchise or their roster, but I really don't understand why people are acting like Green Bay dropped a game to the worst team in the NFL.
The reason I don't care that much about the Packers losing is because it doesn't change what their ceiling as a team is. (Okay, maybe losing Tucker Kraft does a little bit, but besides that…). Leading up to the playoffs, the only advantage you can give yourself is home-field advantage through seeding. Beyond that, it's just a game of who can get hot at the right time and play to the best of their ability as a team when it matters most. The ceiling for the Packers has already been demonstrated to be dominating playoff teams like the Lions and Steelers (in the second half). That is why I am far more concerned about this upcoming matchup against the Eagles. If the Packers can add a convincing win to their resume against them, who exactly can't they beat?
Remember the Packers team of 2023 who was validly criticized for losing all of their games against top-tier opponents? Yeah, I do too. Those concerns were proven correct immediately in the playoffs, where they simply did not have the talent that the Eagles did. It is the same reason that, in spite of Matt LaFleur's coaching woes, I am also not too concerned about him. Mistakes like that are fixable. You can show up and perform and coach better relative to the talent that you already have. If you don't have enough talent on the field…well, then your best bet is likely going to be coming back with an improved roster next year.
The Packers don't need an improved roster. They have a relatively complete team. Maybe this is a knee-jerk overcorrection to what we saw happen last year, but it is clear to me that the Packers will make the playoffs. At that point, what matters beyond how you stack up against those other playoff teams? If they bounce back with a win against Philly, all concerns should be thrown on the back burner. But that, of course, could be a big if. We'll see.
👀Looking Ahead
The Packers will return to primetime at Lambeau Field on Monday night in hopes of getting revenge against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles—the team that knocked them out of the playoffs—on national television. It goes without saying, but this will be both crucial for playoff seeding later in the season as well as a major test for Green Bay. A win would both logically and mentally suggest that the Packers aren't the same team as last year and are really in the mix to do something special. To be the best, you've got to beat the best.
As I've already explained, it will be undeniable what this Packers team is capable of if they win on Monday. I am simultaneously stoked for the outlook on what they can do if they win and concerned about the questions it will bring to the limelight if they lose.
👇Final Thoughts
“Sometimes when you’re in a dark place you think you’ve been buried, but you’ve actually been planted.”
Till next time,
Packerscoverage
Brian Pedretti