The Green Bay Packers (1-1) squandered a 12-point fourth quarter lead in a 25-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons (2-0) from Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Here’s my gut reaction:
This was a demoralizing loss. The Packers left a lot of food on the table today. I still think this is a good Packers squad.
I was impressed with how the Packers played for the first three quarters, especially considering being down quite a bit of talent on the offensive side of the ball with Aaron Jones, Christian Watson, David Bakhtiari all not playing. Then they lost Elgton Jenkins during the game. A lot going on on the offensive side of the ball.
Then you get to the fourth quarter, and it really all fell apart. And that is everyone! That is Special Teams, that is offense, that is defense.
Today was a classic team wide implosion, that was a definition of a team loss. The lack of complimentary football, somewhat in the second half but particularly in the fourth quarter, was alarming.
You can talk about Joe Barry & his complete inability to adjust to what the Falcons were clearly trying to do on the ground at the end of the game.
You could talk about Matt LaFleur’s offense taking all of 40 seconds off the clock after the Falcons had driven down for a score to make it a one score game in the second half. Shades of London from last year, where the Packers watched the Giants march down the field & then went 3-and-out on three deep passes from Aaron Rodgers. Not quite the same script this time, but the same general vibe.
I saw online that young teams need to learn how to win. There is a lot of truth to that. However, the people in charge are veterans of the league & I don’t think they put the team in a good position to win down the stretch.
Today’s game was there for the taking to go 2-0 for the first time in franchise history when opening the season with two consecutive road games.
This defense needed to be a lot better down the stretch & it certainly looked like more of the same. The Falcons ran it down Green Bay’s throat & there was nothing they could do about it. And Joe Barry didn’t seem to want to do anything about it.
I kind of caught Matt LaFleur’s frustration in that regard in I believe it was the last question in his post game press conference, he was asked about the run defense & Atlanta’s ability to move the ball through the ground, he was pretty short & to the point, he said “you guys saw it, they shredded us….consistently.” That was it, that was his answer. You gotta think Matt’s a little frustrated with what he saw transpire on the defensive side of the ball, and that’s not to dismiss the short comings on offense which falls on his hands.
I don’t know what he expects, he had all offseason to make a move at the coordinator position. You saw the same stuff throughout the entirety of the game. Early in the game, Atlanta had a third-and-15, THIRD-AND-15 (!!), it’s a down & distance, which should favor the defense, but in Green Bay it rarely does! Allowing a completion for 20 yards on third-and-15, it’s the Joe Barry way! As we play 12 yards off the line of scrimmage & allow free releases & offensive players to wander through your defensive secondary. Sounds great to me!
This Packers defense has way too much talent & is far too healthy to give up 27 first downs & 446 yards to Desmond Ridder & the Atlanta Falcons. Draw your own conclusions.
I’ll rewatch the game tonight or tomorrow & watch the All-22. I may add some more thoughts when I get finished with those.
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