As Usual, Packers’ Offense Is Half-Empty
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ offense isn’t half-bad. The problem is it isn’t half-good, either.
Playing for the first time in London on Sunday, the Packers thrilled their throng of fans by scoring 20 points in the first half. It was the football equivalent of fish and chips and a pint of Guinness. During the second half, the offense scored zero points. It was a heaping helping of mushy peas. With a putrid performance, the Packers lost 27-22 to the New York Giants.
Perhaps more alarming than the outcome is that quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn’t sound the least bit optimistic that a 60-minute performance by the usually high-powered offense is within reach.
“Oh, man, I don’t know. That’s a tough question,” Rodgers told reporters after the game. “The cliché question would be ‘really close,’ but the actual answer is ‘unknown,’ honestly.”
Sunday’s game followed a familiar theme. During the Week 2 victory over Chicago, the Packers scored 24 points in the first half but three in the second. During the Week 3 victory at Tampa Bay, they scored 14 points in the first half but zero in the second. During the Week 4 victory over New England, they scored seven points in the first half but 20 in the second half and overtime.
“There’s a standard that we’ve played at for a long time, and just because the faces change doesn’t mean the standard changes,” Rodgers said. “That’s a hard concept to grasp at times. But we hold ourselves to a really high standard, I hold myself to a high standard, and we’re just not quite there yet. I trust Matt (LaFleur) and the staff and the conversations that we’ll have this week that we’ll clean some things up. We’re five weeks in and there’s a lot of football left. We can’t squander any more games like this, though.”
The Packers truly squandered what should have been a triumphant London debut. The Giants played without two starting cornerbacks and their best defensive lineman, Leonard Williams. With 200 yards and 20 points in the first half, the Packers were capitalizing on their personnel advantages. But it all went to hell.
Leading 20-13 in the second quarter, Rodgers drove the offense into field-goal range but took a third-down sack.
With the score tied 20-20 in the fourth quarter, Rodgers threw three consecutive incomplete passes to throw a tired defense back on the field. Why not run the football?
“I can’t say I love that line of questioning, but you make a good point,” Rodgers said. “I’m not making those calls. I do like all three of those calls, 100 percent, and I felt like we were really close to executing. The difference between a ball that’s high and a ball that’s on Cobby [Randall Cobb on second-and-10] is the difference between a three-and-out and who knows?”
With a chance to tie the game in the final moments, Rodgers had back-to-back passes batted down at the line. He had just 12 over the past four seasons combined, according to Pro Football Focus.
“Probably could’ve chosen Cobby there on the last play and had a higher-percentage throw,” Rodgers said.
Offensively, Green Bay’s whole is not the sum of its parts. Everybody knew the post-Davante Adams offense would be a work in progress. That progress has been fleeting. Aaron Rodgers has looked like the back-to-back MVP in stretches. At receiver, Allen Lazard, Romeo Doubs and Randall Cobb have had their moments. So has tight end Robert Tonyan. Running backs Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon generally are productive. But, in totality, the production has been sporadic.
“Certainly, there’s been a lot of struggles. That is this league,” LaFleur said. “We’ve just got to be more consistent, because there’s some moments where we look pretty good but we have yet to put together a complete game as a team. It’s like every game has been one good half. That’s not good enough in this league. You’ve got to play every play like it’s your last, and if you don’t, you get your ass whipped.”
None of this should be a surprise. With a great quarterback to a great receiver, the Packers had the secret sauce in every big moment. Whether it was on must-score possessions, like the end of the game, or insurance drives, like the end of the first half and late in the third quarter, Rodgers and Adams made magic. Not anymore. When Rodgers needs to complete a pass, maybe Lazard or Cobb will get open. Maybe Doubs or Tonyan will make a play. Maybe Rodgers will be able to make something happen.
But maybe not.
Green Bay has scored 27 or fewer points in all five games this season. That’s the second-longest in-season streak in the Rodgers era.
“The biggest issue, and I wish I had this perfect answer or explanation of this, but we haven’t played consistent football in all three phases,” Rodgers said. “The margin of error for us in winning is small. So, we have to make those plays, especially when you’re playing against a good football team – and the Giants are a good football team. They’re 4-1.
“I’ve got to make the throws that are necessary, we’ve got to come up with the catches, we’ve got to run the ball, we’ve got to force some turnovers on (special) teams or on defense. When we get those opportunities, we’ve got to make those plays. We’re just not sharp enough yet to have a wider margin of error.”
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