Packers Lose to Raiders as Love Throws Three Interceptions
In 2008, the Green Bay Packers went 6-10 in Aaron Rodgers’ first season as the starting quarterback because of their inability to make the big play in close games.
For the second time on the road in his first season as the starting quarterback, Jordan Love failed to make the big play, as well.
The Packers lost 17-13 to the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night, blowing a winnable game against a team that had lost three consecutive games. Love had a chance to be the hero. Instead, his third interception was the final nail in the coffin.
Love and Co. started at the 42-yard line with 1:55 remaining. Love completed three consecutive passes, with Patrick Taylor moving the chains with a catch and a run. With the ball at the Raiders’ 35, Romeo Doubs dropped an easy catch along the sideline on first down and Luke Musgrave dropped a slightly off-target pass on second down.
Still, Love had a chance to be the hero. On third down, Christian Watson got behind Amik Robertson. When Love threw the ball, at least one coach on the Packers’ sideline thought the winning touchdown pass was in the air. But Love underthrew his end-zone shot to the 6-foot-4 Watson, allowing the 5-foot-9 Robertson to make the game-saving play.
“Once I kind of stepped up in the pocket, I saw Christian and I feel like he had the DB beat by a little bit,” Love said. “Thought we had a play to win it right there in the end zone. Kind of just underthrew it. Didn’t get enough on it, didn’t get it out there enough and the DB made a good play.”
Coach Matt LaFleur thought Watson, in the process of finding the ball, maybe could have done more to make a play on the ball.
With a second consecutive loss, Green Bay will head into their bye with a 2-3 record. The 17 points should have been enough for the Packers to have a 3-2 record.
“I thought our defense competed hard, did enough to win the game,” LaFleur said. “Offensively, we’ve got to find a way to score points.”
The Raiders entered the night ranked 16th in total defense but 26th in sack percentage, 24th on third down, 26th in the red zone and 32nd with one takeaway.
Las Vegas picked off Love three times. It held the Packers to 285 yards and 4-of-12 on third down. The pass rush, namely Maxx Crosby, was intense. The three turnovers were killer.
Trailing 17-13 in the fourth quarter, Love drove the Packers into scoring position, but he threw his second interception of the night to linebacker Robert Spillane. The big play came on second-and-17, with Marcus Peters deflecting a pass to Watson and Spillane coming down with the rebound.
Amik Robertson makes the game-ending interception in front of Christian Watson.
Photo by Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA Today Sports Images
The defense rose to the occasion, though, with Rashan Gary delivering a third-down sack to force a three-and-out punt.
So, the Packers took over at their 17 with 7:03 to go. The drive went nowhere, due in part to rookie tight end Tucker Kraft’s first-down holding penalty.
The Raiders led 10-3 at halftime. It was another punchless first half for the Packers, who have been outscored 54-6 in the first half of games against New Orleans, Detroit and Las Vegas.
“Obviously, searching for answers right now,” LaFleur said. “I think this week will give us a chance to go back. I thought we did that over the mini-bye but we’ve got to find something to jump-start us.”
Love was 7-of-12 passing for 56 yards and one dreadful interception that set the Raiders up for a chip-shot field goal. After a bomb’s-away approach through four games, Love didn’t complete a single pass that traveled more than 5 yards downfield.
The Packers struck first, with Love’s 26-yard scramble and 20-yard completion to Josiah Deguara setting up Anders Carlson for a 37-yard field goal. However, Green Bay’s final four possessions of the half gained just two first downs, with one of them coming on a useless Love scramble that ran out the clock.
It wasn’t all Jaire Alexander, but the Packers held Davante Adams to one catch for 12 yards in the first half. However, Garoppolo was 12-of-17 passing for 126 yards and one touchdown, a 9-yarder to Jakobi Meyers that capped a 14-play drive that consumed about 8 1/2 minutes.
The Packers tied the game early in the third quarter. Rudy Ford, who gave up the opening touchdown to Meyers, undercut a pass to Meyers and grabbed a big interception that set up the struggling offense at Las Vegas’ 37.
AJ Dillon carried the ball six times on an eight-play scoring drive. He converted a fourth-and-2 and broke three tackles en route to gaining 34 of those yards, including the tying touchdown.
The Packers took a 13-10 lead on the next possession. The last player you want to blow coverage against is Watson, the team’s lone big-play threat with running back Aaron Jones inactive again. But the Raiders let Watson get wide open for a gain of 77. Love hit him 32 yards downfield, and Watson ran it 45 more yards to the 6. Marcus Peters’ horse-collar tackle moved it to the 3 but saved some points, as Green Bay had to settle for a 22-yard field goal.
The Raiders took a 17-13 on the first play of the fourth quarter when Josh Jacobs scored from the 2 by running through defensive tackle TJ Slaton near the goal line. Jacobs kick-started the drive with a 24-yard run, and Adams had catches of 21, 5 and 7 yards.
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