Game Ball, Lame Ball, Turning Point from Packers’ Loss to Broncos
DENVER – The Green Bay Packers entered Sunday’s game at the Denver Broncos looking to snap a two-game losing streak before a series of six games in 32 days that likely will define their season.
Their offense got off to another slow start, scoring zero points in the first half against one of the worst defenses in football, and torpedoed the Packers in a 19-17 loss.
The Packers haven't scored a touchdown in the first half since their 25-24 loss against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 17.
Anders Carlson, one of the lone bright spots of the season, missed his first kick of the year when a 43-yard field goal just before halftime sailed wide left.
Green Bay's defense did its job for the most part. The Broncos had some success offensively, but the Packers trailed only 9-0 at halftime.
The Packers threw for 47 yards. They ran for 39 yards before a meaningless 14-yard run closed the first half.
The offense in the first half is awful, with no redeeming quality.
"Obviously zero," coach Matt LaFleur said when asked about what was fixed during the bye week in regards to slow starts.
The second half was a different story.
In a game that resembled the Packers' 18-17 win against the New Orleans Saints, the came to life.
Touchdown passes from Jordan Love to Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed gave them a 17-16 lead with 8 minutes to play.
The Packers' defense surrendered a field goal, but Green Bay had the ball with a chance to win.
After a 29-yard reception by AJ Dillon, Elgton Jenkins had what turned out to be a devastating holding penalty. Two plays later, Jordan Love threw up a prayer that had no chance of being answered. It was intercepted by P.J. Locke.
“I think critical errors in these situations,” Love said after the team’s third consecutive loss. “It’s on everybody. Not starting a game fast, not putting up points quickly, it comes back to bite us in the end.
“The effort is always there but not putting up points in the first half, it’s come back to bite us.”
Game Ball: AJ Dillon
Packers running back AJ Dillon has been under a microscope this season.
When he was drafted, the Packers clearly envisioned the old-school thunder and lightning combination with Aaron Jones playing the lightning to Dillon's thunder.
Through his first two seasons, that looked like a good combination.
The last season and six games? Not so much.
To start this season, Dillon hadn’t looked anything like the player that inspired the "Quadzilla" moniker.
Sunday's game was a different story.
The Packers' offense was at its best when it ran through Dillon. He was the team's leading rusher with 61 yards on 15 carries. He was the team's leading receiver with 34 yards on two catches.
Had the Packers been able to kick a game-winning field goal, Dillon’s 29-yard catch-and-run would have been one of the highlight plays of the climatic drive.
Instead, it became a footnote due to a late interception that sealed Green Bay's fate.
The offense may be underwhelming at best, but Dillon was not part of that issue on Sunday, so he gets the game ball.
Lame Ball: Elgton Jenkins
Before the game, we pointed out just how much the Packers were missing in Sunday's game in comparison to how much of the salary cap they're taking up.
One of the key points was that a team needs its big-money players to play well.
That is especially true when a team is missing some of its top players.
One of the team's best players is two-time Pro Bowl left guard Elgton Jenkins. They gave him a lucrative extension last year to remain with the team and build a formidable one-two punch on the left side of the line with David Bakhtiari.
Bakhtiari is injured and is not coming back. With Rasheed Walker taking his place, the Packers need Jenkins to play even better to help the young tackle along.
Instead, on one of the biggest plays of the game, Jenkins took center stage.
It wasn't a punishing block to spring a big run, or stonewalling a Broncos pass rusher.
It was a holding penalty that put the Packers' offense behind the sticks.
Quibble with whether or not it should have been called, Jenkins and the entire offensive line has not played well enough. Their run game is pedestrian at best. Their pass protection comes and goes.
Jenkins is the veteran of the group at this point. The entire group needs to be better.
Fair or not, that starts with him. Devastating penalties can be the difference between winning and losing.
On Sunday, it was.
Pivot Point: Jordan Love's Dagger
The Packers' offense came out in the second half and put points on the scoreboard.
It was only a field goal, but it was a sign of life from an offense that showed nothing similar to that in the first half.
The defense didn't do its part following their first scoring drive. Instead, Russell Wilson found Courtland Sutton for an 18-yard touchdown on the ensuing possession to make it 16-3.
Green Bay scored touchdowns on each of its next two possessions.
Jordan Love threw a touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs, then found Jayden Reed by accident on a juggling act on fourth-and-2 from the 4.
Following Will Lutz’s 52-yard field goal that gave Denver a 19-17 lead, Love had the ball with a chance to win the game.
The Packers got into position just outside of field-goal range before Jenkins’ critical holding penalty. Facing third-and-20, Love tried to win the game on one final play.
"That’s a situation where I wish I wouldn’t have put him in that spot." LaFleur said.
The spot turned into a fluttering duck and was easily intercepted by Locke to essentially end the game.
"We dialed up a play that is made for that coverage, the backside safety made a good play on the ball." Love said.
Play of the Game: Romeo Doubs' Fail Mary Redux
With the Packers trailing 16-3 late in the third quarter, they faced a second-and-9 from the Broncos’ 16.
Love stepped up into the pocket and threw to the right corner of the end zone to Doubs. The ball was underthrown and looked destined to end up in the hands of Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain Jr. Instead, Doubs got his hands on the ball for simultaneous possession.
If anyone knows what happens when that is the case, it is the Packers.
The "Fail Mary" redux was Doubs' first touchdown since his game-winner against New Orleans on Sept. 24.
The Packers need more of that from both Doubs and Christian Watson as this passing offense continues to try to find its footing.
Another Slow Start
Green Bay's first drive of the season ended in a touchdown when Love found Doubs in the back of the end zone at Soldier Field to give the team a 7-0 advantage.
That feels like a century ago based on how the offense has performed since then in the first quarter.
The Packers have not scored a touchdown in the first quarter since that day. They have scored 13 points total in the first quarter this season, thanks to early field goals against Detroit and Las Vegas.
The field goal against Detroit came after an uninspiring three-and-out that followed an interception by Rudy Ford deep in Lions territory.
Green Bay's offense seems to struggle in any quarter and any situation, but the first quarter has been a total bugaboo for this team.
Sunday's game against Denver was no different. The Packers went three-and-out on their first possession after two Aaron Jones runs were combined with a short completion to Dillon.
Their second series ended in a controversial false-start penalty on Josh Myers that negated an offsides penalty that would have given the Packers a short-yardage situation in Denver territory.
Overall, the Packers were outgained 108-24 in the first quarter and the Broncos had the ball for more than 10 minutes. This was on top of the Packers having a bye week to prepare for this game.
Officiating aside, Green Bay's offense has to figure out a way to get off to a better start. It doesn't have the luxury of a future Hall of Fame quarterback under center any longer.
The margin for error is lower than it has been in the last 30 years.
That margin gets even smaller when the team is constantly playing from behind.
Looking Ahead
After playing one game the last three weeks, the Packers played their first of six games in the next 32 days.
After losing to two of the worst teams in the league, the Packers tumbled to 2-4.
The schedule only gets more difficult. The Minnesota Vikings will come to Lambeau Field next Sunday. They're 2-4 with a Monday night game against the 49ers yet to be determined.
The Vikings aren't good, but if there's anything that can be certain after six games, Green Bay isn't, either.
No game is considered a gimme at this point, and that could be the most sobering reality for a team that used to have plenty of games like that on their schedule.
More Green Bay Packers News
Broncos 19, Packers 17: Game story
Broncos 19, Packers 17: Live updates
The surprising truth on Packers’ injuries
