Packer Central

Three Overreactions from Packers’ Victory Over Lions

The Green Bay Packers overwhelmed the Detroit Lions on Sunday. This week’s Overreactions include one negative, one positive and one positive that will become a negative.
Bill Huber|
Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons (1) is shown after sacking Jared Goff on Sunday.
Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons (1) is shown after sacking Jared Goff on Sunday. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Last season, the Green Bay Packers went 0-6 against the NFC’s top three teams. They went 1-5 in NFC North games, including 0-3 at home.

Rather than being contenders to win the Super Bowl, they were exposed as pretenders at every pivotal moment of a season that ended with a three-game losing streak.

Well, if the Packers play like they did during Sunday’s 27-13 victory over the Detroit Lions – by far the most impressive win by any team in Week 1 considering the opponent – they’ll go 20-0 this season and bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay. OK, 20-0 is preposterous, but there is no doubt the Packers stamped themselves as a potential Super Bowl team on Sunday.

Here are this week’s Overreactions following a potential-packed opening win.

1. Potential Problem

Back when Dom Capers was defensive coordinator, he’d begin his weekly press conference by saying, “First, the positives.” We’ll start with the negative instead.

Green Bay’s running game was bad. Josh Jacobs carried six times in the first half for 8 yards. By the end of the game, Jacobs managed to rush for a respectable 66 yards on 19 attempts, including the clinching touchdown. However, according to Next Gen Stats, 61 of those yards came after contact. In other words, Green Bay’s new-and-improved offensive line was new but certainly not improved.

Yes, it’s only one game. Yes, it came against a quality defense. But Green Bay’s No. 1 offensive line played in the first and third preseason games, as well, and also struggled to create holes for the backs. So, that Green Bay averaged a 23rd-ranked 3.12 yards per carry on Sunday maybe isn’t a stunning development.

“Obviously, we knew. They said it all week, ‘Stop 8,’” Jacobs said. “That’s their goal was to stop 8. They had eight, nine in the box all game, so we came out swinging. I told the receivers, ‘Take it personal.’ They were basically saying if they stopped me, then they win the game. So, they all came out ready. They made big plays early and that ended up opening up the run later in the game.”

Actually, Jacobs faced eight or more defenders in the box 42.1 percent of the time – which is not quite “all game.” However, of 36 running backs with at least seven carries this week, that was the third-heaviest stacked-box rate, according to Next Gen.

It won’t be any easier on Thursday against the Commanders, who allowed only 3.22 yards per carry against the Giants on Sunday. New York’s top back, Tyrone Tracy, carried 10 times but just once into a stacked box.

2. Potential Championship Quarterback

It might not take an elite quarterback to win the Super Bowl, but mediocre or even good quarterback play probably isn’t enough in this era.

It’s with that backdrop that I’ve been a Jordan Love skeptic. Love is a good quarterback capable of playing great in spurts. His second half of the 2023 season, when he threw 18 touchdowns and only one interception to propel the Packers into the playoffs, was about as good as it gets.

Last year was not good enough. Why did the Packers go 0-6 in big games? Because Love wasn’t up for the challenge in any of those games. Yes, of course, there were reasons why he didn’t take the step forward that everyone expected. But in two seasons as a starter, Love had shown himself to be an inaccurate passer and questionable decision-maker. A good quarterback? Absolutely. But a Super Bowl quarterback?

Against the Lions, Love was 16-of-22 passing for 188 yards and two touchdowns. His 128.6 passer rating was the second-best of his career.

He got the Packers rolling on the opening drive, going 6-of-8 and overcoming a total lack of a running game to get the Packers into the end zone with an elite-level touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft. After Detroit pulled within 10-3 to seize some of the momentum, Love threw a bomb to Romeo Doubs and a touchdown pass to Jayden Reed on a two-play scoring drive.

Love destroyed the blitz and was 8-of-13 for 167 yards and two touchdowns on passes thrown 10-plus yards downfield.

“For sure,” Love said about the importance of a strong Week 1 performance. “For me, for everybody. That’s the goal, that was our mindset coming in, is we’ve got to start fast. Obviously, everything starts with me being able to go out there and be as accurate as possible and make great decisions on the ball. So, I think we did a great job. I’m definitely happy about the way we were able to get rolling early and make some big-time plays.”

Love almost threw an interception when his throwaway wasn’t thrown far enough away and hit the hands of linebacker Alex Anzalone. Plus, the offense went 0-for-5 on third down during the final three quarters.

However, given the lack of practice time for the passing game and the caliber of the opponent, this was a promising first step. If Love’s performance against the Lions becomes the standard, the Packers will be legitimate Super Bowl contenders for the next decade.

3. Potential Good-Bye to Jeff Hafley

Jeff Hafley is in his final season as the Packers’ defensive coordinator.

Green Bay’s defense chewed up and spit out a Lions offense that led the NFL in scoring by a considerable margin last season.

“Defensively, it was a dominant performance,” coach Matt LaFleur said. Quarterback Jordan Love also used the word “dominant” to describe the defense.

Superb? Yes. Surprising? It shouldn’t have been.

Last season, with the Packers lacking a consistent pass rusher and with their best cornerback perpetually sidelined by an injury, Green Bay finished sixth in points allowed, fifth in total defense and fourth in takeaways in Hafley’s debut season.

Last Friday, with Hafley getting ready for the Lions and staring at the same challenges as last season, Christmas came 119 days early. LaFleur popped into Hafley’s office and handed him a telephone. Micah Parsons was on the other end.

Taking a break from Detroit prep, Hafley started watching Parsons video.

“It’s like watching a highlight film,” Hafley said on Thursday. “Here’s what’s amazing about the guy. The guy can win with speed, the guy can win by going through a tackle, the guy can win coming inside and win fast. The guy’s won on guards, he’s won on centers, he won as a stand-up linebacker. I don’t want to get up here overexcited and you guys are starting to bring that smile on to my face. I kind of want to downplay this thing a little bit, but I’m excited that he’s here.”

Hafley had four days to incorporate Parsons into a defense he had built all spring and summer. Just like the highlight reel, Parsons won with speed. He won with power. He won against All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell. He won against Detroit’s interior blockers. Sometimes, he made the play. Other times, he set up his teammates.

Sparked by Parsons and powered by literally everyone else, Hafley’s unit overwhelmed the Lions’ offensive juggernaut. Detroit didn’t hit 200 yards or find the end zone until the final possession.

“When you get a guy of that talent, you can put him out there and tell him to just stand there, and before the play is snapped, they’re going to be looking for him, because if you’re not prepared for him, it’s not going to be good for you,” safety Xavier McKinney said.

“So, I think just his presence out there alone is intimidating for offenses and he didn’t even play the whole game. Once he gets in his groove and he starts getting more reps under his belt, it’s going to be great.”

With one game remaining this week, the Packers rank sixth in points allowed, sixth in total defense, third in yards allowed per carry, 10th in yards allowed per passing attempt, ninth in sack percentage, sixth on third down and fifth in the red zone.

With a superb defensive mind and elite communication skills, it’s only a matter of time before Hafley is running his own team. If the Week 1 performance was any indication, that time will be next season.

More Green Bay Packers News

Published
Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.