The Green Bay Packers hurt themselves with ill-timed penalties and missed opportunities and found a way to lose to the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-29. This was a winnable game for the Packers. But more importantly, starting quarterback Jordan Love left the field after being injured in the closing seconds. The Packers hopes of contending this season will take a major hit if Love has to miss significant time. The Packers are now 0-1 on the season.
Packers Lose Winnable Game to Eagles While Jordan Love Injured: Missed Opportunities Early
Early in the game, the Packers missed out on some key opportunities to take control of the contest. The Packers won the toss and elected to receive. On the initial drive, Love found Jayden Reed for a 38-yard touchdown pass which would have given the Pack an early lead. But both teams were called for having 12 men on the field and the play was nullified. The Packers eventually punted.
Then, Xavier McKinney intercepted Jalen Hurts which gave the Pack the ball at the Eagles 19. A holding penalty cost the Packers valuable yardage, and they settled for a field goal and a 3-0 lead.
The Eagles fumbled on the ensuing drive with Devonte Wyatt recovering at the Eagles 13. Two penalties derailed the drive, and the Packers again settled for a field goal.
The Packers could have been up 14-0 but instead, led 6-0. That reduced the Packers momentum and kept it a one-score game early.
Packers Lose: The Defense Came Up Short with the Game on the Line
While the offense missed opportunities early in the game, the defense fell short late. The Packers kicked a field goal to make the score 31-29 Philadelphia with 7:56 left in the fourth quarter. The Eagles then went on a 19-play, 62-yard drive that took 7:25 off the clock and resulted in a field goal.
The Packers couldn’t get a stop when they needed it. They gave the Eagles two critical first downs on defensive holding penalties. The first was by Jaire Alexander, the second by Kenny Clark.
With the game on the line, Jeff Hafley’s unit seemed gassed and failed to come up with a crucial stop. The Eagles all but ran out the clock and clinched the win.
Packers Lose Winnable Game to Eagles While Jordan Love Injured: The Defense Couldn’t Contain Saquon Barkley
One of the keys to victory for the Packers was preventing Eagles running back Saquon Barkley from beating them. They couldn’t do that. Barkley ran for 109 yards on 24 carries and scored three total touchdowns, two rushing and one receiving.
Barkley did most of his damage in the second half as the Green Bay defense tired. Stopping the run remains an issue for the Green Bay defense, at least in Week 1.
Packers Lose: Jordan Love Was Inconsistent
While he had his moments, Jordan Love played an inconsistent season opener. He finished the game by completing just 17-of-34 passes for 260 yards. He threw a pair of touchdown passes and one interception.
There were just too many passes that Love underthrew or just failed to put in the right place for his receivers to get to the football.
During the game, Love’s hamstrings seemed to tighten up and trainers were working on them for most of the second half when the defense was on the field. The slippery field conditions may have contributed to the hamstring issues and some poorly thrown passes.
Clearly, Love needs to be more consistent when he takes the field again for the Packers.
Packers Lose Winnable Game to Eagles While Jordan Love Injured: Jayden Reed Shined
The Packers offense is designed for different receivers to take advantage of their matchups each week. This week, it was Reed who had the best game. Reed caught four catches for 138 yards and a touchdown. The score came from 70 yards out and was the longest TD pass of Love’s career thus far.
Reed also scored a rushing touchdown on a 33-yard jet sweep in the second quarter.
Reed also had another touchdown catch called back due to penalties. Clearly, he was the most productive receiver in the season opener.
Packers Lose: The Red Zone Offense Struggled
The Packers offense struggled in the red zone which was yet another reason they lost this winnable game.
The Packers scored just one touchdown on four trips to the red zone. Those kinds of failures were the difference between touchdowns and field goals and ultimately, a major factor between winning and losing this game. By contrast, the Eagles went 3-for-6 in the red zone and won the game by five points.
Packers Lose Winnable Game to Eagles While Jordan Love Injured: Jaire Alexander Struggled
The Packers are counting on Alexander to return to his Pro Bowl form of two years ago, but the Louisville alum struggled for long stretches of this game although he did make a big play late that kept the Packers hopes alive in the second half.
Alexander had a tough assignment covering Eagles wideout A.J. Brown for much of the game. Brown finished with five catches for 119 yards and a touchdown. While not all of those gains came against Alexander, Jaire was clearly not in shutdown mode in this game. He also took a costly penalty in the game.
Alexander did come up with a big interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter, but foolishly danced around in the end zone before deciding to run it out. He got only to the 15-yard line. Downing the ball would have been the smarter play but ultimately, it was more vital that he made the clutch interception.
Packers Lose: Penalties Hurt the Packers Throughout the Game
Penalties and sloppy play are a big problem in September games now with the NFL now only playing three preseason games and not playing key players in most of them. The Packers and Eagles both had issues with penalties in this game. Too often, however, the Packers penalties killed their momentum.
Green Bay committed 10 penalties for 71 yards. Penalties gave the Eagles three first downs including two crucial ones of the clinching drive. They also nullified a Packers touchdown and really hurt the team’s momentum in the red zone and all over the field.
Matt LaFleur needs to get this cleaned up in time for Week 2. The Packers can’t afford to beat themselves, especially against a quality opponent like the Eagles.
Packers Lose Winnable Game to Eagles While Jordan Love Injured: Kicking Woes Continue
The Packers can’t expect perfection from their kickers, but Brayden Narveson missed a 43-yard field goal that hit the right upright late in the third quarter. Had the kick been good, the Packers would have trailed 31-29 and the dynamics of the game would have been different.
Narveson did make three other field goals, but the miss ended up being costly and a 43-yard kick is something most NFL kickers should make.
Packers Lose: Love Injured
The Packers may have lost more than a football game in Sao Paulo. Jordan Love left the game with six seconds left and the Packers trying to mount a desperate comeback.
Love turned his body around to get rid of the ball and avoid a sack. He succeeded but was on the field for a few minutes after that with what appeared to be a knee injury.
The Packers cannot afford to lose Love for any length of time if they hope to contend this season. The Packers and their fans are holding their breaths as we await an update on Love’s status and whether he’ll miss any time.
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