The Green Bay Packers saw a nine-point lead slip away and lost to the Denver Broncos 34-26 in Denver. Unfortunately, the Packers lost a lot more than a football game as Micah Parsons, Christian Watson, and Zach Tom are only three of the key players the team lost to injury in this contest. The loss drops the Packers record to 9-4-1 while the Broncos improve to 12-2. Here are 10 things we learned as the Packers lost a lot more than a football game in their 34-26 loss to the Broncos in Week 15:
Packers Lose a Lot More than a Football Game in Their 34-26 Loss to the Broncos, Number One: Injuries Hurt the Packers Defense
The Packers lost Parsons to an apparent knee injury in the second half of this game. Preliminary reports indicated Parsons tore his ACL. If that is indeed the case, he will be out for the rest of this season and perhaps beyond that.
Parsons is the tide that lifts all boats for the Packers defense and the team struggled in his absence. His loss could derail the Packers realistic Super Bowl hopes this season.
The Packers also saw safety Evan Williams leave the game early due to injury late in the game. Williams is a key component of the secondary.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley will have to make major adjustments to his game plan before Sunday’s game against the Bears in Chicago.
Number Two: Injuries Hurt the Packers Offense
Unfortunately, Parsons wasn’t the only significant injury the Packers suffered. On offense, the team lost Tom, Watson, tight end Josh Whyle, and wide receiver Jayden Reed. The extent of these injuries is not yet known.
Like Parsons, Watson is a player who impacts the players around him and the offense’s production tailed off dramatically once he left the game early in the second half.
Tom remains the Packers best offensive lineman and the Broncos started putting more pressure on quarterback Jordan Love after he left the game.
Whyle left early with a concussion, while Reed left the game late in the fourth quarter and did not return.
The Packers offense struggled to move the ball in the second half without Tom and Watson in the lineup.
Packers Lose a Lot More than a Football Game in Their 34-26 Loss to the Broncos, Number Three: The Broncos Dominated the Second Half
At halftime, the Packers outgained the Broncos 251-170. The Packers scored on their first five drives of the game. But in the second half, as injuries mounted on both sides of the ball, the tide turned. The Broncos outgained the Packers 221-111. Worse yet, Denver caused two turnovers in the second half that helped turn the tide of the game.
The Packers couldn’t sustain their fast start and Denver’s coaching staff did a very good job of making adjustments after the half.
The Packers couldn’t seem to find a way to function after injuries hit and the Denver pass rush took over in the later stages of the game.
Number Four: Penalties Hurt Again
The Packers officially committed 10 penalties in this game. It wasn’t just the number of penalties but when and how they happened that hurt the Packers.
The Pack was called for five procedure penalties in this game. That put them in long yardage situations and gave an advantage to the Denver pass rushers who knew Green Bay had to throw the football.
Three penalties came on special teams that hurt the team’s field position.
In a critical game against an elite opponent, you cannot afford to beat yourselves, but that’s exactly what the Packers did by committing these penalties through this game.
Packers Lose a Lot More than a Football Game in Their 34-26 Loss to the Broncos, Number Five: Red Zone Failures Hurt
Both the Packers and the Broncos entered the red zone four times. The Packers scored one touchdown with their four chances inside the opponent’s 20, while Denver scored a touchdown all four times.
This was a one possession game at the end with the Packers losing by eight points. If Green Bay was more successful on both sides of the ball in the red zone, the outcome could have easily been different.
In the clutch when the game was on the line, the Broncos simply made more plays than the Packers did.
Number Six: The Packers Could Not Stop Courtland Sutton
The Packers had to contain Denver’s top receiver Courtland Sutton if they wanted to increase their chances of winning this game. They were not able to do that.
Sutton caught seven passes on 10 targets for 113 yards and a touchdown. His longest gain of the day was 42 yards.
When Bo Nix needed a key completion, he often looked to Sutton first and more often than not, he came through.
Sutton did a good job of finding seams in the Packers zone defenses. He also gained yards after the catch due to some poor tackling by the secondary.
Packers Lose a Lot More than a Football Game in Their 34-26 Loss to the Broncos, Number Seven: The Packers Offensive Line Couldn’t Hold Up
The Broncos managed only three sacks in this game but that doesn’t tell the entire story. They were also credited with 15 quarterback hits. When Love dropped back to pass in the second half, he was harried, hurried, and often unable to step into his throws and complete passes.
The Denver pass rush took advantage of Tom’s absence. Despite a valiant effort, Darian Kinnard was unable to consistently keep the pass rush at bay. Neither were many of his teammates.
The Broncos won the battle in the trenches, and it disrupted the Green Bay offense when the game was on the line.
Number Eight: Rasheed Walker Struggled
This was a rough day for Packers left tackle, Rasheed Walker. He was flagged for four penalties although only three of them were accepted. Walker committed two false starts an ineligible man downfield penalty, and a holding call that was declined.
He was consistently struggling in this game along with many of his teammates. Still, we are in December and sloppy penalties like this cannot happen when your team is trying to win a tough game on the road against the top seed in the AFC.
With Tom out of the lineup, Walker’s struggles became even more damaging.
Packers Lose a Lot More than a Football Game in Their 34-26 Loss to the Broncos, Number Nine: The Turning Point Came in the Third Quarter
The Packers scored a field goal at the end of the first half and then took the opening kickoff of the second half and scored a touchdown on an impressive 40-yard dash by Josh Jacobs. That gave Green Bay a 23-14 lead. The defense then forced a three-and-out and the Pack took over at their own 19.
On the next play, Love looked deep downfield for Watson. The ball was intercepted by Pat Surtain and Watson was injured on the play. That shifted the momentum of the game right there.
The Denver offense started to move the ball and seven plays later they scored a touchdown to pull to within two points. The Broncos scored on their next two drives and never looked back.
Number 10: The Packers Need to Regroup Fast
The Packers have precious little time to nurse their wounds. They return to action Saturday in Chicago with the NFC North division lead on the line.
Win this game and the Packers are the front runners for the division title. Lose it and they have a fight on their hands to make the playoffs.
While it is not clear how many of the injured players will be available, this game will present a big challenge for Matt LaFleur and Hafley and the rest of the coaching staff.
Emotionally, it will be difficult to overcome the loss of Parsons, but the Packers will have to if they hope to attain the goals, they set out for themselves this season.
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