I'm going to create a new stat. It'll be called "PDOL". Playing Down to Opponent's Level". The Packers will dominate it every season, and I'll make my million dollars. Win-win, right?
Those will be the only wins that we'll be seeing today. In front of their home crowd, and donning some (pretty sweet) new uniforms, the Packers proceeded to put up an absolute stinker. There's no other way to put it. The Packers are now 0-2 in games that they were 11+ favorites in, and this game really did seem eerily reminiscent of the loss in Cleveland. The offense was in tatters all game long, and could only watch as the opponent kicked the game winning field goal as time expired.
It seems to be a trend for the Green Bay Packers, this "playing at your opponents level" thing. Playing the Lions, Commanders and Steelers? Great, dominant wins. A middling team like the Cowboys? Tie. The Browns and Panthers? Devastating, horrible losses.
There's plenty to parse through with a loss like this, and performances all around must be examined with a microscope. Let's start with...
Pass Defense
It was at least a great day at the office for the Packers in preventing the Panthers from establishing any sort of momentum through the air. Bryce Young finished the game with only eleven completions, one interception, and a 48.3 QB rating. While Xavier McKinney had the team's lone sack on the day, the Packers pass rushers were constantly disruptive. Yes, the Panthers were down several offensive linemen at the start of this game, and lost more as it went on. All the team could do is play the players across from them, and the pass rushers did their part to completely shut down that part of the game. Xavier McKinney led the way on the back end, with one (almost two) interceptions, and played amazing coverage all game long.
Skill Players
On the offensive side of the ball, I thought that the skill position players also did their part to contribute to a win, when the chances were there. No drops, several clutch third down receptions, and one long haul by Christian Watson (who, by the way, after returning from injury., had his first five catches go for 136 yards).
Josh Jacobs contributed 87 yards on the ground. We can be (and are, believe me) upset about the run / pass ratio throughout the game, but Jacobs remains an effective weapon for the team.
Everyone?
...
Run Defense
What we saw on Sunday qualifies as "inexcusable". As I mentioned, the Panthers were down offensive linemen, but were still able to absolutely dominate the line of scrimmage against a Packers defense that entered the league as the #3 run defense unit in the league. Give credit to the Panther's budding star running back Rico Dowdle for running all over the field, including the last nineteen yard scamper that sealed the game.
During the game, what I saw was a lot of Panthers' wide receivers and tight ends blocking well, which allowed their offensive linemen to double team effectively. Take a look at Dowdle's rushing chart, and it's pretty apparent where those yards came from: between the tackles. It's true that Colby Wooden exited the game early with an injury, and that certainly contributed to the Packers' woes in that area. Wooden has provided a lot of the run stopping juice throughout the season, and has mostly thrived in his expanded role that was created by the departure of Kenny Clark. Still, "next man up" did not work in the Packers' favor this week, as Wyatt, Brooks, and Stackhouse were pushed back at the point of attack all game long. Quay Walker had a tough game behind them as well, which created so many opportunities at the second level for the Panthers to exploit.
Slow starts
Over the last six games (since the Commanders game), here are the Packers' point totals at the end of the first half: 3, 13, 10, 6, 7, 6. After the first quarter? 0, 7, 0, 0, 7, 0. How about just the first offensive possession of the game? 0, 7, 0, 0, 0, 0.
Last season, and even going back to the back half of 2023, a huge feather in the cap of the Green Bay Packers was their ability to get ahead in games early. This was an aggressive team that wanted to punch you in the mouth, right away, and never let you get back onto your feet. So far in 2025, they have largely failed to do that. And this allows the opponent the opportunity to do exactly what the Panthers did today: limit possessions and (more importantly) dictate the tone. The Packers need to get back to that punch-first mentality.
Brandon McManus
It's time to well and truly have the conversation. So far this season, Brandon McManus is 9 for 13 on field goals, and has missed one extra point. He's 0-3 from the the 40-49 yard range, which in today's NFL should be made at a +90% rate.That range also includes today's missed field goal which ended up being the difference in the game. The kicking has been just bad with McManus in the lineup, and I really expect that the Packers will take a good, long look at playing Lucas Havrisik next Monday night.
-- Today's phrase of the game: "Absolute stinker". This team is just sloppy. Penalties are killer. Blocking is abysmal. Special teams are a net negative. Love mostly played well, but his negatives were apparent and costly. Then of course, there was the red zone production, which was a putrid one for five. Only one touchdown. In five chances. Matt LaFleur said it himself after the game: This team needs to charge headfirst into preparation for the Eagles, because whatever they did this week wasn't good enough.
-- While there will be a loss in the column today, it wasn't even the biggest loss of the day. While it's still too early to know for sure, (you might, by the time you are reading this article), the fear is that Tucker Kraft has indeed suffered a torn ACL, which would obviously keep the star tight end off the field until next season. This would be an absolutely devastating blow for the Packers' offense, in every facet of the game. He's been their most reliable target, a plus blocker for the run game, and a vocal leader both on and off the field. Kraft has played over 91% of plays for the team, over the last two years. If the news is true, I wonder if the Packers wind up making a move for another tight end before Tuesday's trade deadline.
Of course, that couldn't be the only bad news on injury front on such a horrific day for Green Bay. The team was decimated (a rare case of that word being used literally, as at least 1 out of every ten players on the active roster suffered an injury) by injuries on Sunday. Aaron Banks, Colby Wooden, Matthew Golden, and Kraft all left the game, while Christian Watson and Josh Jacobs left briefly. The team will have an extra day of rest before the Eagles game, and will need it too.
-- The Packers will stay at home for next weeks' matchup with the defending champion Philedelphia Eagles, and after losing to them twice last season, have an opportunity to get the ghosts of 2024 off their back for good. We'll see if the Packers can continue to play good teams well, especially at home. Besides the losses last year, there's the ever present storyline of the proposed tush push ban last offseason, and you can bet that Philly will be looking for any and every opportunity to shove one down the Packers' throat. The Eagles will be coming off of their bye week, hungry for a win, and the Packers will need to bring their A game. We'll see how the team can react to this week's dissapointing loss.