GREEN BAY — I say it to my kids all the time: mistakes are how we learn and grow.
The Packers need to take the same philosophy.
Green Bay played down to an average Browns team in Week 3 before losing 13-10 and displayed a carbon copy effort in losing 16-13 to a mediocre Panthers team on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
"When we get into these types games where it's about consistent execution, we can't just chase the big play," said Packers coach Matt LaFleur. "I mean, they were playing soft zone the majority of the game and making us earn (it) and consistently move the ball. And inevitably on every drive almost we made a mistake. We've got to be more consistent."
The Packers were 13.5-point favorites after winning two straight road games in Arizona and Pittsburgh. On the Packers first drive, they went eight plays without a penalty and got to the Carolina 16. Then, Savion Williams fumbled an end-around, taking at least three points off the board and also lighting a fire on the Carolina sideline.
The Packers did well between the 20s. They had three nine-play drives, one 10-play drive, one 12-play drive and one 13-play drive. They never punted, yet they were 1-for-5 in the red zone. And the defense picked the worst time to allow the most rushing yards this season. They made Rico Dowdle look like Emmitt Smith, as the journeyman running back rushed 25 times for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
And it’s also concerning for Jordan Love. Last week’s game at Pittsburgh was arguably his best as a pro with only eight incompletions and a passer rating of 134.2. However, his decision making came into question by trying to thread the needle with a deep pass into triple coverage to Christian Watson, which ultimately was picked off by Panthers safety Tre’von Moehrig.
“If they’re going to play two high (safeties), you’ve got to stay with the run game and find ways to just dink and dunk the ball down the field,” Love said, who now has three interceptions on the year, who threw for 273 yards with an 80.1 passer rating on Sunday. “It just comes back to finding ways to run the ball down at a high level and maximize your yards after catch on some of the shorter passes and keep finding completions.”
Basically, when is this team going to grow up? There were also two false starts and four holding penalties, with one called back. And I realize that the wind was a problem, but Love attempted seven passes that were at or behind the line of scrimmage. And he attempted 17 passes that went less than 10 yards. Yes, they played two-high safety all day, which drove Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers nuts, but at the same time, where has the motion and play-action gone? The game planning was very vanilla — almost to the point where they thought they were just going to jog on to the field and get a third straight win.
The Packers were so predictable that they ran it 25 times on first and second down. And speaking of bad decisions, with Carolina clinging to a 13-6 lead, LaFleur opted to go for it on fourth-and-8 with 11:00 left in the game. He was likely afraid of the swirling wind that the Fox broadcast said was gusting at 29 miles per hour. The ball was spotted at the Panthers 13, which is a 30-yard field goal. That's closer than an extra point. Take your points, get a stop on defense and then play for the win.
The Packers are now 5-2-1, but the bigger loss was tight end Tucker Kraft, who will be gone for the season with a torn ACL. After he left, the offense was a shadow of itself because Kraft can do so many things on offense. The Packers will preach the next man up mentality, but there is nobody that can replace Tuck.
Love is completing 38 percent of his passes this season when under pressure, so this will be the template moving forward. He will be seeing a bevy of two-high safeties with plenty of pressure in his face. Will he find the need to throw a hero ball pass or will he take what the defense gives him?
“I think the most important thing is just everybody staying together, staying with that mindset,” said Love. “Finding ways to get better, learning from the mistakes.”
Sunday was another chance to prove how much this team has learned, but after toying with another average team, it proved that there is still more learning to do.
"You can't have holding penalties, you can't fumble the football," said LaFleur. "You have to be able to tackle, you have to be able to stop the run. Base football principles. And if you don't do them well, you're susceptible to getting beat, it doesn't matter who you're playing."