Right now, the Green Bay Packers are not a good football team. After losing to the New York Giants on Sunday by a score of 27–22, that much is apparent.
The Packers traveled to London for the first time, but the defense should have stayed at home instead. Green Bay conceded 27 points to Daniel Jones, who was playing without his top three wide receivers, after coming close to defeating Brian Zappe the previous week.
Jones finished with a better passer rating than Aaron Rodgers, completing 21 of his 27 attempts for 217 yards. In addition, he carried the ball 10 times for 37 yards, picking up a handful of significant first downs. The Packers’ defense once more struggled mightily in the face of a weaker foe.
There has been talk of a strong defense all offseason, but through the first five games of the regular season, the Green Bay defense hasn’t gelled. For the first half of the regular season, the defense was meant to carry the offense, but that hasn’t happened so far and might never happen.
It’s challenging to overlook the Packers’ offensive difficulties as well. Even though their identity ought to be quite evident, they nevertheless lack one. Run the ball and rely on a fast-paced passing strategy, which was effective for the majority of the day.
The Packers should have won on Sunday thanks to Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, but for whatever reason, they once again strayed from the run. Green Bay will hopefully discover the winning formula soon, but for the time being, it doesn’t seem like they are even near.
Without further ado, let’s start our list of highlights from the past week, which will undoubtedly be brief.
RBs AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones
In terms of run defense, New York was 28th going into the week. Though Jones and Dillon together only attempted 19 rushes, one would expect the Packers would make a concerted effort to run the ball. Given that they were averaging more than 5.0 yards per rush, it ought to have been much higher. Green Bay should have won thanks to Jones and Dillon, especially after taking a double-digit lead at the half. Jones and Dillon received just eight touches in the second half as the offense instead attempted to advance the ball down the field. The outcome: 0 points in the second half.
WR Randall Cobb
Cobb was more actively involved against the Giants, as Rodgers had promised. Cobb had a season-high total of seven receptions for 99 yards. Cobb had been a third down specialist in 2022 before his big game. Five of Cobb’s ten catches throughout the first four weeks came on third down. On the opening drive, the Packers were facing a 3rd down and 8 when Rodgers connected with Cobb over the middle for a 35-yard gain. In the third quarter, Cobb also made a stunning toe-dragging catch for a 14-yard gain. Cobb, who is 32 years old, has proven he is still dependable.
K Mason Crosby
Surprisingly, one of the few areas for Green Bay on Sunday that wasn’t a complete letdown was special teams. Amari Rodgers did fumble a punt, fortunately the Packers were able to recover it. The kick and punt coverage was also good, but more significantly, Crosby converted both of his long-range field goal tries. Towards the beginning of the game, Crosby made a 46-yard field goal, then at the end of the second quarter, he made a 48-yarder as time ran out. The latter demonstrated the team’s improved field goal operations because the kick was made on fourth down with less than 30 seconds remaining on the running clock and no timeouts. All six of Crosby’s field goal tries this year have been successful.
DT TJ Slaton
Against the Giants, Slaton may have played the best he has as a professional. Slaton stopped multiple runs for small gains, looking as disruptive as he has in his two years with Green Bay. The former Florida fifth-round pick was chosen to improve the run defense, and on his route to four tackles, a career-high, he did just that. Slaton was one of the defense’s few bright spots and will probably get a few extra opportunities next week thanks to his effort.
