On Sunday afternoon, the Green Bay Packers were on a roller coaster of emotions against the Atlanta Falcons. Things were looking great early, building a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, that lead was squandered.
Green Bay’s offense stalled, gaining only seven yards on their final 10 plays of the game; two three-and-outs and a turnover on downs. Atlanta took full advantage as they wore down the Packers’ defense throughout the afternoon and were able to steal the game away at the end.
Head coach Matt LaFleur commented on how ugly the film was earlier this week as he was not thrilled to re-watch his team blow a 12-point lead. Alas, it certainly isn’t all doom and gloom in Green Bay as you could look at this as a glass-half-full moment.
Holding a 12-point lead at any point is impressive given how many key players they were missing on the offensive side of the ball. Wide receiver Christian Watson missed his second game while running back Aaron Jones sat out as well, both with hamstring injuries. Along the offensive line, left tackle David Bakhtiari sat out with knee swelling and left guard Elgton Jenkins missed most of the game after suffering a knee injury of his own.
That was the approach Nate Davis of USA Today took when sharing his Power Rankings following Week 2. Despite the loss to the Falcons, the Packers actually moved up, going from No. 15 to No. 12.
“They were two points away from the franchise’s first ever 2-0 start on the road. And considering the absences of WR Christian Watson, RB Aaron Jones, LT David Bakhtiari and (mostly) G Elgton Jenkins on Sunday, plenty of reasons for optimism – especially if QB Jordan Love can execute a sneak properly moving forward.”
The botched quarterback sneak play went viral on social media as Love stumbled and fell over, drawing a false start penalty. It was certainly far from their cleanest game, but bumps in the road are going to occur with a team this young.
The Packers will have a chance to continue climbing the rankings in Week 3. They are preparing for their home opener against the New Orleans Saints, who are 2-0 on the season and currently sit at No. 8 in Davis’ power rankings.
Green Bay has steadily been moving up the rankings. Following training camp entering the regular season they were 18th. After their Week 1 win they moved up to 15th and are now sitting in 12th. A victory over the Saints would assuredly put them in the top 10, a place not many people would have expected them to be.
