The Green Bay Packers suffered a disappointing defeat in Week 2 at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons. Green Bay lost the game 25-24, as their offense went ice cold in the fourth quarter. While that will be the focus of many people as to why the team lost, the Packers wouldn’t have been in that position if they had converted a few players earlier in the game.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but a few plays stick out that didn’t seem overly important at the time, but would have changed the tide of the game. Arguably the biggest one came in the second quarter.
The Falcons opted to go for it on fourth down on the Packers’ 41-yard line. Desmond Ridder dropped back to pass and targeted Drake London. Star cornerback Jaire Alexander jumped the route but couldn’t finish the play, dropping what could have been a pick-six. It was a play that is going to take Alexander a little while to get over.
“I’m kicking myself for the next day or two,” Alexander said of the play via The Athletic. “I always wanna be perfect and I always wanna be the best and I didn’t display that today, so yep, a little frustrated. Nobody’s perfect.”
The Packers were up 7-3 when the dropped interception occurred. They were able to take advantage as Anders Carlson knocked through a 33-yard field goal to give the team a 10-3 lead.
Alas, it is fair to wonder just how much the game’s dynamic would have changed had the Packers gone up 14-3 on a quick strike touchdown from the pick-six. The ending of the game very well could have been different, as the Falcons would have had to start adjusting their game plan being down two scores.
Alexander wasn’t the only player to drop an interception, as Quay Walker had his second of the season right in his hands but he was unable to finish the play. While he may not have taken it back to the house again, the Packers would have been in an excellent field position to at least add another field goal.
Dropped interceptions occur regularly and don’t always seem like pivotal plays at the time. But, the game would have certainly gone differently had Alexander or Walker completed their interceptions, almost certainly adding points onto the board for the Packers in what ended up being a one-point loss.
