The Green Bay Packers didn’t play a perfect game against the Atlanta Falcons, but they had multiple chances to put away the game and pick up a victory on the road. Unfortunately, they were unable to take advantage of those chances, which resulted in a disappointing 25-24 defeat.
There are a few different things that could be pointed to as a reason the Packers lost the game. But, the biggest difference in the game was the ground game. For the second straight week, the Green Bay rushing attack wasn’t very strong.
A big reason for that was the absence of Aaron Jones, who missed the game because of a hamstring injury suffered on his touchdown reception in Week 1. Without him in the lineup, AJ Dillon was relied upon as the go-to running back and he didn’t step up to the occasion.
Dillon carried the ball 15 times but managed only 55 yards. Emanuel Wilson and Patrick Taylor added virtually nothing behind him, as the trio combined to average 3.1 yards per carry. While running lanes weren’t opened regularly by the offensive line, Dillon wasn’t taking advantage when they were.
On the flip side, the Falcons tore up the Packers on the ground. This looked like the 2022 version of the Green Bay run defense, which was amongst the worst in the NFL. Head coach Matt LaFleur put it bluntly when talking about the team’s performance.
“You guys saw it,” said LaFleur after the game. “They shredded us. Consistently.”
Rookie sensation Bijan Robinson carried the ball 19 times for 124 yards as the Packers had no answer for him. When the Falcons weren’t opening gaping holes for him to run through, he was making defenders miss and breaking tackles.
Green Bay did a much better job slowing down running back Tyler Allgeier and quarterback Desmond Ridder, who combined to carry the ball 26 times for only 87 yards. But, whenever Atlanta needed a play, they put the ball in Robinson’s hands and he delivered.
The biggest difference for the teams was their success on early downs. The Packers consistently found themselves behind schedule as the running game never got going. That sent their game plan for a loop, while the Falcons moved the ball consistently the more they leaned on Robinson.
