The Green Bay Packers have gotten off to extremely slow starts in their last two games. It didn’t end up costing them against the New Orleans Saints in Week 2 as they pulled off a historic comeback. After trailing 17-0 heading into the fourth quarter, the Packers scored 18 unanswered points to steal a victory.
Alas, had Blake Grupe made a 46-yarder, things could have very easily turned out differently. Whatever magic the Packers used in Week 3 was not there in Week 4 against the Detroit Lions. Another slow start occurred but this time, the hole was too big to climb out of.
After intercepting Jared Goff on the opening drive of the game, the Green Bay offense gained zero yards, leading to a 34-yard field goal from Anders Carlson. The Lions would score on their next four possessions and by halftime, they possessed a 27-0 lead.
In the last two first halves they have played, the Packers have been outscored 41-3. That is a recipe for disaster and something quarterback Jordan Love knows that the team needs to fix sooner than later.
“I think it’s something we’ve just got to work on throughout the week of practice,” said Love following the Lions’ game. “I think offensively as a whole, we’ve just got to start faster. When we don’t start fast and we kind of get behind, it’s hard to run the ball. You get put in situations where you’ve got to throw the ball, so I think we’ve just got to start faster.”
Green Bay would love to run the ball move, taking pressure off of their young quarterback. But, they have found no consistent success on the ground thus far this season. The Lions controlled the line of scrimmage, turning the Packers into a one-dimensional team, which made them easier to defend.
The Packers were constantly behind the sticks and off-schedule, which is what a poor running game will result in. The Lions don’t have the best pass rush in the NFL but even they found success because they were able to play aggressively with no repercussions.
“We weren’t executing,” added Love. “To start the game, getting the ball in scoring position right there and I think we went three-and-out right away. So just not executing, not converting on third downs and just not putting ourselves in great positions to get positive plays going forward.”
The slow starts also put them behind the eight-ball in crunch time. When the Packers are going three-and-out and not sustaining drives, it is a drain on the defense.
In their two losses, time of possession and the number of plays run have been dominated by their opponents. In Week 2, the Atlanta Falcons had the ball for nearly 13 more minutes and ran 31 more plays. The Lions had the ball for nearly 16 more minutes and ran 20 more plays.
“I think there’s a lot to that,” said Matt LaFleur about the lack of complimentary football. “You know, we were three-and-out, what, five possessions in a row or whatever it was. It’s very humbling. And sometimes that happens, but we can’t continue to go backwards. We keep going backwards on third and long situations.”
This is something that LaFleur and his staff need to figure out. The Packers’ season could start spiraling if they can’t win at the line of scrimmage and start sustaining drives against their opponents.
