Packer Central

Packers Lose to Broncos on Jordan Love’s Late Interception

Jordan Love threw a pair of second-half touchdown passes but couldn't make the pivotal final plays on the final drive as the Green Bay Packers lost to the Denver Broncos 19-17 on Sunday.

Bill Huber

Packers Lose to Broncos on Jordan Love’s Late Interception
Packers Lose to Broncos on Jordan Love’s Late Interception /
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DENVER – Jordan Love had a chance to lead the Green Bay Packers to a win at the Falcons but went three-and-out. Love had a chance to lead the Packers to a win at the Raiders but threw an interception.

On Sunday, he had a chance to lead the Packers to a come-from-behind victory at the Denver Broncos. Once again, he threw a killer interception.

The Packers lost 19-17 on Sunday, their third consecutive loss dropping their record to 2-4. The Broncos snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 2-5.

“It’s a true test to all of us. It is extremely frustrating. It tests your resolve,” coach Matt LaFleur said.

On the second play of the defining series, Love floated a checkdown to running back AJ Dillon. Dillon broke a tackle by linebacker Alex Singleton and galloped through the middle of the defense for a gain of 29 that included 30 yards after the catch and about 25 yards after contact.

However, on second-and-10, left guard Elgton Jenkins was flagged for holding on a quarterback draw. On second-and-20, Love threw late and behind Christian Watson, who not only couldn’t make the catch but was injured. On third-and-20, Love took a deep shot to Samori Toure but the pass hung in the ball far too long and was intercepted by fourth-year safety P.J. Locke.

LaFleur blamed himself for the play call, saying he should have opted to take a bite out of those necessary 20 yards rather than going deep. Love said he didn't see Locke.

Love finished 21-of-31 for 180 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, good for a passer rating of 90.8. Denver’s Russell Wilson was 20-of-28 for 194 yards and one touchdown.

The Broncos rushed for 145 yards and averaged 5.8 yards per carry against a Green Bay defense that was without linebacker De’Vondre Campbell and cornerback Jaire Alexander (inactive) and lost defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt and safety (aggravated injuries).

Anytime the defense holds the opponent to less than 20 points, “we’ve got to do enough from an offensive standpoint” to win the game, LaFleur said.

That it came down to the final series was another indictment of the lack of perceptible growth from Green Bay’s young offense. The Broncos entered the game ranked last in points allowed, yards per rushing attempt, yards per passing attempt, opponent completion percentage and opponent passer rating.

P.J. Locke
P.J. Locke intercepts Jordan Love to clinch the Broncos' victory over the Packers :: Photo by Ron Chenoy/USA Today Sports Images

And yet the Packers – coming off a bye week meant to find answers – failed to even get to the paltry threshold of 100 yards until the final play of the first half, failed to score until early in the third quarter, failed to get into the end zone until late in the third quarter and needed a fluke touchdown to take one brief lead.

Indeed, the Packers, trounced in every fashion in the first half other than the scoreboard, took a 17-16 lead midway through the fourth quarter in the most unorthodox of fashions.

On fourth-and-2 from the 4, Love tried to thread a quick slant to Romeo Doubs but defensive end Jonathon Cooper was in the passing lane. Love double-clutched and threw it to Doubs, anyway. The ball went through Doubs’ hands and right to rookie Jayden Reed, who was engaged with safety Ja’Quan McMillian but flashed quick reflexes and sure hands for the go-ahead touchdown.

Denver recaptured the lead on Will Lutz’s fourth field goal, a 52-yarder. Preston Smith’s ankle-grabbing sack of Russell Wilson limited the damage and gave Love 3:50 on the clock.

Trailing 9-0 at halftime, the Packers got the ball to start the second half. Rookie receiver Dontayvion Wicks had a starring role with a 17-yard catch on third-and-4 and 14-yard pass to running back Aaron Jones. That set up Anders Carlson’s 29-yard field goal.

So, had the Packers seized the momentum? Nah.

Denver breezed right down the field and took a 16-3 lead on Wilson’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Courtland Sutton. On back-to-back plays early in the series, Javonte Williams had two runs for 30 yards, with three missed tackles and 32 yards after contact on those plays.

However, the Packers showed some life. A 23-yard pass to Christian Watson jump-started a touchdown drive that ended with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Doubs, who was given the win vs. All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain on a wrestling match for the ball in the end zone.

CBS officiating expert Gene Steratore, who was a referee from 2006 through 2017 and wore the white cap in Super Bowl LII, thought it should have been ruled an interception because Surtain was the first player to get two feet on the ground.

This time, the Packers seized the momentum, with Rashan Gary’s big third-down stop of Williams on the final play of the third quarter creating a three-and-out punt.

The first half was a disaster other than Green Bay’s ability to keep the Broncos out of the end zone. The Packers were fortunate to trail only 9-0.

“We keep digging ourselves in a hole,” LaFleur said.

The Packers have been outscored 63-6 in the first halves of their last four games.

“Obviously zero,” LaFleur said of progress in fixing chronic slow starts.

Facing the worst defense in the NFL, the Packers were outgained 209-100. Their longest plays were 14 yards on a receiver screen to Doubs and 14 yards on a useless draw to Emanuel Wilson to end the half.

“It’s never just one man’s fault,” LaFleur said. “I feel 100 percent responsible for when it’s not working.”

The Packers’ only scoring opportunity ended with Carlson pulling a 43-yard field goal to the left. The only saving grace were red-zone stops that resulted in field goals of 35, 29 and 32 yards.

Love was 10-of-13 passing for a pitiful 47 yards in the first half.

“We’ve got to have more urgency to start the game,” he said.

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.

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