Report Card: Grades From Packers’ 19-17 Loss to Broncos

The Green Bay Packers dropped their third consecutive game on Sunday, 19-17 to the Denver Broncos. Here is our weekly postgame report card.

DENVER – In the folk classic Dead Skunk, Loudon Wainwright III sings:

Take a whiff on me, that ain't no rose
Roll up your window and hold your nose
You don't have to look and you don't have to see
'Cause you can feel it in your olfactory

The Green Bay Packers’ first-half offense is much like that dead skunk in the middle of the road and, as Wainwright sang, “it’s stinkin’ to high heaven.”

In a 19-17 loss at the Denver Broncos on Sunday, the Packers scored zero points in the first half. That came on the heels of three points in a loss to the Raiders, three points in a loss to the Lions and zero points in a victory over the Saints.

At least they’re consistent.

“Obviously, zero” progress was made in solving those issues during the bye, coach Matt LaFleur said.

Why?

“That’s a great question,” LaFleur replied.

Here’s this week’s report card, which also stinks.

Passing Offense

Jordan Love completed 21-of-31 passes, by far his best game of the year after entering Sunday with the lowest completion rate in the NFL. Completing passes is easy. Completing passes that move the chains and create big plays is much more difficult.

In the first half, Love was 10-of-13 passing, an impressive 76.9 percent, but for just 47 yards, a woeful 3.62 yards per attempt.

Love rallied in the second half and finished with 180 yards with two touchdowns – one was a bit lucky and the second was unbelievably lucky – and one terrible interception that required no luck at all and doomed the comeback.

LaFleur took the blame for the interception, which came on third-and-20 in the final moments, but Love needs to know the safety is in the vicinity when he lofts one downfield.

Any game in which running back AJ Dillon is the leader in receiving yards – he caught two passes for 34 yards – is going to wind up as a loss.

Dillon’s 29-yard gain on a checkdown was the longest completion of the day. Love completed a 23-yard pass to Christian Watson; Watson’s two other catches gained 4 yards. Tight end Luke Musgrave had an 18-yard reception; his three other catches gained 9 yards.

Grade: D-minus.

Rushing Offense

The Packers rushed 29 times for 147 yards, a solid 4.7-yard average but still about a yard worse than the Broncos’ league-worst rush defense had been entering the game.

Credit to Dillon for running hard and gaining 61 yards on 15 tries. By our count, he forced four missed tackles. That’s back-to-back games in which Dillon ran with requisite power. So, there’s a building block. In his return to action, Jones ran eight times for 35 yards. His best of the day came on a third-and-1 late in the second quarter, when he turned on the jets and turned a 5-yard loss into a 6-yard gain.

Love ran three times for 21 yards. On a quarterback draw on the fateful final drive, Elgton Jenkins was flagged for holding. Love went down at the Broncos’ 40 on the play. That would have at least given the Packers a shot at the go-ahead field goal.

The running game was supposed to be the strength of the offense. It took until Week 7, but that’s starting to show up.

Grade: B-minus

Somewhere in this photo, you'll see Packers RB Aaron Jones engulfed by the Broncos :: Photo by Ron Chenoy/USA Today Sports Images

Passing Defense

Credit to Russell Wilson for playing the type of winning football that veterans are supposed to play.

Wilson completed 20-of-29 passes for 194 yards – nothing too impressive about that – but he never got close to screwing up. He didn’t fumble. He didn’t throw an interception. He never put the ball in harm’s way.

Wilson took advantage of the right matchup – namely against rookie cornerback Carrington Valentine, who got the start in place of Jaire Alexander. Unlike Love, Wilson has a veteran receiver in Courtland Sutton, who caught all six targets for 76 yards. He beat Valentine for 33 on the opening third down to set up a field goal and caught an 18-yard touchdown pass against Rasul Douglas.

On the touchdown, tight end Adam Trautman ran his route like he was a snowplow.

“As soon as I seen 17’s two steps, I was like, ‘Oh, it’s a pick play,’” Douglas said, “and I tried to run right to it. But 82, he was running with his hands up in the air. He wouldn’t let me get around him. I’m like, ‘Bro, this ain’t a route; like the [heck]?’”

The pressure was decent; Preston Smith had his best game of the season with one sack and several pressures that kept Wilson in the pocket.

Grade: C.

Rushing Defense

Did Green Bay find some answers in how it defended the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs two weeks ago?

Nope.

The Broncos rushed for 145 yards and averaged 5.8 yards per carry. Those are bad numbers. They would have been worse had Kingsley Enagbare and Rasul Douglas not combined to drop receiver Marvin Mims for minus-11 on an end-around.

By our count, the Packers missed 13 tackles. Nine came on running plays, including three on back-to-back runs by Javonte Williams that gained 30 yards and a 21-yard scramble by Wilson.

It certainly didn’t help that the Packers played without linebacker De’Vondre Campbell (inactive; ankle) and that defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt and safety Darnell Savage were lost after they aggravated knee and calf injuries, respectively.

Isaiah McDuffie had a team-high 10 tackles and fellow linebacker Quay Walker had two tackles for losses.

Grade: C-minus

Special Teams

It’s hard to say Carlson’s missed field goal was the difference in a two-point game. Who knows how the rest of the game would have played out had Carlson connected on that 43-yard field goal late in the first half. But, the rookie’s first career miss was a costly one in light of the final score.

At least all his kickoffs were touchbacks, which kept the ball out of the hands of the dangerous Mims.

Keisean Nixon had a 15-yard punt return. Daniel Whelan’s three punts had a 51.7-yard average but only a 41.3 net because of an 11-yard punt return by Mims and a touchback that took a big bounce.

Grade: D-plus.

Coaching

After an ugly home loss to Detroit, the Packers had their mini-bye but lost 17-13 at the woeful Raiders. Now, the Packers lost 19-17 to the woeful Broncos following their full bye.

That’s a lot of extra prep time for coach Matt LaFleur and offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich, but not a bit of progress was made by the offense. Everyone knew the offense would be a work in progress. So long as there was tangible progress, any struggles would be easier to swallow. Where’s the progress?

Against the worst defense in the NFL, Green Bay’s offense was totally dominated. To say that’s a concern is an understatement.

Give credit to maligned defensive coordinator Joe Barry. With Jaire Alexander, Campbell, Wyatt and Savage out with injuries, the Packers allowed 19 points. Not so long ago, if the defense allowed 19 points, Aaron Rodgers would be laughing his way through the final minutes of a blowout victory.

Ah, the good old days, right, Packers fans?

Grade: F.

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As usual, @JacobWestendorf has your Sunday Six-Pack, which might require a 12-pack after the #Packers lost 19-17.https://t.co/euWMND8qyx

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 23, 2023

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