9 Days Until Training Camp: One-Score Games
GREEN BAY, Wis. – With nine days until the first practice of Green Bay Packers training camp, it’s worth remembering three things about one-score games.
- Last year, the Packers played in nine one-score games. They went 4-5 in them, including the Week 18 loss to the Detroit Lions that kept them out of the playoffs.
- That was an outlier season for coach Matt LaFleur. In four seasons, he’s 22-11 in one-score games. That .667 winning percentage is second-best in the NFL behind only Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s 25-11 for .694.
- One-score games were the theme of Aaron Rodgers’ first season as the Packers’ starter in 2008.
The Packers beat the Vikings 24-19 at Lambeau Field in Rodgers’ starting debut. In between his first touchdown pass (to fullback Korey Hall) and his 1-yard touchdown sneak, Will Blackmon returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown. Atari Bigby’s interception clinched the victory.
They reached the bye with a 4-3 record but collapsed. They lost their first two games coming out of the bye, routed the Bears at home, then lost five in a row. During that 1-7 stretch of games, six of the losses came by a total of 18 points.
By season’s end, Rodgers was fourth in passing yards, fourth in passing touchdowns and sixth in passer rating. By the midpoint in the season, he had shown enough to warrant a six-year contract extension. His individual success didn’t matter, though. The Packers were 6-10 in his debut season because they finished 1-7 in one-score games. Those close-game woes don’t include a nine-point loss at Tampa Bay in which they trailed 23-21 before Rodgers threw an interception with 2 1/2 minutes to go.
It wasn’t all Rodgers’ fault, obviously. Green Bay finished 20th in total defense, 26th in rushing defense and 22nd in points allowed.
However, the future four-time MVP threw three touchdowns vs. four interceptions with a 76.9 passer rating when tied or trailing by one score in the fourth quarter. Rodgers ranked 12th in completion percentage and 17th in rating while throwing the most interceptions.
With Rodgers traded to the Jets, it’s Jordan Love’s turn. As was the case in 2008, nobody quite knows what to expect from a first-time starting quarterback.
Good quarterbacks make winning decisions at the line of scrimmage. Good quarterbacks throw darts even when they know they’re going to get popped. Good quarterbacks rise to the occasion in the fourth quarters of close games.
That last sentence, of course, is a big one. Rodgers made smart decisions. He played with toughness. He just didn’t win games. It’s possible that could be the theme of Love’s season, as well.
“I think the one thing you see in this league, very rarely are guys shot out of a cannon, winning-wise,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “There’s some great play. There’s instances. You see flashes. But I think it takes most of these quarterbacks a little time to learn how to win.”
Rodgers learned how to win. When trailing by one score in the fourth quarter from 2011 through 2021, the span of seasons encompassing his four MVPs, he threw 24 touchdowns vs. nine interceptions. He ranks seventh among active quarterbacks in fourth-quarter comebacks.
Those pressure-cooker moments will be among the countless new things for Love to go through this season.
“It’s one thing to play well and make throws and make plays, but then it’s another thing to lead your team to wins,” Gutekunst continued. “I think that takes time. But you don’t get a lot of that in this league. Certainly, with any new quarterback that’s playing for the first time, you’re going to need some of that.”
Counting Down the Days Until Packers Training Camp
10 days until training camp: 10 most important Packers
11 days until training camp: 11 drops too many
12 days until training camp: What history says about replacing No. 12
13 days until training camp: Replacing Mason Crosby
14 days until training camp: Previewing the 14 opponents
15 days until training camp: Aaron Jones, touchdown machine
16 days until training camp: Two months until Week 1 at Bears
17 days until training camp: 17 is the unmagical number
18 days until training camp: LaFleur’s magic touches?
19 days until training camp: 19 1,000-yard challenges
20 days until training camp: 20 reasons for optimism
21 days until training camp: 21 Packers rookie tight ends
22 days until training camp: Fourth of July fireworks
23 days until training camp: No. 23, Jaire Alexander
24 days until training camp: From No. 1 to No. 24 in red zone
25 days until training camp: From No. 1 to No. 25 in tackling
26 days until training camp: The key to the defense is No. 26
27 days until training camp: 27 sources of inspiration
28 days until training camp: At least they’re consistent
29 days: Keisean Nixon’s surprise stardom
30 days until training camp: 30th in key defensive stat
31 days until training camp: A killer No. 31 ranking
32 days until training camp: 32nd-ranked receivers
33 days until training camp: No. 33, Aaron Jones, is a great player