Love-Led Packers Waste Another Strong Defensive Performance vs. Broncos

Once upon a time, when the Packers gave up less than 20 points, it practically was an automatic victory. Not anymore.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers are known for great quarterbacks, not great defenses.

Thus, on those occasions when the Packers have played great defense, they’ve typically won.

Not so for this rendition of the Packers. After losing 17-13 at the Las Vegas Raiders before the bye, the Packers lost 19-17 at the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

During Aaron Rodgers’ 15 seasons as the team’s starting quarterback, the Packers allowed less than 20 points in 36 road games. Green Bay went 27-9 in those games. One of those losses came in 2021, when Jordan Love made his first career start at Kansas City. In games started by Rodgers during the Matt LaFleur, the Packers went 8-1 in those defense-driven road contests.

With Love struggling through his first season as the team’s starter, the Packers are 0-2.

“I’ve said it before, I think any time you hold somebody under 20 points in this league, I think we’ve got to do enough to win from an offensive standpoint and we obviously aren’t,” LaFleur said on Sunday.

Only once during the Rodgers era did the Packers lose back-to-back games – home or away – while allowing less than 20 points. That was in 2015. Before that, you have to go back to 2005. And before that, 1994.

So, this is a once-in-a-decade level of putrid.

After failing to score a first-half touchdown for the fourth consecutive week, the sputtering offense finally got going in the second half. Touchdown passes by Love to Romeo Doubs on a contested catch and ruling and Jayden Reed on an immaculate deflection gave the Packers a 17-16 lead with 8:31 to play.

The defense couldn’t get a stop, though. After Denver converted a third-and-1, Russell Wilson connected with Jerry Jeudy, who broke a tackle by Keisean Nixon for a gain of 16. That set up Will Lutz’s 52-yard field goal for the decisive points.

Packers OLB Kingsley Enagbare pressures Russell Wilson on Sunday :: Photo by Ron Chenoy/USA Today Sports Images

“Honestly, like I say every week, I’m always self-critical of us, the defense,” cornerback Rasul Douglas said. “Never care what the offense does because they do whatever the hell they want to do. As much bad as they played the first half, we were up one point in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve got to get off the field, bro. Like everybody can say what they want to say around here but we’ve got to get off the field. They played terrible? Cool. Gave us a chance up one. We’ve got to get off the grass.”

To be sure, the offenses fielded by the Raiders and Broncos aren’t exactly the equivalent of the Dolphins and the Chiefs.

Nonetheless, a defense playing without four starters – defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, cornerback Jaire Alexander and safety Darnell Savage – allowed 339 yards. They limited the Broncos to a combined 5-of-13 on third and fourth down and kept them out of the end zone on 3-of-4 red-zone possessions.

Even with zero takeaways and only one sack, the defense at least did enough to give Love and Co. a chance to steal a victory.

Instead, Elgton Jenkins’ holding penalty and Love’s interception meant a third consecutive loss.

“I blame the defense like I always do. It’s always on us,” Douglas said. “We don’t want to put the ball in the offense’s hands to be able to win or lose a game. It’s supposed to be on us and that’s what we’ve got to do. They gave us a chance up one and we ain’t get off the grass. We held them to three but could’ve held them to zero or a punt.”

With the bye week in the rearview mirror, the Packers will play 11 consecutive weeks to close the regular season. They will return home to host the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angles Rams before a trip to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers. Then, it’s home against the Los Angeles Chargers, at the Detroit Lions and home against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Vikings are 18th in scoring but will be without premier receiver Justin Jefferson. The Rams are 16th in scoring but regained premier receiver Cooper Kupp. The Steelers are 26th in scoring. Then come the big challenges of the Chargers (11th in scoring), Lions (eighth) and Chiefs (sixth).

“If you look at it like that, we got the games left to make something shake but we’ve got to win, though. It’s as easy as that,” Douglas said. “We can say, ‘Oh, we have 11 games left. We can look down the line. We can be this.’ Nah, we’ve got to win.”

Defensively, good hasn’t been good enough. To win against the better competition that’s on the horizon, greatness will be required. Is Green Bay’s defense capable of being great? And given the myriad of problems on offense, would great even be good enough to win games?

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Good morning. Your weekly #Packers report card is about what you’d expect. Enjoy. https://t.co/SZdgCFwxjN

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 23, 2023

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