Green Bay Packers v. Broncos: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

The Green Bay Packers came away with another win on Sunday, this time against the Denver Broncos and here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from their performance.

It was another game where the Green Bay Packers’ offense got off to a very fast start but unfortunately for the second week in a row, they were unable to sustain that momentum after the first quarter.

However, just as the defensive side of the ball had done in the Packers’ first two victories, they were able to force some key turnovers and come up with big stops at just the right time. The end result was a 27-16 win and even when the game was close, it was easy to see that Green Bay was the more talented team.

With every win or loss, there are always positives and negatives to take away from the performance. Just as I’ve after every Packers game this season I’ll be highlighting the good, the bad, and the ugly, this time from their week three win against Denver.

The Good

Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Through the first two weeks of the season, outside of Davante Adams, there had been sporadic production from the receiver position. However, here in week three it was Marquez Valdes-Scantling who led the way in most of the wide receiver categories.

MVS would haul in six receptions on 10 targets, totaling 99 yards including a 40-yard touchdown reception on the opening drive. In order for this offense to truly be effective, someone other than Adams needs to consistently make plays and through three weeks it clearly looks like that player is MVS.

More Turnovers

Over the years we’ve seen it time and time again here in Green Bay, just an inability for the defense to create turnovers or come up with a big game-changing play when it matters. Well, that certainly doesn’t appear to be an issue anymore.

Coming into the Denver game, the Green Bay Packers were tied for first in the NFL with five turnovers and they added three more in Sunday’s victory. Without question, this has been a huge factor in their defensive success and has helped the offense put points on the scoreboard.

The Smiths

I mean, these free agent signings already look like absolute home runs by GM Brian Gutekunst. Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith just continue to make huge plays for this Green Bay Packers’ defense. On Sunday, the dynamic edge-rushing duo would total eight tackles, four of which were for a loss, with five sacks, and a forced fumble from P. Smith. What an upgrade these two have been.

Jaire Alexander

After a big performance against the Minnesota Vikings and Stefon Diggs last week, Jaire Alexander backed it up with another big game this week. Some key plays from Alexander included breaking up what would have been a touchdown pass in the corner of the endzone, making an open-field tackle on Phillip Lindsay on third-down, as well as just ripping the ball out of the hands of tight end, Noah Fant.

Coming into the game, Denver receiver Emmanuel Sanders had 16 receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns. However, on Sunday he would make only two catches for 10 yards and Alexander was a big reason why.

Packers’ rookies

Sunday was a big day for the first three picks of the Green Bay Packers’ 2019 draft. The 12th overall pick Rashan Gary would record his first NFL sack and fumble recovery. Safety Darnell Savage would snag his first interception. Meanwhile, guard Elgton Jenkins would make his first NFL start and came away with a key block on the first Aaron Jones touchdown run. Just a fantastic day all-around for the three rookies.

The Bad

Kevin King

Although Kevin King did fill up the stat sheet with nine total tackles, including five solo, he had his share of bad plays as well. King would whiff on a tackle that led to a huge gain for Broncos’ running back Phillip Lindsay. Shortly after that, he would get lost in coverage but was bailed out by a poor throw from Joe Flacco.

Then perhaps the most egregious play came when he bit on a double-move from Courtland Sutton and then appeared to stop on mid-route while Sutton kept running, which led to a 52-yard reception.

Jimmy Graham

After coming down with the only touchdown reception of the game between the Packers and Bears, it looked like Jimmy Graham could be on his way to a bounce-back season. But unfortunately, since then he has disappeared. Over the last two games, Graham has no receptions and only one target. That needs to change quickly or we need to see Robert Tonyan getting a lot more snaps.

The Ugly

Green Bay’s unscripted offense

Just as we saw in week two against the Minnesota Vikings, this Green Bay Packers’ offense got off to another fast start but once again, they were unable to sustain any of that momentum past the first quarter.

When the Packers are following their scripted plays at the start of the game, we see them playing with tempo, very good rhythm and the ball is being spread around. Green Bay initially knows how to attack the defense’s weaknesses and take advantage of them.

However, once they get past that point, we have seen the offense fizzle out and as the defense adjusts to what Green Bay’s offense is doing, the Packers haven’t been able to make adjustments of their own. Of Aaron Rodgers’ 235 total passing yards on Sunday, 109 of them came in the first quarter.

It’s only week three, but this is clearly an issue that Rodgers and head coach Matt LaFleur need to figure out on the fly.