Green Bay Packers: 10 Quick Observations from Ugly Win

It wasn’t pretty, but the Green Bay Packers came away with the win. Here are 10 observations from their performance after rewatching the game.

Well, as they say, a win is a win. And that is one of the few positives that we can glean from the Green Bay Packers’ performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In the end, they came away with the win, which moves them to 7-2 on the season and currently the top seed in the NFC. However, that was ugly.

We will get into that more in detail here quickly, but in short, the Green Bay Packers did just about everything in their power to lose this game. Fortunately, they are far more talented and better coached than the Jaguars, so they were able to overcome the numerous mistakes that they made.

After having the opportunity to rewatch the game, I’ve put together my 10 observations from the Packers performance on Sunday afternoon.

Turnovers, Penalties, Special Teams TD

Do you know how you let a bad team hang around? You give the ball away, have penalties take points off the board, and allow a special teams touchdown, which is exactly what the Green Bay Packers did on Sunday. In what was a weird game, we saw Davante Adams fumble, which eventually led to a Jacksonville touchdown, and we also saw Aaron Rodgers throw his third interception of the season.

In terms of penalties, the Packers were called for only four, but the holding call on Billy Turner came at a particularly bad time as it took a touchdown off the board before the half. And of course, Green Bay gave up a 91-yard punt return. When you look back and wonder why this game was so close, these are three big reasons why.

No energy, again

I, like everyone else, am at a loss on this one. Once again, and at home, nonetheless, the Green Bay Packers come out flat with zero energy or a sense of urgency. The Jaguars came out with the energy of a 6-2 team, and as we’ve seen from the Packers in the Matt LaFleur era, when they get punched in the mouth, they don’t always know how to respond. In the past, games like this have turned into losses, but the talent gap between the Packers and Jaguars was wide enough that they overcame the lackluster performance.

This is a team with several strong leaders, yet as Andy Herman of Packer Report put it, they can look so disengaged. After the game, LaFleur called the lack of energy “disturbing,” and when Aaron Nagler of CheeseheadTV asked LaFleur what the issue might stem from, he wasn’t too sure either:

That’s why you go back to MVS

The Marquez Valdes-Scantling Experience, as I’ve often referred to it, has been very up and down this season. However, that 78-yard touchdown grab early on is why you keep going back to him. Yes, there have been several brutal drops, but he’s also made several big plays this season as well. With 4.37 speed, he is the only receiver on this roster that can stretch the field with speed like that. In the end, MVS may be a one-trick pony, but to his credit, it is one heck of a trick.

Special teams…yikes

The Green Bay Packers’ special teams unit has been better overall this season. However, on Sunday, they completely unraveled. There was the 91-yard punt return, the 30-yard punt by J.K. Scott, Tyler Ervin miss played a few punts in the wind, and the Packers started deep in their own territory on several occasions.

It’s not often the first thought of many when injuries occur, but when you’ve had as many as the Packers have this season, the special teams unit suffers when several fringe roster players are asked to play key roles.

The Jaguars did exactly what we thought they would

Coming into the game, James Robinson’s 132 carries were the sixth most in football, and he was coming off a career-high 25 carries the week before. With Jake Luton under center making only his second NFL start, it was quite obvious that Robinson was going to be featured heavily. Yet the Green Bay Packers couldn’t stop him.

When it was all said and done, Robinson had 23 carries for 109 yards, averaging 4.7 yards per rush. And truthfully, his day could have been much bigger if it weren’t for two holding calls that negated touchdowns, and for some reason, Jacksonville decided to lean on the passing game heavily even though it was a close game for the most part.

More 3-man rushes in the red zone

I mean, Mike Pettine, why is this still happening? On third and six just five minutes into the third quarter, the Green Bay Packers rushed only three and Luton through a touchdown pass that tied the game. This has unfortunately been almost a weekly occurrence, and once again, Andy Herman comes through with what ends up being some cringe-worthy numbers illustrating what happens when the Packers rush three in the red zone:

When you consider that Green Bay just isn’t generating the same pressure that they were in 2019 and the fact that Luton is a rookie quarterback making only his second career start, why you wouldn’t rush at least four, if not blitz in the red zone is simply baffling.

Just an odd game for Davante Adams

Hey, every player is going to have a clunker once in a while, but Davante Adams has been so good that when it happens, you’re almost in shock. While he did come away with what ended up being the game-winning touchdown, before that, he had a crucial fumble that led to Jacksonville tying the game, and before that, he had two drops.

As I said, I wouldn’t read anything into this, but it was an odd game for him.

Quarterback play is the difference

Really you could say in several key phases of the game, the Jaguars matched or were even better than the Packers. Yet it was Green Bay who won the game, and the big reason why is the difference in quarterback play.

While Aaron Rodgers was 24/34 for 325 yards at 9.6 yards per attempt with two touchdowns and an interception, Lutton wasn’t even close to that level of production. On similar attempts, he would finish the game 18/35 for 169 yards, at 4.8 yards per attempt, with one touchdown and one interception.

Tough sledding on the ground

Credit to the Jacksonville defensive front, they made life difficult for the Green Bay Packers run game. The typically dynamic duo of Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams was held to just 3.6 yards per carry on 21 attempts. And of Jones 46 rushing yards, 20 came on just one run. Fortunately, as I highlighted above, Aaron Rodgers had a very good game in the wind minus the interception.

Who knew? Pressures lead to turnovers

Last week in San Francisco, we saw the Green Bay Packers force two turnovers, both of which were because of pressure on Nick Mullens. And on the interception by Adrian Amos against Jacksonville, pressure was once again a big contributor.

It’s not a coincidence that the Packers entered Week 10 as one of the worst teams at pressuring the quarterback this season while also having some of the fewest takeaways. In this second half of the season, they have to find a way to get after the quarterback with more regularity, and if they can, they’re going to generate more turnovers as well.