Instant Takeaways from Packers loss in London to New York
By Paul Bretl
Inconsistency on offense and a defense that couldn’t get a stop. The Green Bay Packers lose to New York in London to fall to 3-2.
Here are my instant takeaways from the Packers’ Week 5 performance.
– Christian Watson was the Packers’ kick return man against the Giants. Watson was an All-American return man at North Dakota State. Amari Rodgers, meanwhile, has underwhelmed, while Watson brings playmaking with this speed. He later left with a hamstring injury.
– For the first time this season, the Packers defense got a stop on the opening possession. They followed it up with another three-and-out but then allowed three straight scoring drives and fell apart in the second half.
– The Packers continued their rotation at left tackle with David Bakhtiari and Yosh Nijman alternating series.
– The Packers’ field goal operation looks so much more smooth and clean this season.
– Other than Barkley’s 40-yard run, the Packers’ run defense didn’t let him dominate the game—or at least not on the ground.
– The secondary, however, very much struggled. Daniel Jones and his receivers found quite a bit of success over the middle. Upon the initial viewing, it looked like Eric Stokes didn’t have the best performance, and Rasul Douglas was penalized three times. The secondary, as a whole, really had issues with those crossing routes. Another frustrating performance to watch with more miscommunication.
– Also, credit to Daniel Jones; he looked good and had the answers for this Packers defense—both with his arm and on the ground.
– Kenny Clark continues to be a massive problem for centers and guards.
– The Giants’ offensive line entered Sunday’s game with the highest pressure rate in the NFL, but the Packers couldn’t quite consistently get home.
– The quick passing game and run game were huge parts of the Packers’ first-half success. But where did that go in the third and fourth quarters? The offense also happened to stall in the second half as well when there were a lot more shot plays. Weird.
– The Packers just can’t go away from Jones and the run game like they did. Everything in this offense builds off of the success on the ground, not to mention that Jones is their playmaker. Jones and Dillon had 19 touches, Rodgers had 40 attempts.
– The quick passing game was also helped tremendously by the blocking of the Green Bay wide receivers.
– 9 different pass catchers had at least one target.
– The Giants blitz a lot, but it didn’t seem as prevalent today, and that is likely because they were facing Rodgers, who has been very effective when blitzed this season. The offensive line also held up well, for the most part, with the quick passing game providing an assist.
– As we’ve seen each game this season, the Packers’ offense finds success, putting together multiple scoring drives, but that is either preceded or followed by a cold stretch. That was the case once again today and in the second half, and the play calling didn’t help.
– Earlier in the week, Rodgers said Randall Cobb deserved more opportunities. Cobb hasn’t been used a ton this season but has been super effective when given the ball. Today, he had more opportunities but maintained that efficiency.
– The Packers’ defense has been the best in the NFL entering today’s game on third downs, but the Giants were able to move the chains effectively in those situations.