Lack of complimentary football leads to Packers 4th quarter demise
By Paul Bretl
With just a minute left in the third quarter, the Green Bay Packers were up 12 points and positioned well to move to 2-0 on the season. But oh, how quickly things can change, and Green Bay’s inability to play complimentary football in the fourth quarter led to their eventual demise.
"“When you’re up 12 points in the second half,” said Matt LaFleur, “you’ve got to play complementary football, and we did not do that, really, in any phase there at the end of the game.”"
The defense’s inability to even slow Bijan Robinson and the Falcons’ run game in the second half will garner much of the attention–and understandably so. Robinson rushed for 124 yards on 19 attempts, averaging 6.3 yards per carry for the game.
Between the running lanes carved by the Atlanta offensive line and Robinson’s ability to make defenders miss, even though the Packers knew what was coming, they couldn’t stop him. The Falcons did a good job of running both inside and out throughout the game, and their success on the ground opened up opportunities in the passing game for Desmond Ridder, with the culmination of it all leaving this Green Bay defense off-balanced and, to a degree, guessing.
However, with all of that said, it’s not as if the Packers’ offense did their defense any favors, either. After scoring a touchdown with 56 seconds left in the third quarter, the Packers proceeded to run just 10 offensive plays the rest of the game despite having three additional possessions.
The fourth quarter began with a three-and-out by the Packers, where they picked up only two yards. The next possession also resulted in a three-and-out and ended in a brutal sequence. On third-and-one, AJ Dillon stumbled in the backfield and failed to pick up the yard that was needed. That play was then followed up by a quarterback sneak attempt on fourth-and-one where Jordan Love fell forward without the ball because it wasn’t snapped, and no one on the offensive line budged–resulting in a false start.
"“I messed that operation up,” Love said after the game. “I said the wrong thing. It’s not a play until I give the ‘live’ word. I gave the wrong live word…just messed it up.”"
The game then ended after a failed fourth down attempt and a turnover on downs, giving the ball back to Atlanta with 38 seconds left. On four passing plays, the Packers picked up no yards.
Whether an outcome is positive or negative, there are always a number of factors in the game of football that contribute to the results. In regards to the Packers’ fourth-quarter woes on offense, their inability to move the ball on first down was a key contributor to their struggles.
Through the air, Love was unable to connect with any of his receivers. On the ground, the Packers were inconsistent at best. All of this resulted in second and third-and-long situations, where Green Bay was in predictable passing situations, allowing the Atlanta defense to do the dictating, getting into favorable packages.
"“We just have to do a better job of getting the drive started,” said Love. “That’s the end game for us. If we can’t get the ball started, get the drive started, and end up in third-and-long situations, we let them (the defense) get their packages that they want to get off in third-and-longs, and we just didn’t execute when we were in those situations."
In addition to Robinson running all over the Packers’ defense, that unit had little time to recover because of the offense’s inability to pick up even one first down. Excluding the Packers’ final drive of the game, they held the ball for three minutes in the fourth quarter.
This isn’t meant to be an excuse for the defense, but it is the reality of the situation. In total, the Falcons ran 31 more plays than the Packers and held the ball for almost 13 more minutes. It was feast or famine for the Green Bay offense, where they either scored or were punting very quickly. There just aren’t a lot of games that teams, especially inexperienced ones, are going to win when the play and time of possession discrepancy is that massive.
As is most often the case when a team blows a two-score fourth-quarter lead like the Packers did, there isn’t one play, one player, or even one side of the ball to really blame. This was a total team loss by Green Bay. The defense couldn’t get off the field, and the offense couldn’t pick up a first down.
"“It just comes down to execution and being better in the fourth quarter and being able to play a full game,” added Love. “I just don’t think we executed well enough in the fourth quarter. Weren’t able to move the ball and convert third downs, and that’s really what hurt us.”"