2019 Week 4 - That's What Cheese Said

The offense had a lot to like about its performance against the Eagles, but the team knows it won't win many games settling for field goals in the red zone. 

The Packers fall to 3-1 on the season after an injury-riddled shootout with the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football. Green Bay lost the game 27-34 after two trips to the red zone netted zero points. Perhaps the biggest loss of the night came when Davante Adams, having a career game with 10 receptions for 180 yards, exited the game late in the fourth quarter with a toe injury. 

Adams wasn’t the only injured Packer, though. Running back Jamaal Williams took a vicious helmet-to-helmet shot and left the game on a stretcher. Thankfully, according to his Instagram, he appears to be doing okay. 

The team now has a mini-bye of sorts to get healthy for their first road game in over a month (yes, seriously). The team will be keeping an eye on the injuries to right tackle Bryan Bulaga, and cornerbacks Kevin King and Tony Brown in addition to Adams and Williams. Noteably, safety Will Redmond also exited the game with a concussion. 

For Adams, it was difficult standing on the sideline during the team’s final two series on offense. 

“It’s tough, because I feel like those are the type of moments that I’m built for,” said Adams.

The Packers left plenty of points on the field by settling for field goals early, and that wasn’t lost on anyone. 

“We’ve just gotta make sure if we get down there, we’ve gotta do better and punch the ball in the end zone,” said Adams. 

Head Coach Matt LaFleur agreed, emphasizing that the team went three-for-seven inside the red zone against Philadelphia.

“You’re not going to win many games if you’re three-for-seven in the red area.” he said. “You kick enough field goals, that’ll get you beat every time.”

LaFleur also felt that turnovers told a good part of the story Thursday night. Going into the game, the Packers had a turnover differential of plus-six. Against the Eagles they were minus-two. They first lost a fumble to give the Eagles short field position. Then, a pass attempt to Marquez Valdes-Scantling on the goal line was deflected and intercepted, giving Aaron Rodgers his first interception of the season. 

Despite the deflected interception to end the game, Rodgers acknowledged that the offense still moved the ball well. 

“We moved the ball up and down the field,” he said. “You have to score touchdowns.”

While the run game couldn’t get going against the stout Philadelphia defense, the air attack looked good, and Rodgers had his best game of the season with 34 completions for 422 yards and two touchdowns. Even with the interception, he still finished the night with a rating of 93.4. 

“I thought Matt got us in a really nice rhythm,” said Rodgers. “It was a good rhythm, obviously it’d be nice to run the ball more effectively, but I thought the way we moved the ball was a lot more efficient than we had the first three games.”

In addition to Adams’ career night, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Geronimo Allison, and Jimmy Graham all contributed on offense. 

“The trust is high in Jimmy. I’ve got a lot of faith in him,” said Rodgers.

Graham had six receptions for 61 yards and one touchdown on the night. 

Allison, who caught the team’s other passing touchdown, acknowledged the role Adams played in getting the offense down the field. 

“He was able to put us in some good opportunities to get points on the board, and we did,” said Allison, who finished his own night with three receptions for 52 yards and a score. 

For the first time all season, more praise is being given to the offense than the defense, and the defense isn’t shying away from the criticism. 

On the ground, the Packers gave up 176 yards against the Eagles, including two rushing touchdowns from Jordan Howard. 

“If we want to be a top defense, we’ve got to outperform the best o-lines in the NFL, and tonight we didn’t,” said defensive end Dean Lowry. 

Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz only had 160 yards through the air, but he still managed to throw three touchdowns on the night. Philadelphia had favorable field position for a good part of the evening, stemming from special teams miscues and a forced fumble when the Packers were on offense. 

“We handle adversity well. When we came back in this locker room, everybody knows what the situation is and everybody had their heads up high. I’m definitely confident that we can get it fixed,” said defensive tackle Kenny Clark

“We’re not going to panic,” emphasized Lowry. 

Rodgers felt the offense needed to do more to support the defense. 

“This is one of those games where we’ve got to pick them [the defense] up,” he said. “They’ve been picking us up the first three weeks, and tonight was our opportunity. We obviously came up a little short there in the red zone.”

Despite the loss, the locker room remains optimistic about what this team can be. 

“We still haven’t played our best ball and we’re 3-1,” said Adams.

“This stings right now, but in training camp, if somebody told you 3-1, you’d be pretty happy,” said safety Adrian Amos. 

“I feel good about our squad. I don’t think we’re going to lack confidence moving forward,” said Rodgers. 

The Packers will get a few days to rest before they start prepping for a tough game against the Dallas Cowboys, who play the New Orleans Saints tomorrow night on Sunday Night Football. 

“I think we’re a building football team. I think we’re a good football team,” said Rodgers. “To be a great football team, you have to win these kinds of games when you’re playing really good opponents.”

 

 

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Maggie Loney is a writer for Cheesehead TV and podcaster for the Pack-A-Day Podcast and Pack's What She Said. Find her on Twitter at @MaggieJLoney.

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2 points
 

Comments (17)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
Rick5952's picture

September 28, 2019 at 03:34 pm

What does Jimmy Graham and a slot machine have in common? They both have one arm.

3 points
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ricky's picture

September 28, 2019 at 03:46 pm

The rushing defense has been getting worse with each game. Against Chicago, 15 attempts and 46 yards by the Bears. Vikings got 68 yards on 18 runs. Broncos, 38 runs, 149 yards. Eagles 33 and 176. Until the Packers defense can stop the run, other teams are going to run it down their throats, keeping the defense on the field longer and the offense on the bench longer. This is a recipe for disaster. The return of Montravius Adams might help. But this team needs to find a way to stuff the run, even if that means having fewer DB's on the field.

7 points
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4thand1's picture

September 28, 2019 at 04:13 pm

I think your a bit off on the queens yardage.

3 points
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splitpea1's picture

September 28, 2019 at 05:09 pm

Only by 130 yards.

1 points
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splitpea1's picture

September 28, 2019 at 05:42 pm

I don't know. I think the DL and LBs just have to play better--well, much better. Wentz was the first really good quarterback the Packers had to play so far, so I don't blame Pettine for trying to protect the back end of the defense.

The Dallas offense looks pretty impressive, but they've also played three of the absolute worst defenses in the league. So maybe the Packers will be up to the challenge a little more than most people think.

2 points
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Lare's picture

September 28, 2019 at 06:32 pm

I'm a little tired of everyone being content with 3-1. Maybe if they weren't, the Packers would be 4-0.

-3 points
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ThxJackVainisi's picture

September 29, 2019 at 07:53 pm

Sure. Because fans bitching on the internet have a direct effect on the outcome of NFL games.
Oh wait, that's nonsense.

3 points
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stockholder's picture

September 28, 2019 at 04:41 pm

This defense line is becoming 1 player. Clark! The ILB is becoming 1 player Martinez. We can't bring back Daniels or CM3. And to redo the draft is nonsense. But Pettine must solve this. And as long as Goodson isn't showing up. Eliminate his position. Put the beef on the line. His front must be F.Brown LanCaster Clark Lowrey. Clark can move. (back and forth) Only then will he stop the hard runners.

-1 points
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4thand1's picture

September 28, 2019 at 07:15 pm

We have basically a new defense and offense, the Pack is .750 after a quarter of a season. Lets wait and see how they adjust before panicing like a lot of posters are.

4 points
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ricky's picture

September 28, 2019 at 07:20 pm

Adjustments would be good, because right now the trend is toward getting gashed in the running game. And Dallas is going to be a major problem if the defense doesn't adjust in the next few days.

-1 points
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Lphill's picture

September 28, 2019 at 07:46 pm

Let’s see what Ty Summers can do against the run, maybe Martinez should turn in the right direction if he going to tackle the runner , he was going in motion with the offense line as the running back was cutting the other way.

1 points
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Daren726's picture

September 29, 2019 at 07:20 am

Summers was missing all kinds of tackles in the preseason. I’d hate to see what he can do against the Dallas offense. Too inexperienced.

-1 points
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albert999's picture

September 28, 2019 at 09:18 pm

Thankful we have a mini by to play a really good Dallas team
We’re gonna need next MEN up....Let’s see what LaFleur has for this challenge....biggest of the year

-1 points
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baldski's picture

September 29, 2019 at 01:41 am

According to a guy who runs a pro football website for bettors ($1000/season) and keeps a lot of statistics, the Packers biggest problem is run defense. It seems opposing offenses running over their left tackles are averaging 11.8 yards/carry. I am sure now every offensive coordinator in the NFL is aware of this weakness also, including Dallas.

My question is how does Pettine fix this?

-1 points
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PAPackerbacker's picture

September 29, 2019 at 04:34 am

The Packers defense can't stop the run and the offense can't run the ball. When your QB is the leading rusher in a game it's not a good sign. First and goal from the 1 yard line and you can't get a touchdown in 4 attempts? All passing attempts and no running attempts. And then throwing an interception late in the game in the end zone. Seems the Packers have lost the ability and confidence in their running game. And then the defense allows 176 yards rushing. There's plenty of blame to go around and a lot that needs fixing before the next big game in Dallas. Let's hope the Packers can make all the adjustments on both sides of the ball and hand Dallas their first loss of the season. Go! Pack! Go!

1 points
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Archie's picture

September 29, 2019 at 08:22 am

From 3-0 darlings to 3-1 red-headed step-children. NFL is a tough place to work.

I don't think MLF was anticipating not being able to run the ball. At the very least, he must find a way to generate a running game in short yardage situations. Gary could be the missing piece on both offense and defense. Plug in as an ILB and a short yardage FB along with Vitale. You need a hammer in this league. Jones is not that. J Williams is a tough guy but lacks great vision. Go back to power blocking on short yardage. Show the flexibility to keep trying different things until something works. Having all the TEs on the field is doing nothing for us.

0 points
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mamasboy's picture

September 30, 2019 at 12:10 am

What happened to Tony Brown?

1 points
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