Falcons 27, Packers 24

The early season momentum has worn off as the Packers have lost their last three games. The Packers could not defeat the surprising Atlanta Falcons despite a gutsy performance from Aaron Rodgers, playing with a sprained shoulder. The Packers battled back after falling behind 17-7 at halftime and were within three points at 20-17 with inside five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter before Rodgers did his best Brett Favre impression, throwing a misguided pass off his back foot into the waiting arms of Michael Boley, setting up the touchdown that put the Falcons up 27-17 and put the game away. Without that mistake, the Packers were looking for a memorable come from behind victory.

There is not one area of the Packers where all the blame can be shoved on. Rodgers had a great game, completing 25 of 37 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns. However, that one interception was costly. Without that interception, the Packers would have had a great chance of going ahead in the game. Ryan Grant showed a return to form, albeit in the fifth game of the season, with 83 yards rushing on 18 attempts. This is a far cry from his 20 yards on 15 attempts against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He is still lacking the explosiveness he had last year. Said explosiveness has only showed up once this year, in Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings when he had a 50-some yard run. Rodgers did a more than adequate job of spreading the ball around, with six receivers catching three or more passes, led by Greg Jennings, who had 87 yards and a touchdown on four catches. Donald Lee and Donald Driver also had touchdown catches.

Although I said there is not one specific spot to put the blame for this loss, the defense, along with Rodgers’ errant pass could shoulder the load for this one. The defense was shredded by Michael Turner and Roddy White. Turner continued his strong play, rushing for 121 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries while White had eight receptions for 132 yards and one touchdown.  The defense did harass rookie Matt Ryan, holding him to 194 yards, but the Turner made up for that fact.  The defense will need to buckle down for Seattle or at least get healthier by the time Indianapolis comes to town.