A Nashville Blowout: Why Green Bay Packers lost to Tennessee Titans
By Kenn Korb
First quarter blowout
After the way the game against the Colts began — with Indianapolis getting a touchdown right on the initial kickoff — it seemed the Packers would come out with the kind of urgency which would prevent that sort of unenviable position from occurring for two straight weeks. Tennessee even gave them a prime opportunity with a failed onside kick attempt, handing Green Bay the ball beyond midfield for their first drive.
It didn’t matter.
Despite that incredible chance for Green Bay, by the time the first quarter concluded the Packers found themselves in a 21-0 deficit.
Both Green Bay and Tennessee had three drives during the quarter, but there were vastly different results. Tennessee took each of their opportunities all the way into the endzone for a touchdown; Green Bay meanwhile managed to just punt the ball away.
Looking past this quarter, this actually had the makings of a competitive game. In terms of scoring between the second through fourth quarters, Tennessee had a meager 26-25 advantage. Take out the abomination of a first quarter, the game situations are drastically changed; we may have seen more rushing attempts by Green Bay, or at the very least situations which didn’t force the Packers to have to try more risky plays due to being multiple scores behind.
Instead, with a three-score deficit being held over their head pretty much all afternoon, Green Bay was trapped way too far behind to be a credible threat in this game, and it all started with their horrid opening quarter.