The Green Bay Packers finally returned to Lambeau Field for the first time this season, looking to win their 14th consecutive home opener. Instead, the team embarrassed itself on Thursday Night Football, getting absolutely dominated 35-14 by the Atlanta Falcons.
Unlike the loss to the Minnesota Vikings, there was no moral victory here. The Packers looked lifeless in every facet, and despite going up 7-0 early, they couldn't do anything afterward. Through three games, the Packers are an absolutely miserable watch, a shocking turn of events considering that this part of their schedule was considered the easiest when looking ahead in the offseason.
Pretty much every major part of the team was to blame for this loss, but we'll try to find the biggest keys.
Five reasons for Packers' blowout loss to Falcons in Week 3
1. Offensive line play
Stop me if you've heard this one before, but the Packers' offensive line was absolutely putrid. There's really nothing more that can be said that hasn't already, but the team's most glaringly bad unit was, once again, glaringly bad.
According to Next Gen Stats (via ESPN's Mina Kimes), the Falcons recorded 15 quick pressures against the Packers, the second-most amount of quick pressures given up this season. The only team to record more? The Vikings in Week 1 against the Packers.
Jordan Love was once again under constant pressure, and as a result, looked like a shell of himself (more on that in a moment). The offense couldn't find a rhythm, and with no running game to speak of, they remained behind the sticks. It's simply not a recipe for winning games, and the Packers have shown that through these first three weeks.
The problem is...there really might not be many options out there. Something has to change between now and next week's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but just how remains to be seen. There are no elite offensive linemen just sitting in free agency this late into the year, but Brian Gutekunst has to figure out something, because the guys who play now are simply not good enough to keep doing so.
2. Defense
Through two weeks of the NFL's regular season, the Packers' defense looked like it had finally turned a corner. That all came crashing down. The Falcons, a team that had not had a single play in the red zone before TNF, absolutely decimated Jonathan Gannon's unit in every single facet.
Bijan Robinson ran for 194 yards on 29 carries and added 19 receiving yards to total over 200 yards from scrimmage. Wide receiver Drake London, not to be outdone, also added 194 receiving yards on his own. Michael Penix, who was making his first start of the season for the Falcons, had a fairly solid night, throwing for 256 yards and a touchdown, as well as an early interception.
For most of the game, the Falcons looked to be struggling to do much against the Packers. That changed in the second half, though, when they simply began dominating and getting anything they wanted on the field. When all was said and done, the Falcons had totaled almost 500 yards of offense in just 11 drives, held the ball for almost 40 minutes of possession, and had 25 first downs.
It might be too soon to sound the alarm on the Packers' defense, but this was definitely a wake-up call. If the offense keeps playing as poorly, the defense will simply not have enough time off the field to slow down offenses, especially ones with as much talent as the Falcons.
3. Jordan Love
While much of the blame can be placed on the Packers' poor offensive line play, Jordan Love also fell short of expectations. Having to throw the ball a whopping 53 times, Love threw for 312 yards and two touchdowns but only completed 52.8 percent of his passes, amounting to a 42.6 QBR and a 75.4 passer rating.
Love was under pressure all game, but he didn't do himself any favors when he wasn't. For most of the night, Love just looked totally out of sync with the offense. He sailed balls, made some really bad, early-career-esque mistakes that should've been capitalized on by the Falcons, and just looked flat-out uncomfortable on a number of plays.
Again, a lot of that can be placed on the offensive line, or maybe even the play calls themselves. However, Love would be the first to tell you he played badly and deserves to be held to a higher standard.
4. Matt LaFleur
For the third week in a row, it's becoming increasingly clear that the Packers maybe should not have been so quick to extend Matt LaFleur.
Yet again, LaFleur's play-calling seemed very odd throughout most of the game. It's a compounding problem with the offensive line, as so much of LaFleur's scheme calls for a running game to be established. Since that's basically impossible right now, the team seems stuck in the mud when the offense gets the ball.
Runs that go nowhere, short passes that seem too predictable, and just a stunning lack of creativity have all plagued the team through its first three weeks. Yet again, LaFleur also decided to run back-to-back handoffs inside the red zone on a drive that ended with a Packers' failed fourth-down attempt.
Outside of the play-calling, it's also worth criticizing the end of the game. Down 35-14, the Packers had clearly lost, but still got the ball with about three minutes to go. Instead of benching Love and saving him from taking some unnecessary hits, he let the offense play. Predictably, Love took more unnecessary hits and also threw an interception at the end of the game.
It's been a shocking fall from grace for LaFleur over the past eight games, and it really doesn't seem like he has any chance to right the ship, as much as we'd like him to.
5. Running backs
Last but not least, the Packers simply have no good running backs on the roster, and it's showing badly. While Josh Jacobs awaits news of a potential suspension, the trio of MarShawn Lloyd, Kaleb Johnson, and Chris Brooks aren't playing close to well enough.
Lloyd and Johnson combined for eight carries and 17 yards. Yep, you are reading that right: the Packers ended the game with 17 total rushing yards, an embarrassing number on its own, but even more so when you compare it to the Falcons' 242.
To be fair, it's not all Lloyd's and Johnson's fault. The offensive line is bad and creates no real lanes for them. But on the rare times they do, the running backs can't do much. Lloyd, who is playing in his first real NFL games, looks a bit too lost on some runs and continually finds himself running into people.
Johnson has looked decent at times, but clearly is also learning the ropes in this offense. It's a huge problem that likely won't be fixed until Jacobs gets back. Either way, the Packers are in rough shape at running back until then.
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