A midseason loss to an overachieving Carolina Panthers won't undo the Green Bay Packers' lofty postseason plans any more than the loss to Cleveland earlier this year did. At most, it could prove to be a minor annoyance when the conversation turns to playoff seeding.
Still, Green Bay wants to be operating at its best when that time arrives. To hear quarterback Jordan Love tell it, offensively, the Packers aren't there yet.
Asked about the offense's standing halfway through the season, Love said postgame, "I think it's inconsistent."
Jordan Love highlights mistakes that continue to plague Green Bay Packers offense
He's not wrong. Green Bay has consistently alternated week to week with the offense either totalling less than 300 yards or clearing over 400. There was no middle ground until this week, as Green Bay gained 369 yards of offense. But in a game where the Packers did not punt and racked up those yards, Green Bay settled with just 13 points on the scoreboard.
"We gotta find ways to keep building on it, keep growing on the things we're doing well," Love said after the game. "I think, in ways, we're hurting ourselves in some of these games, and we just have to find ways to overcome that."
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Despite the total yardage, Green Bay's offense was a disorganized mess against the Panthers. Love threw an interception himself, and really should have had two with an errant throw into the end zone early in the fourth quarter, though the turnover on downs instead wasn't much different.
But that draws the finer point of the outcome against Carolina. The Packers had plenty of long drives that ultimately just came up empty because of turnovers, missed field goals, or the turnover on downs. Green Bay only had the ball seven times, and only one drive, which ended with Love's interception, featured fewer than nine plays.
"It's very frustrating. I think everybody was feeling that as an offense," Love said. "I think, in the first half, we were limited possessions, and in those games, you gotta maximize every time you're on the field, and we didn't do that."
The NFL regular season isn't a long one, so quick adjustments are a pressure point for teams in Green Bay's shoes. With the first half of the season coming to an underwhelming end, the Packers don't get much reprieve. Their next draw is the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in primetime.