3 Packers to blame for brutal loss to Raiders in Week 5
The Green Bay Packers saved their worst offensive performance of the year for primetime. Up against a struggling Las Vegas Raiders team, the Packers made them look like Super Bowl contenders.
Green Bay has lost three of its past four games. Its one victory required an 18-point comeback in the fourth quarter. This team is trending in the wrong direction, and the performances are getting worse by the week.
The Packers enter their bye week with serious work to do. Matt LaFleur needs to get things figured out, especially on offense, or the season will quickly fall apart.
Monday Night Football was tough to watch. Which Packers take the blame for the performance?
3. Joe Barry
Green Bay's defense played well enough to win, but that doesn't mean Joe Barry doesn't deserve some of the blame. Barry's unit only gave away 14 points. A Jordan Love interception handed the Raiders three points.
There were positives. Barry took away Davante Adams for most of the game, limiting him to four catches for 45 yards. Green Bay held Las Vegas to under 100 yards rushing at 3.6 yards per attempt. That's a step in the right direction.
However, Joe Barry also made some classic Joe Barry mistakes. He deserves an assist for the Raiders' first touchdown.
Las Vegas faced second-and-6 at Green Bay's 9-yard line. Barry had both safeties lined up in the end zone. He rolled out the red carpet for Jimmy Garoppolo, who threw a slant to Jakobi Meyers for a simple touchdown pass. What was Barry thinking?
Unfortunately, it wasn't his worst error.
Davante Adams can dominate one-on-one against even the best cornerbacks in the league. Barry's solution? Why not have Preston Smith cover him?
"Preston Smith on Davante Adams is an all-timer and illustrates how Joe Barry just isn't a very good coach. You do not see that kind of thing happen on good defenses and its the kind of thing you see with some regularity in Green Bay," writes Aaron Nagler of Cheesehead TV.
Garoppolo saw it and gladly accepted another gift from Barry. Adams on Smith was always going to end with the ball in No. 17's hands.
Overall, the Packers' defense played well, but Barry couldn't help but make a few head-scratching decisions. And they were costly.