Embarrassing loss leaves Packers with big questions entering bye week

Unacceptable. Shameful. Appalling. These are just a few of the words that can be used to describe the Green Bay Packers' performance in their 17-13 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders Monday night.

While Las Vegas came into the contest favored to win, there was still that feeling that Green Bay's win streak against the Raiders that dates back to 1987 would continue. Instead, the Packers fell flat and were outplayed by a team where calling them dysfunctional is a compliment.

It is incredibly disheartening to see the Packers go into what should have been a very winnable game and fall flat. Green Bay had a week and a half to prepare following last Thursday's loss to the Detroit Lions. One would think that they would have better prepared and capable of scoring more than 13 points against a Las Vegas defense averaging 28.3 points allowed over the previous three weeks.

Prior to Monday night, the only team which failed to score 23 or more against the Raiders was the Denver Broncos. The offense of the Broncos, which is very much broken, scored 16 points, making Green Bay's output the fewest scored against Las Vegas this season.

Packers offensive inconsistency is a major concern

Even with the offense struggling to do anything noteworthy, Green Bay was still able to take a 13-10 lead two-thirds of the way through the third quarter. Unfortunately, the Packers' inability to sustain drives deep enough into Raiders' territory prevented them from scoring.

Two of Green Bay's next three drives ended with turnovers, while the other saw the Packers punt. The furthest the Packers would get on the other side of the field was the Las Vegas 35-yard line. Failing to sustain drives when it mattered most ultimately prevented more points from being scored.

Not helping matters is the ineffectiveness of Jordan Love when throwing down the field. Love completed just three of 11 pass attempts with three interceptions when throwing the ball five or more yards downfield. This is not a new issue, however, as Love has struggled the past two weeks in this area, going 14 for 32 with five interceptions thrown.

If there is a bright spot for the Packers, it is that they are entering their bye week. This should give them ample time to fix what has not worked offensively and find a way to score more than 17 points per game, which they average in their previous three games.

Green Bay faces a Broncos team that is inching toward tearing down their roster, and it should provide an opportunity to get back to .500 on the year. If not, questions about the viability of the operation will only grow in number and volume.

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