Packers fall to the Broncos and the result goes far beyond the score with ripple effects that could shape everything ahead
It’s hard to foresee a positive outcome for the season after what happened in Denver.
Let’s be clear, the result of the game barely matters to the Green Bay Packers. By the way, it was 34-26 to the Denver Broncos.
The injuries are the obvious point of the game, especially because edge defender Micah Parsons suffered what looked like a serious knee injury. Wide receiver Christian Watson (chest), right tackle Zach Tom (knee), safety Evan Williams (knee), and tight end Josh Whyle (concussion) all left the game with injuries, and it’s hard to foresee a winning outcome this season without so many good players.
But we talked about the injuries in the previous article, so let’s try to talk about the game here.
Penalties dragged the Packers down
Down to down, the Packers seemed like the better team compared to the Broncos, but penalties kept the game close.
“Those kill you,” head coach Matt LaFleur told CBS at halftime. “We cannot lose our composure.”
LaFleur said that because there was a fight pregame, and that possibly affected how the Packers players approached the game. In the first half, in particular, penalties hugely affected Green Bay.
Javon Bullard had unnecessary roughness right after the refs finally called a holding penalty on Micah Parsons, keeping the drive alive — and that would be a touchdown. Left tackle Rasheed Walker had two impactful penalties, a false start and an illegal man downfield penalty possibly costing four points. Walker also had a hold, but the Broncos declined — and that helped the Packers after all, because Jordan Love connected with Josh Jacobs for the first touchdown.
In the second half, Rasheed Walker had another first start called on him, turning an already tough situation into a second-and-18.
If that wasn’t enough, the game was another rough performance for special teams, with several penalties giving the Broncos significant free yards.
Defensive Achilles heel
Sean Payton has been a smart play-caller for a long time, and he exploited the big weakness of the Packers’ defense — short throws to the middle of the field. That avoided the pass rush to create consistent pressure and took advantage of Green Bay’s worst defensive players, the cornerbacks (and the off-ball linebackers in coverage).
That’s how the Broncos meticulously drove down the field twice in the first half to score two touchdowns, and the Packers’ defense couldn’t do much about it. Bo Nix had at least three turnover-worthy plays, but the secondary simply didn’t capitalize it.
Obviously, every weakness of the defense will get more evidently exposed without Micah Parsons, and things might not get better any time soon.
Josh Jacobs’ role
If there was one positive aspect of this game, it’s how Josh Jacobs performed. The Pro Bowl running back knows the AFC West very well, and it showed. Despite being questionable to play with a knee injury, Jacobs was active and had an impressive performance, with key explosive plays. In the first half, he had a great catch on a third-and-long to score his second receiving TD in the NFL.
Against a powerful defense, generating explosive plays in the run game would always be imperative, and that’s exactly what Jacobs did early in the second half, with a big 40-yard touchdown.
Ultimately, though, that performance won’t be talked about much due to the crushing outcome of this game on multiple levels.
Green Bay Packers News
Packers face a nightmare scenario as Micah Parsons and impactful injuries collide and threaten everything they are building
Edge rusher Micah Parsons left the Broncos game with what looked like a bad knee injury.
