Packers have no real shot if they cannot fix a mortal sin that continues to undermine them
Green Bay lost to the Ravens at Lambeau Field and is out of the NFC North title race.
It’s hard to win a game with so many injuries to top starters, including quarterback Jordan Love and edge defender Micah Parsons. But what the Green Bay Packers showed in a 41-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at Lambeau Field goes beyond the absences.
The team is now out of the NFC North race, and the Chicago Bears clinched their first division title since 2018. The Packers have already clinched a playoff spot, and will be a wild card team for the third consecutive season, but what the team has shown is evidently not enough to make a real postseason run.
Run defense was egregious
On the very first drive, the Ravens had 6.5 yards per rush. That would set the tone for the entire game, with a pathetic performance by the Packers’ defense.
The unit gave up the most first downs in a first half since the 2016 NFC Championship Game against the Atlanta Falcons. The Ravens hadn’t scored 27 points in a game since Week 10, and they did it in a half in Green Bay. In the first half, Baltimore scored on all of its five offensive drives.
The defense simply can’t operate at a high level upfront without Micah Parsons and Devonte Wyatt. But this performance was particularly concerning, because it was significantly worse than what the Packers showed against a good Chicago Bears offensive line last week.
“They big-boy’d us,” LaFleur said during halftime.
Even with Jordan Love back for the playoffs, it’s unrealistic to expect a sequence of four wins in the postseason with this type of defensive performance — or anything close to it.
The success rate was lower in the second half, but Derrick Henry still got explosives, and Tyler Huntley got some scramble opportunities to keep drives alive. Henry’s fourth touchdown to kill the game was the final straw to make it as bad as it looked.
It’s hard to have positive takeaways from the defense
Rashan Gary, the defensive tackles, and the linebackers didn’t do much. Even with Tyler Huntley instead of Lamar Jackson at quarterback, the Ravens advanced with the football at ease. Huntley had time in the pocket, favorable angles, and was always playing ahead of the sticks.
Without pressure upfront, the secondary gets even more exposed. Carrington Valentine is a good cover corner, but he can’t tackle and was benched mid-game to Kamal Hadden, even after Nate Hobbs left the game with a knee injury.
It was hard to find something positive about the defense. Lukas Van Ness was probably that one good, with a few impactful penetration plays.
Malik Willis is a real quarterback
If there was one actually positive from this game, that’s how good of a quarterback Malik Willis is. After his performance on Saturday night, you can easily argue that Willis is the best backup QB in football, and it will likely lead to a big contract next offseason when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
But football Gods have been so bad for the Packers lately that Willis got injured as well. It was the same shoulder injury suffered last week versus the Bears, and that led to Clayton Tune entering the game during the fourth quarter.
While injuries come and go, though, Malik Willis is a real weapon. The passing offense is still more efficient with Jordan Love at quarterback due to his ability to read the field and his arm, but Willis adds a running element that makes the defense always uncertain about what’s coming next. And the backup has a live arm, being able to attack every area of the field.
Maybe he can’t be a successful full-time starter elsewhere. But he at least deserves the chance.
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