The Good, Bad And Ugly Of The Green Bay Packers’ Loss To The Atlanta Falcons

For three-plus quarters, everything was going according to plan.

Jordan Love was excellent.

The defense was holding its own.

And the Green Bay Packers led host Atlanta, 24-12, heading to the fourth quarter Sunday. Then the roof caved in, the Falcons scored 13 unanswered points and shocked the Packers, 25-24.

Green Bay fell to 1-1, while the Falcons improved to 2-0.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly from the Packers’ loss.

THE GOOD

JORDAN LOVE: Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes in just one game last season. Love has already thrown three TDs in each of Green Bay’s first two games this year.

On Sunday, the Packers were without star running back Aaron Jones, standout receiver Christian Watson and left tackle David Bakhtiari from the start, then left guard Elgton Jenkins left with a knee injury.

But Love was largely unflappable, completing 14-of-25 passes for 151 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Love’s passer rating was an impressive 113.5.

Through two games, Love has thrown six TD passes, no interceptions and has a 118.8 quarterback rating.

The only downside to Love’s day Sunday was the Packers went scoreless on their final three drives. And with Green Bay trailing, 25-24, in the final minute, Love threw four straight incompletions.

JAYDEN REED: The Packers thought they got a steal when they plucked Reed in the second round of April’s draft. Through two games, no one is arguing.

After an impressive debut in Chicago, Reed caught a pair of touchdown passes Sunday — one from nine yards and the other from 10.

GOAL LINE STAND: Atlanta had first-and-goal from the Packers’ 1-yard line late in the first quarter.

On first down, Green Bay didn’t bite on Desmond Ridder’s play fake and forced an incompletion. On second down, Packers’ defensive end Kenny Clark blew up Atlanta rookie running back Bijon Robinson for no gain.

On third down, Ridder again ran play action and the Packers stayed home. Ridder wanted tight end Kyle Pitts in the back of the endzone, but Green Bay safety Darnell Savage took him away and forced an incompletion.

Atlanta lined up to go for it on fourth down, but was flagged for a false start. That forced the Falcons to settle for a field goal, which was a huge win for Green Bay.

ROTATING PARTS: Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari (knee) was inactive. Pro Bowl left guard Elgton Jenkins left with a knee injury in the second quarter and didn’t return.

The Packers showed, though, that offensive line might be the deepest and most talented position on the roster.

Rasheed Walker and Yosh Nijman rotated at left tackle, while Royce Newman played left guard. For the most part, Green Bay held up well.

Love was sacked just once and the Packers scored on four straight drives in the middle of the game while building a 24-12 lead.

THIS AND THAT: Packers coach Matt LaFLeur won a second quarter challenge that gave Green Bay a first-and-goal from the Atlanta 9. One play later, Jayden Reed had a 9-yard touchdown reception from Jordan Love. … The Packers netted gains of 44 and 43 yards on deep balls when Atlanta was flagged for pass interference on both plays.

THE BAD

JAIRE ALEXANDER: The Packers made Alexander the NFL’s highest paid cornerback in May, 2022, with a four-year, $84 million contract. That means Alexander makes $1.24 million per game.

Sunday, Alexander should have given Green Bay a refund as he was dreadful throughout.

Atlanta had a third-and-15 from its own 12-yard line early in the second quarter. Falcons wideout Drake London whipped Alexander, though, for a 22-yard reception. While the drive eventually died at the Packers’ 41-yard line, the Packers missed a golden opportunity to get off the field.

Alexander dropped a potential interception midway through the second quarter on a ball thrown right to his hands. If Alexander held on, there were no Falcons in sight and he likely would have had a 59-yard touchdown.

On Atlanta’s next possession, Alexander lowered his head and whiffed on an embarrassing tackle attempt. And on that same drive, London again beat Alexander for a 3-yard TD that pulled the Falcons within 10-9 at halftime.

Finally, on Atlanta’s eventual game-winning drive, London again smoked Alexander for a 24-yard gain on the first play of the march.

A week ago, London didn’t have a catch against Carolina. On Sunday, working against Alexander much of the day, London had six catches for 67 yards and a TD.

GOING BACKWARDS: Green Bay drove to Atlanta’s 28-yard line on its opening drive, but proceeded to go backwards.

Left tackle Rasheed Walker — playing for the injured David Bakhtiari — was hit with a false start penalty sending the Packers back to the 33. Green Bay was then penalized for delay of game, taking the ball back to the 38.

On fourth down, the Packers could have attempted a 55-yard field goal with strong-legged Anders Carlson. Instead, they punted and rookie Daniel Whelan sent his kick into the endzone for a net gain of just 18 yards.

Every element of that stretch was an epic fail.

And had the Packers not gone backwards, those potential three points would have been big later in the game.

THIS AND THAT: Rashan Gary lost containment on the edge allowing Desmond Ridder to run for a 6-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that pulled the Falcons within 24-19. … Atlanta outgained Green Bay, 212-118, in the first half and had 14 first downs to the Packers’ nine. Overall, the Falcons held a 446-224 edge in total offense and a 27-17 advantage in first downs. … A.J. Dillon had a chance to shine as Green Bay’s lead back. Instead, Dillon was awfully pedestrian and finished with 55 rushing yards on 15 carries (3.7).

THE UGLY

RUN DEFENSE: If there’s been one constant since Joe Barry was brought to town to coordinate Green Bay’s defense it’s that the Packers struggle to stop the run.

Green Bay ranked 26^th against the run last season and allowed a whopping 5.0 yards per carry. The Packers beefed up their defensive line this offseason in hopes of improving their run defense, but that certainly didn’t happen Sunday.

Atlanta ran for 212 yards on 44 carries — an average of 4.8 yards per attempt.

While the Falcons have one of the top rushing offenses in football, Green Bay’s defensive performance was dreadful. And it was a huge reason the Packers let a 24-12 lead get away and eventually lost an extremely winnable game.