Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love (10) and the Packers suffered a horrendous 13-10 loss to Cleveland Sunday.
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Earlier this week, Green Bay Packers left tackle Rasheed Walker said: “I think we can go undefeated, honestly.”
It’s amazing how fast things can change in the National Football League.
Green Bay had one of its worst performances of the Matt LaFleur-era Sunday and suffered a shocking 13-10 loss to Cleveland.
Browns kicker Andre Szmyt drilled a 55-yard field goal as time expired to lift Cleveland to victory. Just seconds earlier, Cleveland blocked a 43-yard field goal attempt by Brandon McManus that would have given the Packers the lead.
Green Bay fell to 2-1, while the Browns improved to 1-2.
Here’s the ‘Good, Bad and Ugly’ from Green Bay’s win, beginning with the UGLY.
THE UGLY
NO PROTECTION: Green Bay’s offensive line was atrocious, and quarterback Jordan Love was sacked five times and pressured several more.
Right tackle Zach Tom, who was listed as questionable with an oblique injury, lasted just one play. Left guard Aaron Banks suffered a groin injury and didn’t play in the second half.
Jordan Morgan stepped in at right tackle for Tom in the first half and was dreadful. Morgan had two false start penalties and gave up a sack before halftime.
When Banks couldn’t go in the second half, Morgan went to left guard and immediately had another false start penalty.
Rookie second round draft pick Anthony Belton went to right tackle in the second half, and struggled, as well. On Green Bay’s first series, Belton gave up a sack to defensive end Maliek Collins.
Things got even more dicey when left tackle Rasheed Walker left for a handful of plays because his helmet needed to be repaired.
When Packers head coach Matt LaFleur was asked about Cleveland’s offensive line last week, he said: “A very disruptive unit. They get off the ball, create a lot of carnage from the offensive line perspective. They do a great job. And they play with relentless effort. I think that’s something that they can hang their hat on is just how hard they play for four quarters.”
The Packers found that out the hard way Sunday.
AWFUL INTERCEPTION: Love hadn’t thrown an interception in more than 10 months, but picked a terrible time t do so.
With the Packers deep in their own territory and protecting a 10-3 lead late, there was miscommunication between Love and Dontayvion Wicks and Grant Deplit intercepted.
Delpit returned the interception — Love’s first since Nov. 17, 2024 — to 25 yards to Green Bay’s 4-yard line.
One play later, Cleveland rookie running back Quinshon Judkins had a 1-yard TD run to tie the game, 10-10.
NOTHING SPECIAL: The Packers’ special teams have remained poor under third-year coordinator Rich Bisaccia. Green Bay had another meltdown late, when Cleveland’s Shelby Harris came up the middle and blocked Brandon McManus’ potential game-winning field goal with 27 seconds left.
PENALTIES: Green Bay had the 10th most penalties in football in 2024, with 6.6 per game.
The Packers had 14 penalties in their first two games (7.0), then 14 more on Sunday. Green Bay is now averaging 9.3 penalties per game.
The Packers’ lack of discipline must be fixed immediately.
THE BAD
OFFENSIVE WOES: The Packers ranked sixth in the league in scoring offense through two weeks. But you wouldn’t have known it Sunday.
Green Bay managed just 230 total yards and only 3.8 yards per play.
Much of that stemmed from an offensive line that couldn’t keep Jordan Love clean. But the Packers also managed just 81 rushing yards on 31 attempts, a paltry 2.6 yards per rush.
THIS AND THAT: Malik Collins ruined the Packers’ opening drive when he came up the gut on second-and-2 and sacked Jordan Love for a 5-yard loss. … Safety Evan Williams had an illegal contact penalty that kept a Cleveland drive alive. … Green Bay had to use two first half timeouts to avoid delay of game penalties. … Romeo Doubs had a block in the back that took Green Bay out of field goal range. … Left tackle Rasheed Walker was flagged for being downfield illegally, taking away an 11-yard completion to Dontayvion Wicks. … The Packers had two players holding — Lukas Van Ness and Kingsley Enagbare — on a fourth quarter kickoff.
THE GOOD
DEFENSE DOES ITS JOB: Green Bay’s defense was tremendous in Weeks 1-2 against high-powered offenses in Detroit and Washington.
Against Cleveland’s extremely challenged offense on Sunday, the Packers were stellar again
The Browns finished with just 221 total yards and averaged only 3.9 yards per play. Cleveland had only 125 passing yards and was just 4-of-13 on third downs.
BIG DRIVE: Green Bay’s first five drives ended with three punts, a field goal and one that ended the first half.
The Packers put together a 14-play, 71-yard drive late in the third quarter to push their lead to 10-0. Quarterback Jordan Love capped the march with a three-yard TD pass to tight end John FitzPatrick, but there were several big plays on the drive.
Love hit Jacobs for 31 yards on a screen pass, No. 2 running back Emanuel Wilson had a 9-yard run on a third-and-3, and Dontayvion Wicks hauled in a 16-yard pass on third-and-7 to the Browns’ 3-yard line.
Three plays later, Love and FitzPatrick connected on a score that gave Green Bay some breathing room.
SACK MAN: Green Bay’s defensive end Rashan Gary notched a pair of sacks — one in the second quarter and another in the third. Gary now has a sack in five straight games, and leads the Packers with 4.5 sacks.
Gary’s career-high for sacks are 9.5 in 2021. The addition of Micah Parsons has helped take much of the focus away from Gary, though, and he’s taking full advantage.
“I think RG’s getting more 1-on-1s, and therefore I think he’s going to have some more production,” Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said of Gary this week. “I think that’s going to happen for everybody. I think everybody’s rushing at a high level. We saw it in camp, and you’re starting to see it on the field.”
GOLDEN TICKET: Packers rookie wideout Matthew Golden has his best NFL game with four receptions for a team-high 52 yards.
Love hit Golden with an 8-yard reception on the Packers’ first offensive play of the game. Golden had two more receptions in the first half.
Golden’s play, though, came early in the fourth quarter when Green Bay faced a third-and-8 from its own 4. Golden got free down the right sideline and hauled in a perfectly thrown pass from Love for 34 yards.
Golden had just two receptions for 16 yards in the first two games, but had a big game Sunday.
“It’s obviously the start of his young career, and I’m excited about what he brings for our offense,” Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said.
X MARKS THE SPOT: Green Bay safety Xavier McKinney finished second in the NFL with eight interceptions last season and was named first-team All-Pro.
McKinney hasn’t gotten many opportunities this year, but he made of one Sunday.
Just before halftime, Cleveland quarterback Joe Flacco three deep for Jerry Jeudy. The ball hung in the air for far too long, allowing McKinney to drift over and intercept Flacco’s pass.
HOT STREAK: Packers head coach Matt LaFleur couldn’t win a challenge for most 2024, going 0-for-6 to start the season. LaFleur was also 2-for-15 on challenges heading into Week 2.
But LaFleur is on a hot streak with two straight wins.
After winning a challenge against Washington last week, LaFleur challenged — and won — that Cleveland had 12 men on the field on a second quarter play.