Embracing change: How have the Packers started in 2023?
Move over Favre and Rodgers, there’s a new sheriff in town, and he’s ready to spread some Love. Had to get that one out of the way.
The Green Bay Packers embarked on their 105th campaign with only their third starting day opener since the 1993 season. A lot of hype and intrigue was in the air to see if fourth year quarterback Jordan Love could continue the legacy that was left behind by his two predecessors.
There was also a lot of interest to see the return of players such as Rashan Gary, who had a season ending injury the previous season. One player that would not see the field for the first three weeks was WR Christian Watson, who suffered a hamstring injury before the season started. There was also a question of starting LT David Bakhtiari’s health, but he was ready to go for Week 1.
Week 1 @ Chicago Bears
The team traveled to Chicago to take on another NFC North team that had a lot of preseason hype surrounding their signal caller in Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears. The Packers would strike first after stopping the Bears in their own territory and culminating with an eight-yard touchdown from Love to second year WR Romeo Doubs. From there, the teams would hold firm on defense and with the score being 10-6 at the half, it seemed that it would be defense that would rule the day. That would hold true for the Green and Gold, but not Chicago.
After a pair of Aaron Jones touchdowns and a TD from Fields to Mooney (and successful two point try), the Packers would take a commanding 31-14 lead following another Love to Doubs connection, which would be Love’s third passing touchdown of the day. On the ensuing possession for Chicago, Fields would throw a pick-6 to LB Quay Walker, pushing the lead to 38-14 and eventually sealing a 38-20 victory for the Packers.
Jordan Love finished with a 123.2 passer rating, with the one glaring issue being his accuracy, as he only completed 14 of 27 throws. Aaron Jones finished with two TDs and 127 total yards but would suffer a hamstring injury that would keep him out for the next two games, leaving the Packers without two of their top weapons on offense until Week 4. The Packers were 1-0 as they were in 2008 when Rodgers first took over. It was now a matter if they could keep this momentum going for their next two games against NFC South opponents in Atlanta and New Orleans.
Week 2 @ Atlanta Falcons
With both teams coming off wins in the first week of the season, the Packers would go on the road for the second time and face a Falcons team with a lot of promise. Led by their strong ground game, the Packers defense would be put to the test against a weakness that had haunted them since 2019. At first, it seemed like everything was going well, as Love and company looked as though they would repeat the previous week’s outing after going up 24-12 in the third quarter, even without Jones carrying the ball.
However, Atlanta would come roaring back in the fourth and go up 25-24 and would hold the Packers to less than ten yards in the quarter. With one final chance to comeback, the effort would fall short, and the Packers would fall to 1-1. Love once again looked sturdy, throwing for three touchdowns and no turnovers.
However, his accuracy came into question again as he finished 14 of 25. There was also the question of whether he could come up in the clutch, after the final drive saw him throw four straight incomplete passes and gaining zero yards on the drive. Up next was the team that was pegged by many to be the winners of the NFC South in the Saints, which would be a test for the young offense looking to prove that they could compete against a strong defense.
Week 3 vs. New Orleans Saints
With the New Orleans Saints and their tough defense coming up, there was doubt by the media that the Packers would be able to knock them off in the Packers’ home opener. The doubters were proven right in the first half as the Packers could not move the ball against the Saints, and the return of the bad Packers special team would reemerge after allowing a 76-yard punt return touchdown at the start of the second quarter.
The Saints went up 17-0 before the half and it appeared that the issues the offense was dealing with was starting to catch up to them with no Aaron Jones, no Christian Watson, Love’s accuracy, and an offensive line that was not at full strength (as they were missing both Bakhtiari and LG Elgton Jenkins for the contest). Love would throw his first interception of the season to start the third quarter, and it seemed that New Orleans would pull away.
However, the next drive would see the defense force a three and out, and Saints QB Derek Carr would suffer an AC Joint injury. Both teams would do nothing for the rest of the quarter, and in the case of one team, nothing for the rest of the game. That team would be the Saints.
In the fourth quarter, the Packers came back with three consecutive scoring drives. First was a field goal that cut the lead to 17-3. Next would see Love drive the team down field and take in a score for himself and hit WR Samori Toure on a dazzling two point try to cut it to 17-11. The Packers were going for the win, overtime was not in their plans.
On the next drive, Love would once again lead the team down the field and cap off the drive with an amazing throw to Romeo Doubs for a touchdown and take the lead 18-17. It was now up to the defense to stop the Saints from getting into field goal range. The defense would bend all the way to the Packers 27, but the Saints would miss a 46-yard field goal.
The Packers were now 2-1 following an amazing comeback. Love would finish with his worst outing of the season statistically, only completing 50% of his passes for one touchdown and one interception, but the concern of him not being able to deliver in crunch time was put to bed for the time being.
The defense also rebounded by not giving up points in the entire second half, even though the Saints were without their best QB for most of the second half and two best RBs for the entire game. Next up was an even bigger test (and something that hasn’t been said in a very long time): the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football.
Week 4 vs. Detroit Lions
Coming into the season, the Lions were viewed as the team to beat in the NFC North, as they were finally starring to piece together a competitive team on both sides of the ball and led by an incredible motivator at Head Coach in Dan Campbell (I even like the guy).
The Lions were coming off a dominant win over the Falcons and were looking to win their second primetime game in four weeks after taking down the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead to open the season.
The Packers had their first true test against a team that will certainly be a playoff team come January (could that be a jinx on my end?) and was their first primetime game in the new era. At first, it seemed as though the Packers would get the upper hand after S Rudy Ford intercepted QB Jared Goff to set the Packers up at Detroit’s 16. The Packers would lose nine yards and kick a field goal to go up 3-0. From there, the Lions would control the rest of the game, and went up 27-3 before the half.
The offense once again sputtered and could not move the ball effectively, and the defense was getting gashed by RB David Montgomery, who would end the night with 141 total yards and three rushing touchdowns. There was some promise for the Packers as Love found the returning Christian Watson for a TD and converted another two-pointer to cut the lead to 27-11, then led another drive that culminated in a Love rushing TD (and failed two pointer) to cut it to 27-17.
Detroit would pull away in the fourth and would take it 34-20. Love would have his first true bad game, finishing 23 for 36, one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown to two interceptions and a rating of 69.9. The defense would surrender 34 points, the first time they surrendered 30+ points since the Sunday Night game against the Eagles in Week 12 last season.
Outlook for October
Despite being 2-2 through their first four games, the Packers should have a favorable schedule for October. They take on the Raiders in Las Vegas (their first trip there) and will see an old friend in Davante Adams, have a bye in Week 6, then go play an ailing Broncos team in Denver in Week 7, followed by a home game against the Vikings to cap off the month.
These teams currently sit a combined 3-9 going into Week 5, and all have suspect at best defenses (or in the Broncos case, a historically bad defense that gave up 70 points to Miami in Week 3). Minnesota will certainly be the toughest of the three games, but a winnable game, nonetheless.
Through four games I think that Love is better than what most people, including myself, thought of him. He is tied for third in passing TDs through four weeks and has shown that he can lead the team down the field consistently.
The biggest knock against him is his accuracy. I have seen him miss throws that I know his predecessor would have made, but that is a part of the growing process and think he will clean that up by season’s end. An issue that isn’t really being discussed is the offensive line play. They have looked good at times, but with Bakhtiari looking like he’s played his last snap with the Packers and now on IR once again and the rest of the line not holding up too well against good pass rushes in the last two weeks, it will need to be addressed at some point.
The defense so far looks more of the same as previous years, as they still struggle to stop the run and will allow a lot of points to good offenses. A lot of these concerns could change but as of now, it’s more of the same.
That all being said, I do believe that the team could sneak into the playoffs as a wild card team, likely as the seventh seed. With their upcoming schedule and a top-heavy NFC to contend with, I can see this team finishing with at least nine wins, which should be enough to make it in. As the late Al Davis once said (and to annoy any Raiders fans that may be reading this):
Just Win Baby.
