The Green Bay Packers have lost four straight games after falling 27-17 to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football in Week 8.
Once 3-1, Matt LaFleur’s team is now 3-5 and heading to Detroit next week to face a must-win scenario for the final game of a three-game road trip.
Can the Packers get this season turned back around? Maybe some of the bright spots of Sunday night’s loss can help provide a spark over the second half of the season.
Here’s what went right, what went wrong and what it all means for the Packers:
What went right
– Aaron Jones sliced and diced his way to 143 rushing yards on 20 attempts, a season-high. He averaged 7.2 yards per carry. Overall, the Packers ran the ball 31 times for a season-high 208 yards. Jones and A.J. Dillon both had a run over 20 yards.
– Rookie receivers Romeo Doubs and Samori Toure both caught an impressive touchdown. The two first-year pass-catchers finished with five catches on 11 targets for 99 yards and two scores. Amari Rodgers added a 22-yard catch on third down in the fourth quarter.
– Interceptions by Rasul Douglas and Jaire Alexander in the second half prevented a blowout and gave the Packers a chance late. And because the offense only had the one giveaway (tipped interception), the Packers won the turnover battle for the first time this season.
– The scoreboard didn’t reflect it, but the Packers had more total yards, first downs, third-down conversions, rushing yards and time of possession.
What went wrong
– The Bills jumped out to leads of 14-0 and 24-7 in the first half. It took two horrible decisions from Josh Allen in the second half to keep the Packers in it.
– The Packers failed on a pair of fourth down opportunities. One at Buffalo’s 38-yard line on the opening possession of the game, and the second on 4th-and-1 at Buffalo’s 26-yard line in a 27-10 game in the second half.
– At one point, the Bills scored on five straight possessions. This defense is a paper tiger.
– At one point in the second half, the Packers had just 61 net passing yards. While the running game was consistently effective, this offense still had to scramble late to get to 17 points. The point: scoring consistently is hard without having a threatening passing game.
– Stefon Diggs caught six passes for 108 yards and a score. The Bills rushed for 153 yards and averaged 5.7 yards per rush.
– Rookie Christian Watson suffered a concussion, robbing the offense of a key contributor in the game plan. The Packers also lost starting linebacker De’Vondre Campbell to a knee injury, and running back A.J. Dillon and outside linebacker Preston Smith were both shaken up at various points of the game.
What it means
The Packers played better against a top opponent and were able to punch back at times, providing reasons for optimism moving forward, but this is still a deeply flawed football team in areas that matter a lot for winning games, especially big games against good teams. The defense needs to be great but is far from elite. The offense isn’t consistent up front and lacks dynamic weapons in the passing game. Green Bay is now 3-5 and in real danger of fading from the NFC North race. The playoff door remains open in a bad conference, but the Packers are definitely in trouble.
What's next
The Packers, now in desperate need of a win, will finish the three-game road trip with an NFC North clash against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Dan Campbell’s team is 1-6 after losing at home to the Miami Dolphins in Week 8. The Packers need to go on a run, starting next week. Will the Packers start building some confidence and get hot? This team probably needs to win at least six of the last nine games to have a realistic shot at the postseason, so next week is getting close to a must-win game considering the rest of the schedule.
