The Green Bay Packers scored on four straight possessions to open up a 24-0 lead and then slammed the door shut on any comeback attempt with three consecutive takeaways in the second half of Sunday’s 31-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Jordan Love threw four touchdown passes, including three in the first half. The Packers also recovered three Cardinals fumbles.
The 21-point win at Lambeau Field improved the Packers’ record to 4-2 after six games. Matt LaFleur’s team has won two straight games and four of the last five.
Here’s what went right, what went wrong and what it means for the Packers moving forward:
What went right
— Love completed 22 of 32 passes after a 1-for-4 start, and he threw touchdown passes to Jayden Reed (on third down), Romeo Doubs (on third down, against a blitz) and Christian Watson (on first play following big punt return).
— The Packers recovered three fumbles. Karl Brooks’ solo effort against a screen created the first. Evan Williams punched out the second. And Kenny Clark recovered the third in the backfield on a botched handoff. The turnovers completely killed any momentum the Cardinals offense was building in the second half. Green Bay now has three takeaways in five of six games and 17 total takeaways.
— The Packers rushed for 179 yards. Much of the production came after the Packers built a big lead. Four different players produced a run of 10 or more yards, including two each from Emanuel Wilson and Bo Melton.
— Romeo Doubs returned from suspension and made three big catches. He had a 19-yarder on an extended play from Love and the two touchdown catches. On the first score, he gained enough separation on an out-breaking route and broke a tackle. On the second, he made the right adjustment to a 50/50 ball. Love’s trust in Doubs is still very high.
— The Packers limited the Cardinals to just 89 rushing yards. Kyler Murray was bottled up — he turned seven attempts into just 14 yards. James Conner had only 24 yards. The Cardinals averaged only 3.9 yards per rush.
— Tight end Tucker Kraft converted a quarterback sneak. He motioned under center, took the snap and bowled his way for two yards to convert.
— Williams not only forced a fumble, but he stuffed Murray on a read option in the first half. Javon Bullard closed down a few of Murray’s scramble attempts.
— Complimentary football helped early. Daniel Whelan’s punt inside the 10-yard line pinned the Cardinals deep, the defense forced a quick three-and-out, the special teams set up the Packers at the 44-yard line and the offense did the rest, with two explosive runs and a third-down touchdown pass from Love giving the Packers a 7-0 lead.
What went wrong
— The Cardinals briefly got back into the game with a 13-0 stretch between the second and third quarters. A turnover — on an unforced mistake — nearly helped ignite a comeback.
— Bo Melton slipped down mid-route and created an interception late in the first half. The Packers were up 24-7 and driving for more before the half, but the turnover allowed the Cardinals to close the gap to 24-10. On the first drive of the second half, Arizona drove for more points.
— Brayden Narveson missed another field goal, this time from 44 yards. He did come back on the next possession and connect from 41 yards. Once again, his miss went wide right. He has a miss in four of six games (and would have a miss in five of six without a negated miss due to a penalty in Tennessee).
— The Cardinals had three tackles for loss against the run game, and Josh Jacobs only averaged 3.4 yards per carry.
— Cardinals tight end Trey McBride caught all eight of his targets for 96 yards, including a 27-yarder on a scoring drive.
— Dontayvion Wicks left with a shoulder injury and was ruled out coming out of the second half.
What it means
The Packers took care of business at home against a pesky opponent, the offense enjoyed a breakout performance, the defense kept disrupting and taking the football away and the special teams even chipped in a few big plays. Matt LaFleur said he wanted complimentary football, and the Packers obliged. Green Bay dominated in terms of total yards, first downs and time of possession. The Packers out-rushed the Cardinals by almost 100 yards, converted 8-of-13 opportunities on third or fourth down and won the turnover battle. The passing game was efficient and productive early, and the run game and defense took it from there. This is how the Packers will play their best football this season. LaFleur’s team won back-to-back games against teams they should beat, and things are starting to click with big games (vs. Texans, vs. Lions) coming up before the bye.
Highlights
What’s next
Lambeau Field will be the setting for one of the best games in Week 7. C.J. Stroud and the AFC South-leading Houston Texans will come to Green Bay for a big-time NFC-AFC showdown. The Texans have won three straight games and are 5-1 entering Week 7.
