The Green Bay Packers created what could be one of the team’s best plays of the year and also one of the worst plays of the NFL season so far during Sunday’s 24-19 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Jordan Love’s incredible deep ball to Jayden Reed early got the Packers rolling, but his pick-six — on a truly wild play — put Matt LaFleur’s team in a first-half hole. It took star efforts from a few teammates to help the Packers sort out the mess and escape Los Angeles with a much-needed road win.
Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly coming out of the Packers’ win over the Rams:
The Good
Tucker Kraft and Xavier McKinney: Two players helped turn the game around for the Packers in the second half. A pair of McKinney takeaways — a fumble recovery and an interception — turned into a pair of Kraft touchdown catches, giving the Packers what ended up being a decisive 24-13 lead. How good has McKinney been at taking the ball away? Not only does he have an interception in five straight games, but his six total takeaways are equal or more than 21 NFL teams through five weeks. Kraft has 10 catches, 141 yards and three touchdowns in the last two games.
Tucker Kraft & Xavier McKinney. 😵💫
— j.reed11💂🏾 (@JaydenReed5) October 7, 2024
Jayden Reed’s catch: There’s a good chance this will be the catch of the year in Green Bay. Maybe the throw of the year, too. Jordan Love’s deep toss — which traveled over 60 yards in the air — landed right in the hands of Reed, who was between three defenders. The 53-yarder set up Josh Jacobs’ short touchdown run.
JORDAN LOVE. JAYDEN REED.
📺: #GBvsLAR on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/gCdw5h1Ma1— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
The Bad
Packers run defense: The Rams averaged 4.8 yards per rush, and Kyren Williams went over 100 rushing yards. The Packers have now allowed a 100-yard rusher in three of five games in 2024. To be fair, Jeff Hafley’s group has faced a gauntlet of running backs, including Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Taylor, Aaron Jones and now Williams. Especially early, the Packers looked out of sorts up front. The Rams beat them with perimeter runs, and Williams consistently fought for tough yards between the tackles. The Packers face James Conner, Joe Mixon, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery over the next three games. Can the run defense find some answers?
The Ugly
This sequence: It will be hard to top this for the worst play of the Packers season. Blown protection, near safety, pick-six. This is the definition of ugly from Jordan Love and the Packers.
