A worrying statistic involving Jaire Alexander, David Bakhtiari, and other players was disclosed by a Packers reporter; it will help to explain the team’s 3-6 record.
For Green Bay Packers supporters, the post-Aaron Rodgers era would always be difficult, but there was cause for optimism that a strong roster could lessen the blow and be sufficient to contend for an NFC Wild Card spot. Even with nine games remaining in the 2023–24 season, it is hard to see that bright future.
Although there are a number of reasons why this transition year has been so difficult (with a 3-6 record), a Packers reporter clearly identified the main issue.
“Starters Quay Walker, Darnell Savage Jr., Rudy Ford, De’Vondre Campbell, and Christian Watson have missed a combined 12 games due to injury, while the five Packers players to make a Pro Bowl— David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Aaron Jones, Kenny Clark, and Jaire Alexander— have missed a combined 17 full games due to injury,” Matt Schneidman of The Athletic wrote on X.
Absolutely brutal. Even though supporters are aware of the difficulties their team has faced this season, many of Green Bay’s key players’ actual attendance rates are shocking. These guys need to be performing well on the field in order to relieve quarterback Jordan Love of some of the pressure.
This information by no means fully justifies his worrisome 58.7 completion percentage and poor touchdown-interception ratio (14–10), but it does help to explain why this team is struggling virtually every week. A strong team can be destroyed by injuries; just take a look at what happened to the Cincinnati Bengals in the beginning.
For a team as fragile as the Packers, who are adjusting to life without a Hall of Fame quarterback for the first time in more than 30 years, the impact is even more devastating. Hopefully, when the Los Angeles Chargers (4-5) visit town on Sunday afternoon, they will be closer to full strength.Alex House is a sportswriter who is comfortable covering many different sports. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.
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Think back to the start of the Green Bay Packers’ game on Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Steelers running back Najee Harris rumbled in for a touchdown to make the score 7-0 before the Packers touched the ball.
It would have been natural to think the offense would be slated to play from behind the entire game again. After all, the Packers hadn’t scored a touchdown in the opening quarter since the Chicago Bears gifted them a short field all the way back on Sept. 10.
Apart from that, their offense had looked like a JV team scrimmaging against the varsity in the first quarter of games this season.
Not against the Steelers. Jordan Love and Co. marched right down the field and capped an impressive nine-play, 69-yard drive with a touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs in the right corner of the end zone.
Trailing 17-7, Love and the offense struck again. Facing a third-and-long on the edge of field-goal range, Aaron Jones motioned to the right of the formation.
The conservative call would have been to have Jones flare out to the right, pick up some blocks and make for a more manageable field goal.
Instead, Love loaded up to throw deep. Jayden Reed raced down the middle of the field and caught a 36-yard touchdown.
Love’s day was arguably his best as a professional overall.
He did, in fact, make two interceptions, one of which was a desperate pass.
However, the Packers’ passing game started to gain some traction for the first time since the season’s opening two games.
Love outperformed the Los Angeles Rams the week before, totaling 289 yards through the air against a Steelers defense that is led by elite players like T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.
Love and the receivers are finally connecting on some deeper passes, which is the main reason for Love’s improved performance over the past two games.
It seemed pointless tossing the ball down the field earlier in the season. However, according to Pro Football Focus, Love is 7-for-11 for 230 yards with one touchdown over the last two weeks and has a passer rating of 128.8 on passes thrown 20 yards or more downfield.
The only quarterback who has regularly outperformed Love in deep passing categories over the past two weeks with at least 10 passing attempts as a qualifier is C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans.
Stroud might be on the shortlist for MVP if the season ended today.
Love’s development is encouraging because it was reasonable to question whether the Packers would be ready to let him go after just one season due to a string of inaccuracies and blunders.
There are still problems that require resolution. There isn’t enough point scoring for the Packers. They are experiencing their longest scoring slump in over thirty years, having not scored more than twenty points since Week 2.
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