Packers lose in London; Rodgers: ‘We’re a little bit of a roller coaster team’

By Carmen Vitali
FOX Sports NFC North Writer

Sometimes when you mess around, you find out a little more than you wanted.

Last week, the sustainability of Green Bay’s winning methods was called into question. The offense was still missing an identity. The team relied heavily on its defense to limit opponents’ scoring production and the road to 3-1 was, in truth, pretty ugly.

“This way of winning I don’t think is sustainable, because it just puts too much pressure on our defense,” said quarterback Aaron Rodgers after the game.

Yes. Things still needed to change.

“If we just get into a rhythm and start a little bit faster, we can alleviate some of the things,” Rodgers said.

And they did that in Week 5 against the New York Giants in London. Green Bay put points on the board on their first drive, forced a punt on their opponents’ opening drive for the first time all season, and then scored their first touchdown on their third possession.

They followed it up with another score and the second touchdown drive was a wonderful balance of runs up the middle (from both Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon) and short passes, as the Packers dinked and dunked their way to a 13 play, 75-yard drive that took 7:44 off the clock and put Green Bay in total control.

The score was 17-3 early and Green Bay looked like they’d found something.

Perhaps this was the sustainability Rodgers had spoken of. It kept their defense off the field and kept the New York Giants on their heels. The Packers had possessed the ball nearly a full five minutes more than the Giants by the time the first half was over.

But there is such a thing as overcorrection, which we saw in the second half. That’s where the Packers messed around a little too much and found out just what happens when they do. Green Bay essentially veered too far and overshot the curve, spinning off the track instead of keeping it contained within what their offense does well.

They all but abandoned a run game that had served them well in the prior four weeks. Dillon had just two carries in the entire second half, even though he finished with an average of 5.7 yards per carry. Jones had just six carries. The Packers had just three possessions in the final two quarters if you don’t count the very last play of the game where Rodgers was taken down and stripped of the ball.

In fact, when the Packers had the chance to tie the game inside the 10-yard line, they forced something that wasn’t there. It was third-and-1 at the six and from the shotgun, Rodgers elected to throw. It was to his trusty third-down veteran, Randall Cobb. OK, I guess we can’t fault them for that. It was incomplete, just the second batted down pass at the line of scrimmage of the season for Rodgers. But this is four-down territory, folks.

So, fourth-and-1, the Packers have that aforementioned tandem of fantastic backs that have served them well time and time again this season. They need one measly yard. Shotgun formation… they can’t possibly… no, they wouldn’t…

They did.

Rodgers’ pass never reached the receiver because it, too, was batted down at the line and it ended the game.

Yes, the quick passes had been working in the first half. Yes, there was balance achieved with the offense in that span. But inside the red zone, with a condensed field and a Giants defensive line missing Leonard Williams, I would have thought the answer was a little bit more obvious: run the ball. Where New York head coach Brian Daboll succeeded on Sunday is where the Packers failed. They overcoached.

And the Packers overcorrected to the point of coming full circle. There was a lot asked of the defense yet again, especially in the second half, and this time they broke a little bit. By the end of the game, the Giants had pulled ahead in the time-of-possession battle, winning it by nearly five minutes. Green Bay’s defense failed to get a takeaway. And a hobbled Daniel Jones threw for over 200 yards for the first time this season as a result.  So, while the Packers tried different things, they still had the same issues.

“We’re a little bit of a roller coaster team,” Rodgers said after the game. “The biggest issue, and I wish I had the perfect answer or explanation for this, is we haven’t played consistent football in all three phases.”

With all that being said, the quarterback took after his surroundings with his ‘keep calm and carry on’ attitude. And that’s what Packers fans should likely do, as well. What Green Bay did in the first half worked. Incorporating short, high-completion throws alongside their rushing attack is a recipe for success if I’ve ever seen one. They should know that now and I think we will start to see a more balanced and complete offense going forward. Couple that with how the defense is capable of playing and the improved play of special teams, and you have the makings of playing good football in all three phases, just as Rodgers said.

The Packers may have messed around, but perhaps they found out some useful information along the way after all.

Carmen Vitali covers the NFC North for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.