Jordan Love controls the game, but defense stumbles again as Packers hold off the Bengals
Love threw the interception early, but otherwise played fully in control and ultimately iced the game to earn a 27-18 win over the banged-up Cincinnati Bengals.
Good morning!
The Green Bay Packers came out of the bye week with a win! They took down the Cincinnati Bengals 27-18, mirroring the score from Week 2. It wasn’t the blowout Cheeseheads were hoping for, but there’s still plenty to be excited about (and plenty to work on) for the Packers.
In today’s Free Monday newsletter, we follow up on some of Jason Hirschhorn’s key questions from last week around Matthew Golden and the interior defensive line because Sunday offered some answers. Plus, we wondered what exactly happened to this defense?
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Matthew Golden’s opportunity has arrived
Peter Bukowski: The very first question in last Monday’s newsletter? “When will the Packers expand Matthew Golden’s role?” and while Matt LaFleur didn’t expand Golden’s role per se, his impact exploded. He hit multiple explosive plays on 3rd-and-long, including the 31-clincher in the fourth quarter on a 3rd-and-9 to set up a field goal that iced the game.
It’s not just that he was open, either. Love made a second-reaction play rolling to his left with pressure in his face. Golden worked back to his vision, and Love hit him perfectly in stride.
It’s the kind of play we’d expect from a veteran, not a rookie in just his fifth NFL game, but Golden was the clutch player for the University of Texas last year. After Golden’s fourth-down catch against the Cowboys, and now these plays against the Bengals, he’s inching toward that title for the Pack.
Earlier in the game, Golden converted a key 3rd-and-10 on an absolute dot from Love. With all the chances the Packers are giving Golden to be a vertical threat, he was bound to hit some, and he’s now overdue to turn one of these into a touchdown.
The amount of vertical pressure Golden and Christian Watson can put on a defense will fundamentally alter the way teams will have to defend this team.
What happened to the defense?
PB: The second question Jason asked last week was, “How much can Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden, and two rookies handle while Devonte Wyatt recovers from his knee injury?”
The answer this week was an emphatic, “Not as much as you’d like.”
For the second straight week, a Packers opponent didn’t have to punt in the second half, and a lack of inside pressure or splash plays in the run game played a significant role in those struggles.
On the other hand, Ja’Marr Chase made a slew of incredible acrobatic catches in traffic; nearly every catch a Bengals receiver made all game was contested, and the Packers aren’t going to face Chase and Tee Higgins every week. In the playoffs, though, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith await. Or maybe it’ll be Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. Mike Evans and Emeka Egbuka would have a chance at it too.
This is what facing playoff-level offense looks like, and it’s the worst quarterbacking they’ll play in those theoretical games as well.
Even with Chase’s herculean effort, Joe Flacco threw for fewer than five yards per attempt and was lucky Carrington Valentine played a late heave for the pass breakup rather than the interception, or the game would have been iced sooner.
There’s no reason to panic, but the Packers aren’t creating turnovers the way they did last year, as the emphasis on punching the ball has so far been for naught. They’re pressuring quarterbacks at one of the highest rates in the NFL with four-man rushes, but they’re not able to finish them for sacks, and now Lukas Van Ness faces an MRI on an injured foot.
Micah Parsons, Edgerrin Cooper, and Xavier McKinney are too good to not make some splash plays eventually, but they aren’t good enough — and hell, maybe no defense is good enough the way offenses play these days — to not create takeaways.
They’re letting teams try to beat them with death by 1,000 quick throws, and that works when your own offense is hyper-efficient and you can create some negative plays. They haven’t lately, and that has to change.
The run game is showing signs of life amid offensive line changes
PB: Josh Jacobs struggled to find space through three weeks, but started to gain traction in the second half against the Dallas Cowboys. After another slow start on the ground, Jacobs started punishing the Bengals' defense en route to 150 total yards, including 93 on the ground in 18 rushes.
On the second of his two rushing touchdowns, the Packers ran a duo run to perfection, to the point Jacobs said after the game, it’s as good as a team can block.
“That second touchdown I could’ve probably fell, got up and still scored. Probably one of the best blocked plays I’ve ever had in my career, so shout out to the O-line,” Jacobs said after the game.”
For a series or two, the Packers rotated Sean Rhyan with Jordan Morgan at right guard, but Morgan grabbed hold of the job and kept it from the early going. He sprung key blocks on each of Jacobs’ touchdowns and held up in the pass protection game, albeit against a below-average Bengals front.
When Love has time, he’s been the most efficient quarterback in the NFL this season, but the Packers’ offensive line hasn’t been able to keep him clean. That was true again in this game against a sub-par pass rush, but there are reasons to believe change is coming.
Aaron Banks and Zach Tom returned to the lineup, allowing Morgan to play where he’d originally competed to start during his rookie season. If he can take that job and create some continuity, that cohesion alone should lead to better results, run and pass.
Combine Golden’s ascension, Watson’s return, and the offensive line's health, and it’s terrific news for the run game, which will start seeing more two-shell looks. This finally looked like a team capable of taking advantage.
Parting shot
PB: Matt LaFleur notched his 70th win on Sunday, making him the fastest coach to 70 regular-season wins according to the Elias Sports Bureau. As I’m sure you’ve heard before, no coach who hasn’t won a Super Bowl by his seventh season with a team has won one with that team.
This is Year 7.
Still, no one had ever achieved 70 wins this quickly either. It’s not a Super Bowl, but it’s evidence of how good and how consistent the Packers have been under LaFleur. Time to go chase that trophy.