Three Overreactions to Packers' Loss to Eagles

GREEN BAY, Wis. — No game is more prone to overreaction than Week 1. Unguarded looks, rusty veterans and rookie debuts add an air of uncertainty. Add in a 10-hour flight and a football field that doubled as a skating rink, and the Green Bay Packers’ 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles is especially difficult to judge.

Still, in a feature article on the game, here are three overreactions between the Packers and Eagles. Here’s what’s not an overreaction: The Packers’ season will hinge on the health of Jordan Love.

1. Jayden Reed is not just a receiver 1

It’s no surprise that Jayden Reed was the Packers’ unofficial No. 1 receiver entering the season. After all, he led the team in receptions, receiving yards and total touchdowns last season.

Since Aaron Jones was released, Reed has been the Packers’ best playmaker. It’s that simple. He was last year and he certainly was Friday night. Christian Watson might be more explosive. Romeo Doubs might be a better route runner. But no one is as dynamic.

Reed caught 4 of 6 targets for 138 yards. He had a 70-yard touchdown reception, a 33-yard reception down the sideline in the final moments to get the team going and a 33-yard touchdown run. Those were the Packers’ three longest plays of the game. On seven occasions, he gained 171 yards. The other 51 plays gained 243 yards.

“In this room, it’s any week,” Reed said after the game. “Anybody can make the plays I made today in the room. So we’re very dynamic in this room, so I don’t look at it as a wide receiver 1 thing. I think we’re all 1s if you ask me.”

Reed, who could have had a truly monstrous game if his 38-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter hadn’t been negated by a 12-man penalty, said the “little things” on offense will make a big difference.

“We obviously have a lot of guys that can make plays,” Reed said. “We just have to continue to find ways to get better at executing our jobs so we can get everybody involved and be able to be a potent offense.”

2. Tucker Kraft is Tight End #1

In a shortened training camp due to a torn pectoral muscle suffered in the offseason, Tucker Kraft made more plays than Luke Musgrave in the passing game. With his physicality as a blocker, it was questionable whether last year’s third-round pick would supplant last year’s second-round pick on the depth chart.

Indeed, Kraft played 64 of 67 snaps against the Eagles while Musgrave played only 17.

Kraft caught 2 of his 3 targets for 37 yards, including a 29-yarder. Musgrave didn’t catch either target. Meanwhile, according to league data, the Packers averaged 8.35 yards per carry with Kraft on the field compared to 1.00 with Musgrave. There are some small elements at play in this comparison, but it’s remarkable nonetheless.

If Love is out for an extended period, the Packers may need to opt for more two-tight-end sets to boost the running game and make it easier for Malik Willis to catch passes. So it’s obviously too early to write off Musgrave, but 64-17 in Week 1 is a surprising number.

3. Same old defense

For teams with an incompetent offense, the most popular player is the backup quarterback. For teams with a clunky defense, the most popular person is the new defensive coordinator.

That was the case with Jeff Hafley. The defensive line loved being able to attack. The secondary loved being put in position to make plays. The excitement for this moment had been evident for months.

“We’re trying to be known as a defensive team,” cornerback Eric Stokes said a few days before the game. “Every time they think of the Packers, they think of defense. That’s going to start Friday night.”

Well, not so much. Remember when Charles Woodson said, “It’s still the same Jay” after beating the Jay Cutler-led Bears? Well, it was still the same Packers defense.

By some standards, it wasn’t bad. The Eagles managed just 3.8 yards per rushing attempt. Jalen Hurts, one of the NFL’s best dual-threat quarterbacks, wasn’t very effective as a runner. After intercepting just seven passes last year, Green Bay intercepted Hurts twice. The Eagles were limited to 4 of 14 on third down.

On the other hand, it was always the same thing.

After a big Xavier McKinney interception and a giveaway fumble, the Eagles’ next four possessions went 11 plays for 70 yards and a touchdown, nine plays for 70 yards and a touchdown, 15 plays for 57 yards and a field goal and two plays for 70 yards and a touchdown.

When it came time to win the game, Hafley’s defense looked eerily similar to Joe Barry’s. The Eagles led 31-29 when they took possession with 7:52 left. They ran 16 plays for 67 yards, had six first downs and allowed only 27 seconds to pass. Only a fumbled snap limited the damage to three points.

The Packers couldn’t stop the run. They were guilty of penalties. They missed a few key tackles. They couldn’t get off the field, with the Eagles moving the chains on third-and-7 and second-and-13 on the final drive.

“We just have to get off the field as a defense,” said Rashan Gary, who had a sack and a pass defensed. “That’s the most frustrating part. It’s all physical.”

There would be no overreaction from McKinney, the big free agent addition.

“Defensively, I think we know what we need to do to get better after this game,” McKinney said. “Obviously, it’s only one game, Week 1, so the world isn’t over. Obviously, we’ve got a lot of time to figure this out.”

“What’s been said in the locker room is that we have to feel like we’re going to go into next week with that sense of urgency and be ready to fix the mistakes that we made. We’re going to critique ourselves when we watch this film when we come back, and we’re going to be better — much better — next week. I think we know we weren’t where we wanted to be defensively, but we’re going to fix that and I don’t think we’re going to have any issues going forward.”

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Jordan Love’s injury aside, it was a day of wasted opportunities by the #Packers offense, @JoeyVZ_ written.https://t.co/jaQ1sObbJ6

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 7, 2024