Packers beat Jaguars; Trouble looms versus lions

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers were terrible in the red zone, couldn’t tackle and were destroyed before a series of big games on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Oh, and they lost their mistake-prone franchise quarterback to a groin injury.

Here are five takeaways from the Packers’ win and what they mean for this week’s NFC North showdown against the Detroit Lions.

1. Too many big plays

The Jaguars’ passing attack is good. Brian Thomas, Christian Kirk and Evan Engram form a gifted trio for quarterback Trevor Lawrence, whose downfall has been heavily exaggerated. Thomas is going to dominate the NFL for a long time, Kirk is an established playmaker and Engram caught the second-most passes for a tight end in NFL history last year.

Lawrence destroyed the Packers on Sunday. It’s not just that he threw for 308 yards, even though Kirk and Thomas were out with injuries. It’s the barrage of big plays. The Jaguars had eight completions of more than 20 yards. And that was with Jaire Alexander in the lineup; PFF charged Alexander with one completion for 2 yards on Sunday, but he limped off the field after the Jaguars’ final touchdown.

Lions quarterback Jared Goff has thrown 10 touchdown passes and 13 incompletions over the past four games. Yes, that’s right. He is one of three quarterbacks in NFL history with four consecutive games rated above 125. He ranks first in the NFL in yards per attempt and second in passer rating.

The Packers have allowed 26 completions of 20-plus yards this season, sixth-most in the league. Even playing one game less than some quarterbacks, Goff ranks eighth in 20-yard completions and first in 20-yard touchdowns.

Ultimately, Green Bay defeated the Jaguars as Jeff Hafley’s defense forced two more turnovers, cashing in on Xavier McKinney’s interception and Edgerrin Cooper’s sack/strip for short-field touchdowns.

“That’s a good football team,” coach Matt LaFleur said of the Jaguars. “They have a lot of playmakers. They have three very good receivers, they have a stud running back, a stud quarterback and a stud tight end. We knew they would get their chance. It was about staying resilient.

“Obviously the sequence we had the sack/fumble and the recovery at the 5-yard line and our ability to go in and score, you could say that was the difference in the game. Twice our defense gave us great field position and allowed us to capitalize, which was great.

However, the Lions only have five giveaways all season. Goff hasn’t had an interception since the third quarter of Week 3 and the Lions have committed just one turnover in the last four games. The Packers better figure things out. Quick.

2. Terrible approach

Green Bay’s tackles have been good all season. Not problematic, but not exceptional.

It was terrible against the Jaguars.

According to our unofficial count, the Packers missed 19 tackles – eight more than last season’s high. Isaiah McDuffie, Edgerrin Cooper and Javon Bullard each had three. They couldn’t tackle the aptly named Tank Bigsby. They couldn’t take Thomas down. During Lawrence’s touchdown run, Packers defenders rolled off the quarterback like rain on a freshly waxed car. Green Bay missed eight tackles on that drive alone.

The lions are known for their physicality.

Their thunder-and-lightning backfield of powerful David Montgomery and electric Jahmyr Gibbs are two of the best at breaking tackles — a combined 50, according to PFF — and gaining yards after contact on running plays. Additionally, they rank 10th and 11th, respectively, in yards after the catch per catch.

At tight end, only Green Bay’s Tucker Kraft averages more YAC than Detroit’s Sam LaPorta. At receiver, Bulldog Amon-Ra St. Brown is among the leaders in missed tackles and Kalif Raymond is third in YAC per catch among receivers with at least 10 catches.

With playmakers everywhere he looks and a creative offensive coordinator in Ben Johnson to get the ball into space, Goff is YAC’s second-biggest beneficiary.

The lions are really good. They’re going to move the ball. The Packers defenders have to at least get them to the ground.

“We didn’t play well enough today,” McKinney said. “I don’t think we played well enough as a team, and we know that. We’re going to enjoy this, but we have to go back in there tomorrow. A big match awaits us. We have to be prepared for next week.”

3. Red zone problems

The Packers gained 422 yards, were plus-1 on offense and won possession by more than 9 minutes. And yet they needed Malik Willis’ late strike on Jayden Reed to beat the Jaguars.

Why was it so difficult?

Simple.

The Packers found a dead zone in the red zone.

They were 1-of-4 in the first half, when they dominated the action but barely led 13-10, finishing 2-of-6. (Really, it was 2 of 5; the last red zone failure occurred on the game-winning drive.)

After back-to-back punts to start the game, Green Bay drove from its 8 to Jacksonville’s 15. On second-and-11, Jordan Love threw his league-worst ninth interception. Perhaps it was the groin injury that ultimately knocked him out of the game, but his pass to Romeo Doubs didn’t have enough punch and was picked off.

McKinney gave Love another chance moments later with his sixth interception. A 21-yard pass interference penalty on a pass to Doubs allowed Josh Jacobs to run for the touchdown.

Next, Green Bay drove from its 20 to Jacksonville’s 9. An illegal shift by Christian Watson on first-and-goal ended that, while a give-up screen for Emanuel Wilson on third-and-goal went nowhere. A field goal made it 10-0.

After Jacksonville’s first touchdown, Green Bay started at its 30 and drove to Jacksonville’s 19. On third-and-6, Love’s deep shot to Watson put him well out of bounds on an incompletion. The field goal made it 13-3.

Early in the fourth quarter, Cooper’s forced fumble gave the offense the ball at the 5, and Willis hit Tucker Kraft for a 3-yard touchdown to make the score 27–17.

The Packers were fortunate to beat the Jaguars while squandering three opportunities in the red zone. For the season, Green Bay’s red zone success rate is 50.0 percent. Only five teams are worse. The Lions rank eighth in red zone defense (47.4 percent) and third in goal-to-go (53.8 percent). That seasonal problem needs to be solved quickly.

4. Pass Rush goes AWOL

Usually it’s “three overreactions,” but let’s add two fast hitters.

It goes without saying that the Packers can’t put another weak pass on Goff. After dominating against Houston last week, Green Bay’s front generally got nowhere against Lawrence. The only sack was Cooper’s crucial play. Lawrence was pressured on nine of 35 dropbacks.

Preston Smith took a quarterback hit on the first passing play; However, the Packers’ defensive front was nowhere to be seen for most of the game.

Worth noting: Goff’s clean pocket passer rating this season is a career-high 123.9.

5. Josh Jacobs to the rescue

Packers running back Josh Jacobs gets his own story, but again, it goes without saying that he was the driving force behind Sunday’s win.

He carried 25 times for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Jacobs always runs fast. The line always blocks hard. But with Love out, there seems to be a realization that the running game needs to go from good to dominant.

That was the case against Jacksonville. Jacobs broke two tackles on the 38-yard touchdown run. He forced five on that drive and three on the next, a drive that came to a halt when Doubs dropped a potential big gain.

The Lions rank 22nd with 4.66 yards allowed per carry. Part of that is the scoreboard — lopsided scores sometimes mean easy yards — but the Packers will need Jacobs and their line to be at their physical best regardless of who plays quarterback.

“I think we still left a lot on the table, man,” Jacobs said. “It’s been a few runs that I wish I could have gotten back. I wish I could have pressed it a little differently and things like that. I’m still chasing that, man. I am certainly proud of what we have achieved as a team.”

More Green Bay Packers news

Aaron Rodgers owned Chicago. That’s nice, but Malik Willis owns AFC South.

With a “high degree of concern” about Jordan Love, it was Willis who came to the rescue (again) for the #Packers.https://t.co/psz45HmdGV

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 28, 2024