Acme Packing Company
Sunday afternoon’s game was more or less what Green Bay Packers fans expected. Facing the 2-8 New York Giants, the Packers played a sloppy, ugly game but eventually managed to eke out a win with a 4th-quarter comeback.
Sloppy was certainly the word of the day, however. Green Bay dropped as many as seven passes on offense — with Romeo Doubs accounting for four of them — while also dropping four passes on defense that should have gone for interceptions. They did finally haul one in late in the game, with Evan Williams making a critical red-zone interception before Micah Parsons delivered a sack-strip to end the game.
Those were a few clutch plays for a defense that was gassed late in the game after giving up drives of 16 and 15 yards on either side of a 3-and-out by the Packers’ offense, a unit that sputtered at times. Still, they had a good performance situationally, going 7-for-11 on third downs and 4-for-4 in the red zone, even without running back Josh Jacobs for most of the game as he exited with a knee injury in the second quarter.
Special teams were an issue, however, as Lucas Havrisik, in for an injured Brandon McManus, missed a pair of PATs. Younghoe Koo missed one for the Giants as well, and that played a bit of a part late in the game.
Green Bay also got a big performance in brief action from Malik Willis, who spelled Jordan Love after the starter took a big hit to his left shoulder. Willis delivered a 16-yard run and a touchdown pass, the Packers’ first points of the game.
Still, this performance will do little to turn down the heat that Matt LaFleur currently faces. His team played sloppy football for much of the game and could have easily put the game away earlier. But ultimately the team improved to a 6-3-1 record, allowing them to remain within a half-game of the lead in the NFC North at the end of the week.
The Giants put the ball in Jameis Winston’s hands to start the game after winning the opening coin toss, and the veteran quarterback made a couple of nice throws to get the Giants moving. He hit 20-yard gains to Wan’Dale Robinson and Isaiah Hodgins, setting up a 5-yard touchdown run from Devin Singletary to give the Giants an early 7-0 lead.
On their first series, the Packers managed to do what they did repeatedly against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night: reach midfield then stall out. Josh Jacobs picked up 22 yards on two carries — including a 15-yard gain on a lateral into the flat where he tiptoed up the sideline — but on 3rd-and-11, Romeo Doubs dropped a perfect throw from Jordan Love that should have been an easy conversion. Instead, the Packers came away with nothing but a Daniel Whelan punt.
Green Bay’s defense got a quick three-and-out on their second opportunity, helped out by a penalty on the...
