Acme Packing Company
I’m starting to think the Green Bay Packers may have a problem. After facing off against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football and losing a 10-7 snoozefest, the Packers are now 5-3-1 and 3rd place in the NFC North behind the Detroit Lions and, wait for it: the Chicago Bears. With injuries abound in the pass-catching room, the Packers offense already had a tall task ahead of them. With some questionable play calling thrown into the mix, this was one awful offensive performance for Green Bay, as they went on to lose their second straight home game for the first time since 2018. Let’s dive into the horrors (and the good stuff! There was good stuff!)
The Packers standout LB continues to impress this season, and last night was no exception. He forced a rare Eagles turnover (only their 4th of the season) when he punched the ball out of QB Jalen Hurts’ arms, just as it looked like their offense was about to make their way into the endzone. With the Packers offense not able to do…anything, strong defensive play from guys like Cooper kept them in it until the game’s final moments. The LB finished the game with 6 total tackles.
It warms my heart to say that Quay Walker has been having a phenomenal season so far. After a few emotional outbursts in his first couple of years with the team, and some pretty egregious mental mistakes and maturity issues, Walker has taken a huge step forward and become an absolutely integral part of the Packers defense. His run defense last night played a huge part in keeping the Packers alive, and the Eagles had just 111 total rushing yards. This is exactly what the Packers envisioned when they drafted Walker in 2022, and it should be no surprise to anyone when it’s announced that the Packers have inked him to a new deal. Walker finished the night with 6 total tackles (5 solo), including 2 for a loss.
The Packers lost TE Tucker Kraft last week to a torn ACL, and were also missing rookie WR Matthew Golden last night due to a shoulder injury. Jayden Reed still isn’t back from his broken collarbone, and Savion Williams has been dealing with a foot injury. The pass-catching room is so depleted that Bo Melton went back to WR last night. I wasn’t optimistic that Dontayvion Wicks, who’s been battling a nasty calf injury for several weeks, would contribute much to the offense. How glad I am to be proven wrong!
Wicks felt like the most reliable receiver on the field last night, despite a stat line of 4/8 for 38 yards. Of the four no-catches, just one of them seemed like a “you’ve gotta grab that one” play, and I think even that pass was a bit questionable. Wicks’ route running was outstanding last night, and we saw flashes of what he can do...
