Packers Stumble to 1-2 After Home Loss to Falcons

The Green Bay Packers dropped to 1-2 in the season following a surprising 35-14 defeat at home against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football. As the team left the field, they were met with boos from frustrated fans, and tight end Tucker Kraft’s post-game comments only added to the disappointment.

This loss has left Packers fans questioning what went wrong and whether there’s a chance to turn the season around.

Now, with a mini-bye week ahead, the Packers need to address their issues before the season slips away. The question remains—can they get back on track, or is the year already looking like a lost cause for Green Bay?

As they work to fix their problems, there are specific areas that need focus. Here are some key statistics that highlight the struggles Green Bay has faced so far and where improvements might be made moving forward.

First up, there’s the running game—perhaps the most concerning aspect.

In three games, the Packers have averaged a mere 48.7 rushing yards per game, placing them at the bottom of the NFL. In fact, they’re the only team averaging less than 50 yards per game, while the 31st place Cleveland Browns average about 65.5 rushing yards.

To add further context, Green Bay’s rushing offense has generated -0.448 Expected Points Added per Play, ranking them 31st in the league, just ahead of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Let’s stay on the rushing situation for a moment, because, honestly, it’s been alarming.

MarShawn Lloyd leads the Packers with only 68 rushing yards this season. In comparison, Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson amassed 111 yards in the first half alone against Green Bay. Ultimately, Robinson finished the game with 194 rushing yards, which surpasses the total rushing yards accumulated by the Packers as a team this season. Green Bay’s four players put together—Lloyd, Chris Brooks, Kaleb Johnson, and Jordan Love—have a combined total of 146 rushing yards across three games.

Now, let’s talk about the passing game.

One significant stat to note is the percentage of dropbacks where quarterback Jordan Love has encountered pressure. This season, he has faced pressure on 44.4% of his total 133 dropbacks. Notably, things were even tougher for him against the Falcons, where he was pressured on 45.5% of his dropbacks, completing just 9 of 25 passes for 116 yards and one interception under duress.

On that interception, a defensive player used a quick swim move to reach Love just as he attempted to throw over the middle, making it easier for the safety to intercept the pass.

Moving on to pass protection, Love’s average “time to throw” is 2.92 seconds this season, which places him last among qualified quarterbacks—he’s the only one averaging under three seconds.

This isn’t a good sign for the offense.

But it’s important to recognize that Love isn’t without faults. For instance, during a play against the New York Jets on a 1st-and-25 situation, he had an opportunity to throw a short route but chose to hold on to the ball. This decision allowed the Jets’ defense to pressure him with just three players.

While the overall protection needs improvement, Love also needs to make better decisions when he has the chance.

Here’s yet another stat reflecting offensive line struggles.

The Packers’ offensive line was ranked 32nd for the percentage of plays where they sustained blocks for at least 2.5 seconds before facing a rush. While the final figures from Thursday night’s game are still pending, it’s hard to imagine any significant improvement there.

Now, let’s shift our focus to the defensive side of the ball for a moment.

Green Bay’s Defensive Expected Points Added per Play this season stands at 0.092, which is 25th out of 32 teams. When you compare this with their offensive statistics, it becomes evident that the Packers are struggling in both categories.

The alignment with teams like the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins in this ranking isn’t exactly where one would want to be.

All these metrics tell a consistent tale: the team is battling on multiple fronts—an ineffective rushing game, a quarterback under relentless pressure, and a defense that seems overburdened by the struggles on offense. This narrative reflects the current state of a 1-2 team that is facing challenges early in the season as October approaches.