The Green Bay Packers escaped New Jersey with a 20-17 overtime victory against the New York Jets on Sunday.
The cliché “a win is a win” seemed to be the right label for the Week 2 victory. Really all that matters is the Packers ended a six-game losing streak.
But Packers head coach Matt LaFleur still received plenty of criticism from CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell, who argued Green Bay’s sloppy start should have the head coach feeling the heat.
“Green Bay became the first team in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to win a game with under 200 total yards (199), 10-plus penalties (14 for 133 yards) and no takeaways, per CBS Sports Research,” wrote Podell. “Teams in this exact situation prior to the Packers’ Week 2 overtime win on Sunday were 0-38.
“It’s truly a miracle the Packers aren’t trudging back to Lambeau Field to host the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football with a 0-2 record. And it’s enough for LaFleur to start feeling some pressure.”
Green Bay’s issues in Week 2 also weren’t a one-time occurrence. The Packers moved the ball in the season opener but committed two turnovers. They also had 12 penalties for 98 yards with just one takeaway in a 39-22 defeat to the Minnesota Vikings on September 13.
Packers Sloppy Again in Victory
Winning in the NFL while not playing well is often the sign of a very good team. But the Packers have yet to prove this season they can play well. They also haven’t put together a strong, complete 60-minute performance since early December last year.
For those reasons, alarm bells might still be going off in Green Bay despite the victory over the Jets.
The Packers needed 10 fourth-quarter points to force overtime during Week 2. Then, Green Bay stopped the Jets offense and kicked a field goal on its overtime drive to secure the win.
Quarterback Jordan Love might have saved LaFleur from really feeling the heat entering Week 3. Love completed 7 of 12 passes for 80 yards with a touchdown in the fourth quarterback and overtime combined.
The Packers were also able to overcome their sluggish offense and penalty mistakes because the Jets had even more penalty yardage. New York committed 13 fouls for 156 yards.
Packers Face Short Week Entering Week 3
It’s pretty clear after Week 1 the Packers have a discipline problem. But they don’t have a lot of time to make corrections. The Packers headed home from New Jersey on Sunday night with a home matchup versus the Atlanta Falcons up next on Thursday.
The Falcons made history becoming one of the rare teams not to have a red zone possession through the first two games of a season. The last time that happened was the St. Louis Rams in 2008.
Atlanta has scored an offensive touchdown, but it came from beyond the 20-yard line during the season opener. The Falcons haven’t taken a snap in the red zone in the first two weeks.
Pundits are going to point to that stat alone as reason why the Falcons are a very winnable matchup for the Packers. The question, though, is if Green Bay can avoid beating itself with penalties and other mistakes.
The team barely did in Week 2.
Packers’ Matt LaFleur Under Fire Despite Snapping Losing Streak