Two members of the Green Bay Packers‘ roster will have to pay up after the league fined them for their actions during the team’s Week 2 overtime road win against the New York Jets.
The NFL fined linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper a total of $8,325 and defensive tackle Chris McClellan a total of $7,167, per the league’s official website. Both fines were for unnecessary roughness.
Green Bay got out of New York with a three-point win in overtime. But the team fell three touchdowns shy of a second consecutive victory by losing to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football.
Packers Reeling After Blowout Loss to Falcons on Thursday Night Football
Unfortunately, the Packers have much bigger problems after a blowout home loss to the Falcons on Thursday night, which further exposed a broken and inept offensive line and also led to an unfamiliar chorus of boos raining down on the team from the Green Bay faithful at Lambeau Field.
“Well, that was a humbling night,” head coach Matt LaFleur said, per Ryan Wood of USA Today. “Certainly, I don’t think anybody is pleased about this. We’ve got a couple extra days here, and everybody has to take a long, hard look at ourselves.”
LaFleur also discussed the specific offensive woes the team has faced, namely in the run game where Green Bay put up just 17 yards on only nine carries against Atlanta. The Packers have rushed for fewer than 50 yards per game through the first three weeks of the season and have yet to score a TD on the ground.
“I think we have to continue to work with these guys and try to figure out what we do well,” LaFleur added. “Because right now, I don’t know what we’re doing well on offensively.”
Packers Add Another Guard to Bolster Banged Up Offensive Line
The Packers have 10 days before they travel to Florida for a Week 4 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Green Bay added offensive guard Cordell Volson to the practice squad ahead of the game against the Jets last weekend. The team followed up that move on Saturday by signing Laken Tomlinson off the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad.
Right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele, formerly Zach Tom, is out for the season after suffering a torn patellar tendon against the Jets. Starting offensive guard Aaron Banks missed Week 1 with knee tendonitis and left the contest in New York with a toe injury that also kept him sidelined for Week 3.
The unit allowed 15 quick pressures of quarterback Jordan Love against the Falcons, which rendered the already one-dimensional pass attack that much more difficult to execute alongside a run game that was all but non-existent.
Green Bay’s defense also struggled mightily on Thursday, surrendering 498 total yards to a Falcons offense that failed to even reach the red zone across its first two games of the year.
NFL Announces Punishment for Packers After Jets Matchup in Week 2