The Green Bay Packers wore uniforms that evoked the 1923 version of their team on this windy Sunday when they took on the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field. Unfortunately, at times it looked like their game plan came from that era of football as well, and the team lost a brutal 16-13 decision at home.
Fresh off one of the best games of his career, Jordan Love made some mind-bending decisions and the Packers’ offense went 1-for-5 in the red zone despite the Packers entering the day as nearly two-touchdown
favorites. Love was 26 for 37 passing for 273 yards, but he threw no touchdowns against one interception — and he could have thrown at least one more if not for a drop by a Panthers player.
Meanwhile, the Packers’ vaunted pass rush, including Micah Parsons, was a complete no-show despite the Panthers playing with multiple backups all across the offensive line. Instead, the Green Bay defense got gashed repeatedly in the run game as Rico Dowdle ran for 130 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
This game was costly for the Packers not only in the standings, but also on the injury front. Tucker Kraft, who has been staking a claim as being one of the best tight ends in the NFL, left the game with a right knee injury and was carted to the locker room. The Packers also lost defensive tackle Colby Wooden and wide receiver Matthew Golden to shoulder injuries in the game, with neither one returning to the game after leaving.
The winds were swirling at Lambeau Field, and the kicking game was a major story. Brandon McManus shanked a makeable 43-yard field goal at the end of the first half, which would have given the Packers a lead at the break. Instead, those three points ended up being enormous, as the Panthers eventually won the game on a 49-yard field goal by rookie Ryan Fitzgerald with no time left on the clock.
The Panthers won the coin toss and took the football, but Green Bay’s defense got a stop with the help of a few penalties on Carolina. Edgerrin Cooper tracked down Rico Dowdle just short of a first down on 3rd-and-6, and a holding penalty on the Panthers’ 4th-and-1 conversion led them to punt instead. Green Bay’s offense started out smoothly, picking up four first downs on their opening series. However, after reaching the red zone, rookie Savion Williams coughed up the football after running into the back of one of his blockers and the Panthers recovered for an early turnover.
Carolina then kept the offense on the field for a 4th-and-1 from their own territory on their second drive as well, and this time instead of taking a penalty, Bryce Young scrambled for the first down. Dowdle got the Panthers’ run game going with a handful of carries that picked up a few first downs, but a sack-strip by Xavier McKinney (recovered by running back Chuba Hubbard) and a tackle for loss from Micah Parsons set up a 3rd-and-6 at the 15-yard line. McKinney came up with a huge play, tracking down an errant pass from a pressured Young in the back of the end zone and tapping his toes inside the back line of the end zone for an interception and a touchback.
Green Bay found a huge play on the next series, courtesy of Christian Watson. One play after narrowly missing on a deep ball to Matthew Golden, Jordan Love heaved a bomb for Watson on 3rd-and-12 and his receiver brought in the reception for a 52-yard gain. The offense went into reverse a few plays later, turning a 2nd-and-6 into a 3rd-and-24 with penalties and a sack. A drop by Emanuel Wilson on 3rd down brought out Brandon McManus for a 49-yard field goal attempt into strong, swirling winds, but McManus drilled the kick right down the middle to finally put some points on the board for a 3-0 Packers lead.
After drama on the kickoff due to the wind blowing the ball off the tee and an illegal formation penalty on Green Bay, Dowdle started off the Panthers’ drive with a run for 22 yards to cross midfield. Wide receiver Xavier Legette then took a blow to the head on the very next play after bringing in a catch for 22 yards of his own. Once again Carolina faced a 4th-and-inches a few plays later, this time inside the ten-yard line, and Dowdle moved the chains. Two plays later he sliced through the middle of the Packers’ defense for a five-yard touchdown, giving Carolina a 7-3 lead.
With just under two and a half minutes left on the clock for the first half, Savion Williams had a great kickoff return to set the Packers offense up at the 40-yard line, then Josh Jacobs ripped off an 8-yard run to take the clock to the two-minute warning. A pair of holding calls on the offensive line put the unit on its heels, but Love hit Romeo Doubs for a 30-yard gain to convert a 2nd-and-20 then found Chris Brooks on a checkdown for a gain of 15. Suddenly they sat at the 12-yard line with two timeouts and 21 seconds remaining, but a short gain and a pair of incompletions forced McManus back out for a short field goal as time expired on the half, pulling them back to within one point at the break.
Green Bay came out in the second half and relied on the run and the short passing games, moving quickly into Panthers territory. But the drive completely fell apart, first with Tucker Kraft suffering a right knee injury when he collided with Sean Rhyan. Kraft was helped off the field by trainers and then took a cart into the locker room for evaluation. Meanwhile, McManus missed yet another field goal in the 40-yard range, pushing his 43-yard attempt wide left after kicking from the right hash.
Carolina picked up one first down before punting away, but Love gave the ball back with an arm punt. He heaved a deep ball for a double-covered Watson but while under pressure he could not get enough on it, and safety Tre’Von Moehrig easily hauled it in and returned it well into Packers territory. A third-and-goal stop was erased by a pass interference penalty on Keisean Nixon, and Dowdle punched across the goal line for his second touchdown of the day. The Panthers got a celebration penalty after the play, however, pushing the PAT back to a 48-yard attempt and Ryan Fitzgerald’s attempt was both wide and short, keeping the Panthers’ edge to seven points at 13-6.
Jordan Love caught the Panthers’ defense off-guard early on the Packers’ next drive, converting a 3rd down on a free play. He got the offense up to the line quickly and Carolina was unable to get a sub off the field, but he hit Doubs for a 28-yard gain anyway. Love later found Chris Brooks for a checkdown to move the chains on 4th down, but faced yet another 4th-and-8 at the 13 after a timeout. Under heavy early pressure, Love scrambled for several seconds and heaved across his body into the end zone, but the only player nearby was Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson, who dropped an interception that could have gone for a long return.
That decision to go was a questionable one, both based on the players who were available and on the raw numbers. Still, that kept the Packers off the board yet again, extending their red zone struggles to 0-for-4 on the day.
Multiple penalties on Carolina were fortunate for the Packers on the Panthers’ next drive, however, and they punted away quickly, giving the Packers the football back halfway through the fourth quarter. On the first play, Love found Luke Musgrave for a gain of 21 yards, just his second catch of more than 10 yards all season, and Musgrave was big on the drive with three receptions . Love also hit Malik Heath for another 4th-down conversion and Savion Williams later converted a 3rd down to set up a critical first-and-goal.
Emanuel Wilson picked up a few yards on first down, then Josh Jacobs took it to the one on second down. Jacobs took a third down carry to the goal line, narrowly eclipsing the line with the football for a touchdown, his 10th of the season. McManus went out for the extra point and tucked the kick inside the left upright to finally tie the game with 2:32 left.
After the kickoff, the Panthers ran the ball on first down but Edgerrin Cooper stuffed Dowdle for a gain of just two yards. As the clock ticked down to the two-minute warning, each team had two timeouts left for the final stretch. The first play out of the timeout went for a gain of 9 to move the chains to the 40. On first down Rashan Gary’s pressure forced an incompletion, but Young found Tet McMillan for a gain of 10 to midfield. After another incomplete pass, the Panthers ran up the middle and Dowdle cut back for 19 yards, nearly reaching the Packers’ 30 with 40 seconds left.
Two more Dowdle runs went for no gain, setting up a 49-yard field goal attempt for the Panthers. Ryan Fitzgerald, who missed a PAT earlier in the third quarter, put this one through the uprights to give Carolina a 16-13 victory.
The Packers drop to 5-2-1 on the season with the loss ahead of next week’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football. However, Green Bay will stay in first place in the NFC North thanks to an upset win by the Minnesota Vikings on the road over the Detroit Lions, which sends Detroit to 5-3 on the season. Meanwhile, Carolina improves to 5-4 and remains in the thick of the NFC South division race.
