The Green Bay Packers may have lost their game against the Denver Broncos 34-26 on Sunday afternoon, but it looks like they lost far more than that.
The Packers saw their two most impactful players not
named Jordan Love go down with injuries in the third quarter of the game. Christian Watson left the game with a chest injury, then two drives later, Micah Parsons went down clutching his left knee in a non-contact situation. Parsons’ injury leaves the team’s best defensive player’s status in doubt for the foreseeable future, not just for 2025 but also for a significant portion of the 2026 season if the injury is indeed a torn ACL.
Those two injuries put a massive damper on what was shaping up to be an exciting game between two of the better teams in the NFL. The two teams combined for more than 50 points, while Jordan Love had more than 200 passing yards in the first half alone. Ultimately, Green Bay’s red zone struggles — they were just 1-for-4 scoring touchdowns inside the 20 — and two untimely and unfortunate second-half interceptions from Love gave Denver the opportunities they needed to take the lead.
The Packers will still have a chance to take back the NFC North lead once again next Saturday when they face the Chicago Bears in a rematch of last Sunday’s game. But with Parsons all but assuredly out for the rest of the season and Watson’s status uncertain, their road to and through the postseason just got a whole lot more difficult.
Well before his eventual injury, Parsons made an immediate impact on the very first series of the game. The Broncos picked up one first down after receiving the opening kickoff before facing a 3rd-and-1. R.J. Harvey ran up the middle at Parsons, who was lined up at defensive tackle, but he made the tackle and stripped the football, allowing Edgerrin Cooper to fall on it for an early turnover at midfield to give the Packers a great start.
Green Bay’s first first down of the game came on a 4th-and-1, as Jordan Love ran a play-action bootleg and scrambled for the yard they needed. A questionable spot short of the sticks on a Jayden Reed reception set up a 3rd-and-1, but Josh Jacobs’ toss was stopped for a loss by safety Tanaloa Hufanga, who knocked tight end Josh Whyle out of the game on the tackle. That set up a 53-yard field goal from Brandon McManus to give Green Bay an early 3-0 lead.
The Packers defense forced a 3-and-out on Denver’s second drive, but the offense took over inside its own 5 after an unnecessary roughness penalty on Kingsley Enagbare for taking a shot at the Broncos’ punter during the play. Love found Luke Musgrave for a big leaping catch of 26 yards to escape the shadow of the end zone, then hit Romeo Doubs for another 26 on the very next play. A 16-yard gain by Matthew Golden set the Packers up in the red zone, but they had to settle for a short field goal after Love’s first incomplete pass came on third down.
The two teams traded penalties early on the next series, with Micah Parsons finally drawing a holding penalty before Javon Bullard was given a soft unsportsmanlike conduct call for dropping a Denver receiver after his forward progress was stopped. Bo Nix later converted a 3rd-and-7 with a 15-yard gain to Lil’Jordan Humphrey, then found wide receiver Mike Bandy on a drag route against zone coverage and Bandy took it 20 yards for a touchdown and a 7-6 Broncos lead.
Love hit a big play to start the next drive and convert an early 3rd-and-3, finding a wide-open Jayden Reed on an out as he took it up the field for 29 yards. Reed moved the chains again with an 11-yard reception out of the backfield to set up a first-and-goal, where an illegal shift wiped out a 9-yard touchdown run from Jacobs. On third down from the 15, Love lofted a floater for Josh Jacobs in the end zone, and Jacobs hauled in an incredible catch over a defender.
The catch was only the second touchdown reception of Jacobs’ career, but it was a huge one that gave the Packers the lead at 13-7.
Denver got a big play to jump-start their next series as Courtland Sutton beat Keisean Nixon on a double-move for a 42-yard gain. Nix eventually would find Humphrey in the end zone for a 5-yard score, taking the lead back for the Broncos 14-13.
The Packers took over with just under two minutes left and a timeout, but it took just two plays for them to reach midfield. Love hit Christian Watson for 19 yards, then found Musgrave for another 16 and added 15 more on a roughing the passer penalty. Romeo Doubs moved the chains again with 17 seconds left, then Chris Brooks picked up a few and got out of bounds with 10 ticks left. After an incomplete pass from Love, McManus came on for his third field goal of the game to take a 16-14 lead into halftime.
The opening drive of the second half took only a few plays for the Packers to deliver a double-up. Green Bay got the benefit of a penalty as cornerback Riley Moss was flagged for a pass interference penalty. Moss had Matthew Golden’s arm pinned and got flagged for 25 yards, then on the next play Josh Jacobs delivered a thunderbolt. Jacobs bounced an inside run off a gap to his left and found open space, sprinting 40 yards to the end zone. The score was Jacobs’ longest run as a Packer and his first touchdown of more than 20 yards this season, and it gave Green Bay a 23-14 lead.
The Packers defense delivered a massive stop on Denver’s first drive, forcing a three-and-out with a nice sequence from Rashan Gary, who had two pressures and a tackle on a run play that gained just one yard. The next play for the offense was a costly one, however, in multiple ways. Love hauled back for a deep ball to Watson, but the slightly underthrown ball got intercepted by Patrick Surtain II. As they went to the ground, Watson landed awkwardly on his left shoulder, but he would head to the locker room and was eventually ruled out for the game with what the Packers called a chest injury.
Nix made a few plays on the next drive, escaping the Packers’ pass rush with the help of some friendly no-calls on obvious holds by his offensive line and picking up a pair of chunk plays down the field to Humphrey and Troy Franklin. Nix then found Courtland Sutton, who beat Nixon for a touchdown to pull the Broncos back to within two at 23-21.
Jordan Love pulled an escape act of his own on 3rd-and-long on the Packers’ next series, picking up a gain of 24 yards to move the chains and reach midfield. Denver’s pass rush picked a big time to show up and get to Love, however, sacking him on third down to bring on Daniel Whelan for his first punt of the game. Whelan boomed his kick into the end zone and Isaiah McDuffie was flagged for a hold on the protection, giving Denver the ball at their own 30.
Needing a stop to preserve the lead, the Packers could not stop a sneak from Nix a 4th-and-inches from Denver’s 39-yard line, then Xavier McKinney dropped a would-be interception on a deep ball. That would prove costly in multiple ways; the drive would end in a touchdown by Troy Franklin, but the far bigger blow came a few plays earlier. Micah Parsons went down clutching his left knee after trying to change directions while rushing Nix and hobbled to the locker room, leaving Packers fans to fear the worst for his knee and for the remainder of the team’s season. Nix hit Franklin for a go-ahead score a few plays later, but with a failed two-point attempt leaving the score 27-23.
To add injuries to injury, the Packers also saw Quay Walker and Evan Williams both leave the field with injuries on the drive, adding to the M*A*S*H unit building up on the Green Bay sideline.
The Packers’ offense responded with a score, but they had to settle for a field goal to close back to within one point. Matthew Golden made a beautiful catch on a deep back-shoulder throw from Love, picking up 27 yards to reach the red zone, but they could get no closer and settled for McManus’ fourth field goal of the game.
Denver added to their lead with the Packers shorthanded on defense, even with Walker returning to the field. On 4th and 3 from the Packers’ 41, Nix found Sutton up the left sideline after beating Carrington Valentine with a double-move. R.J. Harvey would eventually punch in a touchdown, giving Denver a 34-26 lead but keeping Green Bay within a single possession.
One Love’s few bad throws in the game cost the Packers just two plays later. Love had Dontayvion Wicks open over the middle but his throw was behind him, and Wicks tipped the ball into the hands of cornerback Riley Moss. That gave Love his first game with multiple interceptions all season and set up the Broncos at midfield. Edgerrin Cooper broke up a pass on 4th down, however, keeping the lead at 8.
Love was sacked twice on the next drive, including once on 4th down to turn the ball over near midfield. That set up the Broncos to need a single first down to finish out the clock and go home with a win. Bizarrely, Denver tried to go for it on 4th-and-1 instead of kicking a 55-yard field goal, and the Packers got a stop, giving them 1:07 to try to go 63 yards and tie the game.
All they were able to do was get Jayden Reed banged up on their final series, as Love threw four incomplete passes to finish the game with a thud.
