After a 35-14 drubbing at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night, the Green Bay Packers are now 1-2 and have the team's worst point differential (-35) through three weeks since the 1988 season.
There is just no spinning this one. The Packers got a takeaway and went up 7-0 early, but the Falcons ended up scoring 27 straight points to take control in the second half. Bijan Robinson created 213 total yards. Drake London produced 194 receiving yards. The Falcons were at 500 total yards before the final kneeldown. As Matt LaFleur said post-game, this was a "butt-whooping."
The Packers will go into a long weekend with a lot to correct and precious few obvious solutions for the major problems.
The biggest things coming out of the Week 3 loss:
Offensive line meltdown
The Packers offensive line keeps searching for rock bottom. Jordan Love was under pressure on 23 of his dropbacks, and the Falcons produced an incredible 15 quick pressures, per Next Gen Stats. Rookie Jager Burton struggled mightily in his starting debut at left guard, but none of the five starters up front were good enough. Anthony Belton and Jacob Monk combined to give up 14 pressures. Oh, and the run game produced 17 total yards. How does this get fixed? There are no easy fixes. No saviors incoming in late September. Aaron Banks will eventually get heathy, but he's not going to drastically improve the front. The offensive line is in terrible shape and it might not get much better. And it's affecting the quarterback in a big way. There's just no way to play consistently on offense with this kind of play up front.
🎶 Five-hundred-twenty-five-thousand-six-hundred pressures 🎶 pic.twitter.com/R3MGI8GX7a
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 25, 2026
More of the same
The Packers ranked last in the NFL in rushing yards, completion percentage, drops, pass-block win rate, third down conversion percentage and penalties coming into Thursday night. How did Matt LaFleur's team respond? Green Bay committed only six penalties, but Brenton Cox Jr.'s roughing the passer penalty in the first half turned the game around. The Packers rushed for only 17 yards. Pass-catchers had multiple drops, and even a conservative grader would have them down for 4-5. Jordan Love completed 9-of-19 passes in the first half and finished 28-of-53. The pass-block win rate will not improve coming out of this performance. And the Packers finished 6-of-15 on third down. This offense is just a mess. The bright spots are few. Labeling the Packers as one of the NFL's worst offenses is not being over critical at this point.
Was the defense a paper tiger?
Maybe facing Carson Wentz and Geno Smith in the first two weeks made the Packers defense look like something it wasn't. The Falcons, arguably the worst offense in football without Michael Penix at quarterback during the first two games, erupted in a flurry of explosive runs and completions with Penix back under center. The Falcons finished with 498 total yards, including a staggering 242 rushing yards. Bijan Robinson carved up the run defense, and Penix eventually settled down after throwing an early interception and consistently found Drake London (194 receiving yards) for big plays. Penix completed 16 of 18 passes during the final three quarters. The Falcons hadn't been to the red zone during the first two weeks, but they were 4-for-5 scoring touchdowns on Thursday night. Jonathan Gannon's defense had some disruptive moments, but the Falcons front wore them down with the run. This game was a good reminder to not king (or kill) anyone after two games (unless we're talking about the Packers offensive line).
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 3 big things from Packers' loss to Falcons: Another OL meltdown
