The Green Bay Packers suffered one of the most baffling defeats in recent team history in the season opener (and that’s saying something), falling by a 39-22 final score to the Minnesota Vikings in a game they seemed to have full control of.
Here are some quick takeaways from Sunday’s flabbergasting loss:
A game turned by the officials
This was far from a perfect game by the Packers, but they had things under control until Shawn Hochuli and his crew took matters into their own hands.
Up by five, Green Bay "surrendered" one of the fakest touchdown drives you will ever see, as they looked to have gotten off the field on defense three separate times before phantom penalties gave Minnesota chance after chance, ending in a touchdown which gave them the lead.
The Packers will undoubtedly
draw plenty of criticism for "blowing" a comfortable two-score lead, and the capitulation after that fateful drive was disappointing, but the fact is abysmal officiating completely flipped this game on its head and cost Green Bay a victory.
The offensive line concerns were justified
Perhaps the number one worry entering the season for the Packers was the offensive line and how it would hold up against the unbridled aggression of Brian Flores. The answer: not well.
It was feast or famine for Green Bay’s offense all game, as Jordan Love was regularly forced to make magic with Minnesota defenders running right at him.
It is hard to know whether Jager Burton or Anthony Belton would have fared better than Donovan Jennings at left guard, and he was far from the only issue. Jordan Morgan had a rough debut at left tackle and generally the Packers O-line could not get everyone blocked.
Not every defense will present the types of issues the Vikings will, but this was an ominous start.
Packers handle adversity poorly
It feels harsh to even criticize the Packers for how they responded to the Vikings being handed the lead by the officials, but Matt LaFleur will certainly be unhappy with the collapse, and the accusations of not being able to "finish" will be levelled at his team once more.
There was plenty of time for Green Bay to overcome the adversity, and instead they crumbled. After finishing last season on an extremely bitter note, they once again lost a big lead against an NFC North rival.
Great performances that will be forgotten
Jordan Love’s stat line will end up looking ugly, but he was having a terrific game before the officials intervened and winning the battle with Brian Flores despite the play of the O-line.
Christian Watson also showed why he was paid handsomely during the offseason, putting up 147 yards and two touchdowns, while Edgerrin Cooper was everywhere on defense. Those two things bode well for the rest of the season.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Quick takeaways from Packers' 39-22 loss to Vikings: A game turned by the officials
