When the Green Bay Packers traded for star defensive end Micah Parsons shortly before the start of the regular season, it seemed as though the team had acquired the final piece of a championship puzzle.
And the regular season certainly started that way, when the Packers resoundingly beat the Detroit Lions and the Washington Commanders in back-to-back weeks.
After a 10-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, however, Green Bay has now lost two straight games in which its offense has combined to score only 20 points. While the defense did its job Monday in limiting the Eagles to their lowest point total of the season, it’s now fair to question if the Packers’ offense can hold up its end of the bargain.
“I know as a defense, they definitely have every reason to look at us and say, ‘What are you guys doing? You guys need to figure it out and help us out and put up some more points,’ because they’re doing a great job,” Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love said postgame. “It’s frustrating, but we’ll stay together. We’ll keep the energy high and find ways to get better and be better as an offense.”
Love, 27, is one of the NFL’s up-and-coming quarterbacks who signed a four-year, $220 million contract extension with the team in July 2024. He’s had high highs and low lows so far this season.
Love had four games in which he’s thrown for multiple touchdowns and no interceptions, including two in which he’s thrown for more than 300 yards and three scores. But in the last two weeks — both of which were home losses — he’s combined to throw no touchdowns and one interception. His passer rating in the two defeats were 80.1 against the Carolina Panthers and 68.8 against Philadelphia.
When asked about his play of late after Monday’s game, Love was succinct: “Not good enough.”
Compounding issues are a mediocre running game and injuries.
The Packers are ranked 26th in the NFL in yards per carry, one of only seven teams averaging less than 4 yards a run. Tight end Tucker Kraft, a breakout star for the team, tore his ACL against the Panthers and is out for the season. Wide receiver Romeo Doubs left Monday’s game with a chest injury, and the offensive line is also dealing with issues.
It hasn’t been all bad, as Green Bay scored at least 27 points in each of its five wins this season. In the losses, however. the Packers’ offensive inconsistency has been especially glaring — Green Bay has lost three games in which its defense has allowed no more than 16 points.
“We’re midway through the season, we can’t just keep saying, ‘All right, we’re going to address it,’” running back Josh Jacobs said. “We’ve got to find actual answers to our problems. I honestly don’t know what those answers [are]. I feel like everybody’s got to dig deep and have the belief and give more.”
As far as what the answers are, nobody offered a definitive one after Monday’s loss. Head coach Matt LaFleur said if he knew what exactly was plaguing the offense, he would have fixed it already.
It’s not as if there is no hope for the Packers, who’ve also had scoring weeks of 40 and 35 this season. Overall, Green Bay is 15th in the NFL in points per game, technically in the top half of the league.
Parsons admitted Monday night the lack of complementary football at times has been “super frustrating.”
“But it’s just one of them things. We’re going to win together, we’re going to lose together, regardless of the outcome, and just being there for our teammates, regardless of who’s playing better or which side is playing better," he added. "It’s just important that we hold each other up, until they get rolling. When everyone gets rolling, we’ll be a really good team.”
