Five instant takeaways from Green Bay Packers' loss to Atlanta Falcons
ATLANTA − Jordan Love has shown flashes of potential through two games, but ultimately this is an extremely young Green Bay Packers team – and quarterback – that will need time to learn how to win in the NFL.
The Packers showed their youth Sunday afternoon in a 25-24 loss at the Atlanta Falcons. Without their top two playmakers on offense, the Packers had a long, uphill climb to victory. Running back Aaron Jones and receiver Christian Watson were inactive because of hamstring injuries, removing significant speed from their offense.
Despite their absences, the Packers led most of the game. It was a game they showed have won, and with more experience likely would have won, but it’s going to take some time for this group to grow.
Love had his second straight impressive showing on the stat sheet. He completed 14-of-25 passes for 151 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 113.5 passer rating. In two games, Love has six touchdowns and no interceptions.
But he was unable to move the offense late in a close game, including a three-and-out and four-and-out to close. That will take time.
Here are some observations from the first loss of the season:
Special Bijan (Robinson) mustard
The Falcons might have a burgeoning superstar in rookie running back Bijan Robinson. The Packers were determined to take away Robinson on Sunday, making Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder beat them. Inside linebackers Quay Walker and De’Vondre Campbell played regularly together, a defense designed to stop the run. Both had good games, combining for 31 tackles. Robinson finished with 172 yards on 23 touches. His signature moment came on fourth-and-inches before the 2-minute warning, when instead of kicking a short field goal for a 1-point lead, the Falcons pitched to Robinson and let him get a first down to tick more seconds off the clock. Robinson got 7 yards on the carry, and the Falcons got a new set of downs. The Falcons were able to kick their game-winning field goal with less than a minute left instead.
Backup left side for Packers as David Bakhtiari sits, Elgton Jenkins is injured
The Packers entered Sunday’s game knowing left tackle David Bakhtiari would be inactive. Bakhtiari didn’t practice this week, no different than last week when he played in the opener at Chicago, but this time the left tackle was unavailable. It’ll be interesting to find out if the artificial turf field inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium was a factor in Bakhtiari being inactive. Bakhtiari’s absence gave 2022 seventh-round draft pick Rasheed Walker a chance to make his first career start. Walker had an early false-start penalty to turn third-and-7 into a third-and-12 and failed to pick up linebacker Kaden Elliss on a late blitz, leading to the lone sack on Love, but otherwise was solid. In the second quarter, left guard Elgton Jenkins left the field with a knee injury and didn’t return. Royce Newman replaced him, forcing the Packers to play the second half with backups on the left side of their offensive line.
Quay Walker shows potential, still growing
Back in his home state of Georgia, where Quay Walker played college football and won a national championship, the young linebacker continued to show he might make a big jump in his development after a solid rookie season. Walker’s athleticism on the second level allowed him to cover a lot of ground. He still needs to grow as a playmaker. About the only thing Walker didn’t do was catch a Desmond Ridder pass that was thrown directly to him. It would have been Walker’s second interception in as many weeks, but Walker jumped for the football and couldn’t bring it down. He had company. Jaire Alexander dropped a potential pick-6 in the first half, but Rasul Douglas opened the game intercepting Ridder, handing the Falcons quarterback his first NFL career pick.
Packers rookie class continues to shine
It’s early, but general manager Brian Gutekunst might have drafted his best class this spring. On the NFL’s youngest team, there are plenty of opportunities for snaps. The rookies haven’t disappointed through two weeks. First-round outside linebacker Lukas Van Ness had a batted pass nullified because of a Falcons penalty, but he tackled running back Tyler Allgeier for a 1-yard loss on the next snap. Second-round tight end Luke Musgrave had two catches for 25 yards, including a 17-yard catch open in the flat to convert a third-and-1. Second-round rookie Jayden Reed had the game’s first touchdown, taking a jet sweep pass 9 yards and outrunning the Falcons defense to the pylon. He added a second touchdown in the late third quarter, catching a 10-yard pass from Love to give the Packers a cushion with a 24-12 lead. Fifth-round rookie Dontayvion Wicks had the Packers’ second touchdown, breaking cornerback Tre Flowers’ tackle for a 32-yard score. Everywhere you looked Sunday, rookies were making impactful plays. Not bad for Week 2.
Packers have a flea-flicking opener
The Packers offense was without its top two playmakers. Perfect time for coach Matt LaFleur to be bold, right? LaFleur, who likely knew the Packers would be without Jones, Watson and Bakhtiari when he wrote his opening script, called a flea-flicker to open Sunday’s game. It caught the Falcons defense completely by surprise. Wicks ran behind the Falcons defense, and Love’s pass was on target. The only thing preventing a touchdown was Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell tackling Wicks before Love’s pass arrived, providing a 44-yard pass-interference penalty. The Packers ultimately didn’t score on the drive, but it was a strong message from the head coach and offensive play caller that he wasn’t going to hold back despite who was available on the field.