5 takeaways from the Green Bay Packers 20-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9
GREEN BAY − It’s a win.
It wasn’t pretty. In truth, it was downright ugly most of Sunday, and not just because an overcast sky regularly led to rain showers inside Lambeau Field. These Green Bay Packers are a long way to any style points, but they had enough scoreboard points Sunday to end their four-game losing streak.
The Packers took advantage of one of their best opportunities on the remaining 2023 schedule to secure a win, beating the Los Angeles Rams 20-3. The victory improved their record to 3-5 in Jordan Love’s first season as a starting quarterback with a pivotal trip to Pittsburgh looming next week.
The Packers led throughout, taking a 7-3 lead into halftime. They grew their lead in the second half, punctuated with Love’s 20-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Luke Musgrave in the fourth quarter.
Here are some quick observations from a much-needed win:
Packers first-half drought without a touchdown ends at 180 minutes
The drought was so long, so downright bad, it was almost impressive. Entering Sunday, the Packers hadn’t scored a first-half touchdown since the second quarter at Atlanta. That was Week 2. Back in mid-September. It had extended to 163 minutes before kickoff Week 9 against the Rams. The Packers finally snapped that streak in the second quarter when Aaron Jones plunged into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown. The drought had reached 180 first-half minutes at that point, but it was finally over. It probably wasn’t a coincidence that Jones touched the football on 10 of the Packers’ first 16 plays Sunday. Finally healthy after a hamstring injury limited him the past eight weeks, Jones finished with 73 yards on 20 carries and 26 more yards on four receptions.
Rough day for the ‘fire Joe Barry’ contingent in Packers fan base
The Packers were without Rasul Douglas after trading him to Buffalo during the week, but that was expected. Starting safety Darnell Savage was on injured reserve, but that too was expected. The defense got only thinner Sunday. Linebacker Quay Walker (groin) and safety Rudy Ford (calf) were inactive because of injuries. Kenny Clark dropped out midway through with a shoulder injury. Yet the defense stifled anything the Rams offense tried to generate from start to finish. True, the Rams were without starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, starting backup Brett Rypien instead. Rypien finished 13-of-28 for 130 yards, one interception and a 45.2 rating. Even still, the Packers had a pair of seventh-round draft-pick rookies starting in their secondary between cornerback Carrington Valentine and safety Anthony Johnson Jr. The Rams had a pair of elite targets on the perimeter in Cooper Kupp and rookie Puka Nacua, but they were held to five catches for 80 yards combined. Most importantly, the Packers finally generated a game-changing turnover when Rypien fumbled a snap and linebacker De’Vondre Campbell reached the loose football. The Packers had possession at the Rams 41-yard line after the fumble recovery, setting up their first-half touchdown. There’s no question the Packers defense benefited from facing Rypien, but it did exactly what a defense is supposed to do against a backup quarterback, and never let up.
Jordan Love’s deep ball continues to fall woefully short
The miscues around Jordan Love continue to mount, but there’s also a clear problem with the quarterback. Love’s deep ball has not been accurate all season, and in Sunday’s first half, he had an excellent chance to change course. Christian Watson ran wide open behind the Rams secondary down the left sideline, an easy touchdown from about 40 yards. All Love had to do was drop the football over Watson’s shoulder. Instead, his pass was a few yards short, forcing Watson to almost stop before coming back for the football. It was a feeble attempt from Watson, though a tough ask given how short Love’s throw targeted him, and instead of 6 points the pass fell incomplete. These are throws an NFL quarterback simply can’t miss, and certainly not with Love’s regularity.
Packers show some weapons might be developing around Jordan Love
Christian Watson caught a 37-yard deep ball in the fourth quarter, Jones was a workhorse throughout and Romeo Doubs caught all three of his targets for 36 yards. Each was a positive sign, but so was the emergence of rookies receiver Dontayvion Wicks and tight end Luke Musgrave. Wicks tied for a team lead with four catches for 49 yards. He didn’t have a perfect day, fumbling while untouched on the first play of the second half, giving the Rams a truncated field. But the fifth-round draft pick has shown enough to indicate he needs more snaps, something the Packers are allowing each week. Musgrave caught three of his four targets for 51 yards, including a 25-yard pass downfield in the second half. He also had his first career touchdown on a 20-yard reception across the middle, a play Love executed flawlessly with a pump fake to the left, then a pump fake to the right before targeting an open Musgrave. It was enough to potentially give the Packers offense something to build on, especially with Watson taken to the locker room with a chest injury, back injury and concussion evaluation in the fourth quarter.
Packers’ penalty plague is officially out of control in first half
It’s not so much the Packers had seven penalties in the first half, though it recovered in the second half and finished with only nine. It’s not so much how detrimental those penalties were to any progress on the field. What the Packers are being penalized for is mind numbing. Not once, but twice the Packers were called for offside on the offense. Neither appeared to be an egregious alignment, but after being called for it once, it’s puzzling how a correction wasn’t made on the sideline to ensure it didn’t happen again. Both penalties negated a successful Love quarterback sneak on fourth down, forcing a punt. At the end of the first half, the Packers won a challenge. On the next play, rookie receiver Jayden Reed was called for false start from the 36-yard line with 11 seconds left. The Packers recovered to set up a 48-yard field goal attempt with 4 seconds left, but Anders Carlson pushed his kick wide left. Even Rashan Gary got into the mix. In the first half, Rypien failed to field a shotgun snap, blowing up a Rams play, except Gary reached out and grabbed Rypien’s facemask, giving the Rams 15 yards. On the next play, Gary sacked Rypien, except Gary lined up offside. The simplicity of these mistakes were baffling.