5 takeaways from the Green Bay Packers 23-20 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11
GREEN BAY − It’s the same game every week.
The Green Bay Packers defense does just enough to keep the offense in a game. Invariably, Jordan Love gets a chance to put the Packers over the top at the end. Before Sunday, the Packers lost four games this season by a combined 11 points, continually unable to make winning plays in crunch time.
So if you’re looking for growth from a young roster, Sunday showed a significant step. The Packers got possession with a little more than 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter, needing a touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers. They had 76 yards to the end zone.
Over the next 3 minutes, Jordan Love flipped the script. He put on a late-game clinic, executing a game-winning drive to give the Packers a 23-20 victory. The defense stymied Justin Herbert inside the final minute. Combined, it was the Packers most impressive win of the season, improving their record to 4-6.
Here are some quick observations:
Jordan Love snaps Packers’ 30-game drought without a 300-yard passing game in his finest performance
If last week was Jordan Love’s best game as the Packers starting quarterback, this week was better. Love was in a matchup against Justin Herbert and more than held his own. His 24-yard touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs with 2 minutes, 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter gave the Packers a 23-20 lead. (Doubs now has seven touchdown catches this season, becoming a go-to target near the goal line.) It also gave Love 322 passing yards, the first 300-yard passing game for the Packers since Aaron Rodgers threw for 341 against the Chicago Bears on Dec. 12, 2021. It snapped a drought of 30 straight games without 300 passing yards. Love outplayed Herbert, the sixth overall pick in his same 2020 draft, finishing with 27 completions of 40 attempts with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 108.5. After a few quality weeks in a row, the young quarterback’s development is showing.
Jayden Reed shows ability to make plays in open field on long touchdown run
Jayden Reed’s first NFL touchdown came on a jet pass Week 2 in Atlanta. Since then, those plays – getting the speedy rookie the football in the open field and letting him make something happen – have been too few. The Packers returned to it in Sunday’s first half, and Reed showed it’s something that should be more involved with their offense. The rookie Reed took his first carry 15 yards around the left end in the opening quarter. In the second, he took a reverse toss around the right end for a 32-yard touchdown. Reed got a good block from rookie tight end Luke Musgrave downfield and was untouched on his way to the end zone. Nobody in the Packers offense has been more effective with the football in his hands than Reed, the speedy slot receiver who has been a stalwart since Week 1. Finding creative ways to use him should be a priority for Matt LaFleur down the stretch.
Dontayvion Wicks becoming a go-to target for Jordan Love
Dontayvion Wicks’ emergence continued Sunday. The 2023 fifth-round draft pick already had surpassed second-year receiver Samori Toure on the depth chart, making Toure a healthy scratch on Sunday’s inactive list. He showed why against the Chargers, leading the Packers with 91 yards on three catches. His day included a 35-yard catch on the Packers game-winning drive. A few plays before, Wicks drew a 24-yard penalty for defensive pass interference, converting a third-and-21. Wicks shows a knack for getting open, especially during the scramble drill. The question is whether that will continue as defenses catch onto his rise.
AJ Dillon last running back standing in Packers backfield
In one quarter, the Packers’ three-pronged backfield was whittled to one. Not ideal for any offense, but at least the last tailback standing is playing well. Aaron Jones was carted to the locker room in the second quarter Sunday. Emanuel Wilson filled those snaps, but he was carted to the locker room with a shoulder injury shortly after. That left AJ Dillon. A month ago, that might’ve been a problem. Dillon got off to a slow start to the final season of his rookie contract, but he has been a different playmaker the past few weeks. He is not a star like Jones, but Dillon’s returned to being a contributor to the Packers offense. Dillon’s 14 carries for 29 yards were unremarkable, but he caught all four of his targets for 32 yards, including a 20-yard gain to convert third down. He might be looking at a lot of opportunities in the next couple weeks.
What we know: Packers running back Aaron Jones appears to avoid long-term injury after leaving Sunday’s game
Packers’ rookie defensive backs are holding up against NFL’s best
There is no flinch in Carrington Valentine’s game. For that matter, in a smaller sample size, fellow rookie seventh-round draft pick Anthony Johnson Jr. appears to be wired the same way. Wherever this season goes, it’s clear the Packers need to find out what they have in the pair of rookies. Valentine was staunch in man coverage, no small feat against Justin Herbert. He’s still young and made a rookie mistake when he stopped running in coverage on the final drive of the game, but Quentin Johnson dropped a pass from Justin Herbert which might be resulted in a game-winning touchdown. Johnson Jr. came an offensive pass interference penalty against Stone Smartt away from having his second interception in his second NFL start. Johnson Jr. also whiffed a tackle in the open field against Justin Herbert on a 28-yard quarterback run to convert a third-and-7, but given veteran safety Jonathan Owens’ struggles tackling – Owens whiffed a tackle on a Smartt 51-yard touchdown in the first half – he appears to be the better option currently. And his upside is worth exploring. Valentine will continue to start after the Packers traded Rasul Douglas this month, but Johnson Jr. should get more opportunities too. Together, they helped hold Herbert to a 99.3 passer rating. He completed 21 of 36 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns.