The Green Bay Packers snapped their losing streak on Sunday with a win against the Rams. Yes, it was against Brett Rypien, it was raining, and there was still plenty to work on but a win is a win. Nothing beats Victory Monday. The week 9 win was a small step forward as the Packers continue to evaluate their young team.
Green Bay Packers Week 9 Win
Jordan Love wasn’t perfect but going 20/26 for 228 yards and one touchdown is a solid day. A focus on the running game with Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon getting a lot of touches helped open up things in the passing game. The team had their first fumbles of the season and couldn’t quite get a consistent rhythm on offense. On the defensive side of the ball, the unit didn’t give up a touchdown and came up with big fourth-down stops when needed. They forced turnovers and shut down the receiving duo of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. One big way the team moved forward is their rookies are starting to look more comfortable.
Packers TE Luke Musgrave (88) – Mike De Sisti/The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/USA TODAY NETWORK
Rookies Are Looking Good
There are four rookies that look to be getting more acclimated on the field. Luke Musgrave has quietly had a good season for a rookie tight end. On Sunday, he showed his potential. A beautiful play call by Matt LaFleur set up Musgrave for the game-sealing touchdown. However, it was Musgrave who made the play. He sold the block perfectly, caught the pass, made a man miss, and made it into the end zone. That’s growth. Also on the offensive side of the ball, Dontayvion Wicks is getting more work in the offense. His fumble was unfortunate but he bounced back and had some big catches down the stretch.
On defense, the Rasul Douglas trade and Rudy Ford injury meant that a pair of seventh-round rookies had to start. It was about as good of a start as you could have. Carrington Valentine shut down Puka Nacua and had big deflections throughout the day. Anthony Johnson Jr. started at safety and got his first career interception off of a tipped pass by Jaire Alexander. It is a positive that all of these rookies are starting to play better. It means the coaching is working and they are getting acclimated to the NFL.
Green Bay Packers LB Rashan Gary (52) – Mike De Sisti/The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/USA TODAY NETWORK
The Bad: Penalties
The Achilles heel of this team, especially the offense is penalties. The team was not able to pull away early because big plays kept getting negated by dumb penalties. Some, like the offensive offsides, were questionable but the fact still remains that dumb penalties plague this team. The good news is that this is a fixable problem. It shows the youth of the team but if they can even just cut the penalties in half, it will go a long way in helping this team.
I think the consistency on offense will be helped by fewer penalties but overall, Love has to show more consistency like he did today. He wasn’t great but he also wasn’t bad which is what the Green Bay Packers need right now. Love has to show them that he can be the quarterback of the future so they can spend their growing amount of draft capital building around him. The week 9 win was a step in the right direction.
Finish Strong
The season isn’t over. It isn’t likely that the Green Bay Packers make the playoffs and that is okay. This season is all about improvement and evaluation. If the second half of the season sees some signature wins by Love and the defense continually improving, this season is a success. There are a lot of winnable games on the schedule. Week 9 was a baby step but is was a baby step in the right direction.
