The Atlanta Falcons secured an impressive come from behind 25-24 victory on Sunday over the Packers. Green Bay entered the final frame with a seemingly secure 12-point lead, only to see Atlanta come roaring all the way back with a touchdown and two field goals in the fourth quarter.
Green Bay did not have a shortage of chances to close this game out. Even after allowing the Falcons to score a TD and a field goal, the Packers still had a 24-22 lead with a little over six minutes left in the game. However, what could be their biggest blunder of the contest came at 4th-and-inches on their own 34-yard line.
Jordan Love attempted a sneak to get to first down, but it ended miserably for the young quarterback:
Somehow, Love was not able to get the ball in his hands. Green Bay was assessed with a five-yard procedure penalty, which gave them no other choice but to punt.
After the game, Love was asked to shed some light on the botched QB sneak and the 24-year-old did not make any excuses. Love took full responsibility for the crucial mistake:
“I just messed up the operation with the cadence on that one,” Love said, via Mike Spofford of the Packers website. “Not everybody got the call to get the sneak.
“I said the wrong thing. It’s pretty much not a play until I give the live word. I just messed it up.”
I guess you can charge this one to experience as Green Bay’s QB1 learns the ropes in his new and somewhat unfamiliar role. It was a pretty costly error, though and one that may have caused the Packers the game.
Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur has also shared his two cents worth on the failed play. The Packers shot-caller admitted that he wanted to call a timeout, but at the same time, LaFleur deferred to Love’s situational assessment of the play:
“If he thought he could get it on the sneak, then it’s on him to check to it,” LaFleur said. “I think he did and nobody heard him. It was loud, and it’s an unfortunate situation. We were definitely going to call a timeout there and go for it on fourth down.”
Such are the breaks of the game and at this point, it doesn’t seem like one bad snap is going to lead to LaFleur losing confidence in his new cornerstone quarterback.
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