Packers' player eats his own words and learns a tough lesson about the grind of a long NFL season

It took two days for left tackle Rasheed Walker's words to backfire. Last week, the Green Bay Packers' offensive lineman had said the team could go undefeated this season after beating the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders. Well, on Sunday the Packers found a way to lose to the Cleveland Browns, with a particularly bad performance from the offensive line.

"The goal is to keep it going," Walker had said. "I think we can go undefeated honestly. Pound for pound, I look at these teams, and I don’t really see who's better than us honestly. That’s why I can say that so confidently."

It's fair to be confident, and the Packers are actually a good team despite what happened on Sunday. But it's a good lesson for Rasheed Walker to learn. Sometimes, silence doesn't make mistakes. It's good to be careful, especially because it's a long season—ups and downs will inevitably come, and things change fast in the league.

Against the Browns, Walker allowed one pressure and had two penalties.

A valuable lesson

Nobody wants to lose, especially such a winnable game like this was for the Packers. But this loss ultimately is a valuable lesson for a young roster. Don't take games for granted, because everyone in the NFL has talent.

"This is all part of adversity. Undefeated seasons, they're hard," edge defender Micah Parsons admitted after the loss on Sunday. "Let's be real. Sometimes, you [expletive] the bed. That's just the reality. It happens to the best teams. Even the best Super Bowl champs make mistakes, and they pay for it."

The Packers committed 14 penalties in the game, the highest number for the franchise since 2010. Now that the undefeated season is off the table, Green Bay has another big opportunity to show what the team truly is. Next week, the Packers face the Dallas Cowboys on 'Sunday Night Football,' a game that is especially valuable for Parsons against his former team.