Packers Report Card: Grades From Embarrassing Loss to Browns

One of those old sayings that seems to be true is that to whom much is given, much is expected.

Jordan Love has been given the keys to Green Bay’s offense. He was given a hefty contract extension after his first season as a starter.

Through two games this season, he was given a plethora of compliments.

This week, he’s going to be given plenty of blame for the loss.

Yes, the Browns’ defense is very good. That didn’t matter so much last week to Lamar Jackson. While the Ravens did struggle at times, they did pile up 41 points, as Jackson was dazzling.

Perhaps it’s not fair to compare Love to a two-time MVP, but that is the type of player he’s being paid to be. If the Packers are going to win a championship, that’s the type of player he’s going to have to be.

Green Bay’s defense did more than enough to win the game. Of the 13 points allowed, 10 were direct results of blunders from Green Bay’s offense and special teams. None was bigger than the interception that Love threw on a third-and-3 late in the fourth quarter.

The Packers were a first down or two away from being able to kneel out the clock and escape Cleveland with an ugly win. Instead, Love was fooled by Grant Delpit’s coverage, and Love hit him right in the chest.

Matt LaFleur said it was a bad play call and a great play by the opposing defense. Sometimes you tip your cap to the defense for making a great play, but Love did not make any plays to help offset what turned out to be a game-altering mistake.

Furthermore, Love’s protection was poor throughout the day. Cleveland’s defense sacked him five times, and he was under duress throughout the day. Yes, they lost Zach Tom after one play, but they had four of their five preferred starters for most of the first half but could not protect Love.

It was a poor performance across the board for Green Bay’s passing game.

Grade: F.

Rush Offense

Green Bay’s run game still cannot find any traction. Josh Jacobs has had a slow start to the season, and did not find much room against the Browns’ top-ranked offense. He finished the day with 16 carries for 30 yards.

Prior to the blocked field goal, Jacobs nearly fumbled that opportunity away. Jacobs had the ball punched away by Browns linebacker Devin Bush on a first-down run in a series that was designed to bleed clock to set up a game-winning field goal. The Packers maintained the ball after a booth review.

The run game as a whole finished the day with 81 yards on 31 carries. Jordan Love’s 10-yard run on a zone read was the longest play of the game.

On a day in which the passing game wasn’t working, the run game failed to pick up the slack.

Grade: F.

Pass Defense

This game was not nearly as prolific in terms of big plays for Green Bay’s defense, but it still controlled the game.

Rashan Gary had both sacks against Joe Flacco and Xavier McKinney intercepted a deep ball from Flacco at the end of the first half. Flacco finished the day with 142 passing yards but averaged less than 4 yards per attempt.

The defense had another dominant performance, though it was wasted by Green Bay’s offensive futility.

One thing to monitor is that Devonte Wyatt left the game late with a knee injury, and that would be a big loss to a defensive line that is already thin.

Grade: B.

Rush Defense

The first hiccup of the season in this department came against the Browns, as rookie Quinshon Judkins had 94 yards on 18 carries. That’s 5.2 yards per carry. Against a better passing offense, that might have opened things up for their offense. Instead, while the Browns struggled most of the day throwing the ball, Judkins looks to be a nice piece.

He scored the only touchdown on the day for the Browns after Jordan Love’s interception set the Browns up in scoring territory. Judkins also had by far the longest run of the season against Green Bay’s defense with a 38-yard burst on Cleveland’s first scoring drive of the fourth quarter.

Green Bay’s run defense did not lose the game, but this is a group that needed to play better.

Grade: C.

Special Teams

Green Bay’s coverage units did a good job of limiting Cleveland’s returner, De’Andre Carter. Carter rarely had any room to operate. He had two punt returns for 15 yards and one kickoff return for 27 yards.

Matthew Golden had a blunder as a punt returner and does not look fully comfortable in that role if he is asked to make a catch in traffic.

Forget the penalties, forget all the other blunders, the special teams had a chance to win the game late, which is all you can ask for. Instead, it was another disaster in a long line of those that have become the trademark during Matt LaFleur’s tenure as coach.

They’ve changed coordinators three times, but it has not mattered. The special teams seem to struggle in the biggest moments.

Sunday was another one of those days, as Brandon McManus’ game-winning attempt was blocked by Shelby Harris. Seconds later, a game that seemed like it was fully in Green Bay’s control became an embarrassing loss.

The only thing that saves this unit from getting a failing grade is Daniel Whelan’s punting prowess and Savion Williams’ 35-yard kickoff return, which set up what could have been the game-winning field goal.

Grade: D.

Coaching

Matt LaFleur is not a bad coach but today was a bad day.

First and foremost, LaFleur can deny it all he wants, but his team clearly had been drinking too much of its own Kool-Aid after two games to begin the season.

Secondly, his team had every opportunity to chalk things up to a poor performance but still come out of Cleveland with a win. Had that happened, it would have been a perfect thing for LaFleur and his team. He could have given his team a slice of humble pie but still come out with a win.

Instead, the end-of-game sequence helped make Sunday’s game an absolute disaster.

His team was penalized 14 times in its first road test of the year. That was an issue that started last year and reared its ugly head again in Cleveland.

LaFleur also gets dinged for a sequence at the end of the third quarter when the Packers inexplicably ran a play when the quarter was set to expire. A third-and-1 coming out of the break could have been advantageous for Green Bay’s offense. Instead, it snapped the ball, and Love was sacked while the entire offense looked like it was not ready to run a play.

Whether that’s on Love for running the play or LaFleur for not being more clear, the onus falls on the head coach. The small stuff like that adds up in what becomes a catastrophic loss.

Meanwhile, Jeff Hafley’s mastery continued on Sunday.

The Packers’ defense was facing the worst offense it has played this season. You can only play who is on your schedule, and as the offense sputtered throughout the game, they needed every bit of their defensive effort to win Sunday’s game.

Green Bay did not allow a point through three quarters. The only touchdown it allowed came after a bad interception thrown by Love. The defense did everything you could have asked for against a bad offense.

Special teams? Just another disaster, culminating in a blocked field goal in the final moments. That came on the heels of having a kick nearly blocked in McManus’ first attempt of the game.

This group has a lot of questions to answer going into Dallas next week.

Grade: D.