Packers Start Fast, Lead Broncos Early in Second Quarter

The Green Bay Packers took a 6-0 lead at the Denver Broncos early in the second quarter of their showdown matchup on Sunday.

The Packers won the toss and deferred, setting up a matchup between their defense, which has struggled to force turnovers, and the Denver offense, which has taken care of the football all season.

After the Broncos snuck for one first down on third-and-1, the Broncos had another third-and-1. The play a handoff to rookie running back R.J. Harvey straight at Micah Parsons. Harvey picked up the first down but Parsons twisted him to the turf and ripped the ball loose. Edgerrin Cooper recovered, giving the Packers a first down at their 48.

The Packers picked up one first down. After Josh Jacobs was stuffed on third-and-1, Jordan Love went play-action and sprinted to the right and picked up the first down.

Before the next play, left tackle Rasheed Walker was flagged for a false start. It was a huge penalty. It shouldn’t have been, though. On second-and-14, it appeared Jayden Reed stretched the ball over the first-down marker but he was ruled a yard short. On third-and-1, safety Talanoa Hufanga destroyed tight end Josh Whyle and tackled Jacobs for a loss of 2 all in one fell swoop. Whyle was injured on the play; he was ruled out with a concussion shortly thereafter.

The Packers scored, though, when Brandon McManus announced that he was officially past his midseason, injury-related slump. For the first time since Week 4 at Dallas, he kicked a 50-yard field goal – his 53-yarder giving the team a 3-0 lead with 7:02 to play.

Green Bay’s defense forced a three-and-out. On third-and-5, Bo Nix threw a pass into the flat to running back Tyler Badie. Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper buried the lead blocker, and Badie was stopped after a gain of 1.

The Packers started their next possession at the 3, no thanks to Kingsley Enagbare’s mind-numbingly stupid penalty for taking a shot at the punter. The penalty was assessed at the 6, even though the Broncos first touched the ball at the 12.

It didn’t matter, though. First, Luke Musgrave made a superb, diving catch for a gain of 26. On the next play, Love made a superb, back-foot throw to Romeo Doubs for a leaping gain of 26 more. After back-to-back 7-yard gains, Love threw a missile over the middle to Matthew Golden, who made an underrated, all-hands catch on a pass that was thrown behind him. That gave Green Bay a first down at Denver’s 12.

An ineligible-player-downfield penalty on Rasheed Walker not only wiped out a 6-yard completion on a run-pass option but moved the Packers back 5 yards. That killed the drive, and McManus tacked on a 26-yard field goal.