Packers Will Be Killed by Lack of Killer Instinct

The Green Bay Packers are quite the oddity. They make it look so easy. And yet, for three consecutive games, nothing has been easy.

The Packers manhandled the woeful Cleveland Browns but let them hang around long enough to intercept Jordan Love, block a field goal and earn an upset win.

The Packers crushed the struggling Dallas Cowboys for most of the first half until a blocked extra point and fumble by Love allowed them to rise from the dead. Green Bay’s vaunted defense folded like an accordion in an unlikely tie.

During the bye week, the search for answers didn’t include finding the arsenic.

On Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, who had been obliterated the past three weeks and traded for a 40-year-old quarterback with the worst passer rating in the NFL in hopes of saving their season, it was a bloodbath at halftime.

By total yards, it was 240-65.

By passing yards, it was 158-40.

By first downs, it was 14-4.

Cincinnati’s premier receivers, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, combined for three catches for 28 yards. Their All-Pro defensive end, Trey Hendrickson, had two assisted tackles.

And yet the Packers showed the killer instinct of a golden retriever puppy.

The halftime score was 10-0. Of Green Bay’s five possessions, four reached the Bengals’ side of the field. Green Bay scored on only two, with one of the failures being Jordan Love’s bad interception.

A game that should have been a blowout required the Packers to muster a clutch drive to clinch the win.

A win’s a win, of course, and the Packers needing a late field goal to beat the Bengals 27-18 counts the same in the standings as Detroit’s win at Cincinnati last week, a game the Lions led 28-3 after three quarters.

What’s worrisome is the Packers have shown a debilitating ability to turn something big into nothing at all. How can coach Matt LaFleur’s team seize control of these games?

“Yeah, that’s a great question,” LaFleur said.

Usually, that phrase means one of two things. One, the coach actually believes the question was stupid. Two, the question was good but the coach has no answer.

In this case, it’s the latter.

“Otherwise, we’d do that, you know?” LaFleur continued. “I think when you look at the first half, we had two drives where we scored, we had a third drive where we’re down in the red area and we throw a pick. Certainly, when you’re in scoring position and you come away with nothing, that’s tough to deal with.

“But I think one of the things that when you look at the totality of the game, there were a lot of critical situations where they were able to make a play and we didn’t, to keep them in the game. But that is life in the National Football League.”

It doesn’t have to be, though.    

The Bengals the previous three weeks trailed by a combined 97-9 after the third quarter. Is Joe Flacco an upgrade over Jake Browning at quarterback? Probably. But Flacco doesn’t rush the passer or play cornerback. The worst defense in the NFL made the Packers fight for every inch and point. And that was with Hendrickson sidelined for the second half with a back injury.

Between rushing and passing, Love accounted for 285 yards. Josh Jacobs rushed for almost 100 yards and scored two touchdowns. The special teams didn’t implode.

And yet, the Packers needed a late drive and a field goal by a kicker whose name Jacobs didn’t know to finally seal the deal.

It never should have come down to Lucas Havrisik’s field goal. The game should have been over at halftime.

“That’s something we got to find ways to keep capitalizing on,” Love said. “Like you said, it’s 10-0, we got to find ways to put teams away early and not even make it a close game at the end.

“It’s something we got to keep improving on, but that just comes down to playing complementary ball in all three phases. Offense going down, putting up points and defense getting stops. We’ve just got to keep finding ways to do that but, at the end of the day, you’ve got to find ways to answer the call, whatever happens.”

Credit to the Packers for answering the challenge, even if the first two calls went to voicemail and the third went to the eighth ring.

When the Bengals pulled within 10-7 with a 10-minute touchdown drive, Jacobs blew through an enormous hole for a 14-yard touchdown to lead 17-7 after the first play of the fourth quarter.

When the Bengals pulled within 17-10, Love’s sensational scramble converted a third-and-1, Jacobs rumbled for 16 and Tucker Kraft blew through a couple defensive backs for a 19-yard touchdown to lead 24-10.

Green Bay’s defense, which was terrible in the second half of the tie at Dallas, outdid itself in an encore of ineptitude. With a chance to slam the door, the defense made Joe Flacco look like Joe Burrow. A touchdown and two-point conversion made it 24-18 with 4:17 to go.

“We didn't play with the aggression and the dog mentality we did in the first half,” cornerback Nate Hobbs said.

Love and Matthew Golden saved the day with a third-and-8 conversion for 31 yards and Havrisik made the clinching field goal.

“I feel a sense of relief right now,” LaFleur said.

It might have taken too long, but the Packers finally did put the nail in the Bengals’ coffin.

“A win’s a win. A win’s a win, simple,” safety Xavier McKinney said.

Green Bay’s victory, paired with Detroit’s loss to the Chiefs, put the Packers back in first place in the NFC North. The question is can the Packers play four really good quarters against really good teams, like they did to start the season?

Because, as the saying goes, if you play with fire, you’re going to get burned. If the Packers struggled to drive a stake through the hearts of the Browns (1-5), Cowboys (2-3-1) and Bengals (2-4), what’s going to happen in a few weeks at the Steelers (4-1)? When the Eagles (4-2) finally get out of their funk? In the rematch against the Lions (4-2)? In a potential playoff game against the Buccaneers (5-1)?

The answer is simple. If the Packers can’t find their killer instinct, their opponents will.

“You always get punched in the face in this league, and our guys kept responding and that’s what we need to be,” LaFleur said. “You have to go through those moments in order to be that. Bottom line, we found a way and I’m happy, and we’ll move on to Arizona.”