The Green Bay Packers are Consistently Inconsistent

When given a clean pocket, Jordan Love and the offense have been able to move the ball and score points. The second half against Dallas provides optimism for Josh Jacobs and the running backs heading into the bye week.

Inconsistent Defense

The Green Bay defense has also performed well in three out of four games. They were able to limit the high-powered Detroit Lions offense in Week 1, getting pressure on quarterback Jared Goff and shutting down their run game. They held the Lions to just 2.1 yards per rush, intercepted Goff in the red zone, and sacked him four times.

The defense followed that up with an impressive performance in Week 2, sacking Washington Commanders’ quarterback Jayden Daniels four times and holding the team to 2.7 yards per rush.

Despite the offense’s struggles in Cleveland, the defense once again dominated. They sacked Joe Flacco twice and only gave up three points until they were put in unfavorable positions during the last three minutes of the game. Cleveland scored a touchdown after intercepting a pass from Love and taking it down to Green Bay’s 4-yard line. They kicked a game-winning field goal after blocking a field goal attempt by the Packers and returning it to their own 47 yard line.

The wheels fell off for the Packers defense on Sunday night in Dallas. The Cowboys offense, led by quarterback Dak Prescott scored 40 points. Prescott completed 31 of 40 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns. He was only sacked once for no loss; it may have saved him from running into the end zone however.

Dallas thrived by throwing quick passes all night. By getting the ball out quickly, the Packers pass rush could not get to Prescott in time. Missed tackles plagued the defense after the completions and Dallas took advantage of gaining extra yards after the catch. They also gave up 4.5 yards per rush and did not generate a turnover.

Consistent Special Teams

Special teams has been the only consistent unit on the Green Bay Packers, but not for good reason. They continue to be one of the worst special teams units in the NFL.

The offense led what could have been a game-winning field goal drive in Cleveland, only for the attempt to get blocked.

An extra point attempt was blocked by Dallas and returned for two points, essentially a three-point swing in the game. This gave Dallas momentum after starting the game flat.

Green Bay’s returners look lost. Rookie wide receiver Matthew Golden has been the main punt returner. He has made poor decisions on when to return the ball, fair catch it, or let it bounce behind him.

The kick returners have not been much better, struggling with fielding kickoffs against Dallas. The offense frequently had to start at the 20-yard line because the kick returners let the ball bounce in the landing zone and then downed it in the end zone.

Dallas was able to return a kickoff in the fourth quarter to their 46-yard line. This was after Green Bay scored a touchdown to take a four point lead with 1:45 left to play. Dallas went on to score a touchdown and retake the lead with 43 seconds remaining.

Kicker Brandon McManus made a 53-yard field goal to force overtime as time expired in regulation in Dallas. He also connected on a 34-yard field goal to force a tie as time expired in overtime.

Complementary Football

The Green Bay Packers have had peaks and valleys during the first four weeks of their season. Playing complementary football is the key to their success moving forward.

They looked like a Super Bowl contender after the first two weeks of the season, handling the Lions and Commanders with ease. Last season’s biggest flaw was their inability to beat quality opponents, but by beating two playoff teams from the previous year, they appeared ready to take the next step.

A big reason for the good start was playing complementary football. Both the offense and defense were playing in sync with few noticeable flaws in their game. Special teams avoided major mistakes in both games.

In Week 3, the defense showed up but the offense did not. That script was flipped in Week 4 when the offense came to play but the defense struggled. Special teams made critical mistakes in both games.

When both the offense and defense are playing solid football, the Packers will be tough to beat. They have shown that both can play at a very high level. There will be stretches of games where one unit needs to carry the other. If they start playing more consistently on both sides of the ball and avoid critical mistakes, they can re-establish themselves at the top of the NFC.