The Packers’ defense failed the test against the Panthers, according to the report card.
On Sunday in Carolina, the Green Bay Packers had another test. Beat the football team via the worst record to keep your chances of making the playoffs alive.
The crime did its part. Three touchdowns were made by Jordan Love. More than 100 yards were gained by running by Aaron Jones.
At the finish of the day, Jordan Love’s stats were not impressive. He completed 17 out of 28 passes, gained 219 yards, and scored three scores.
Those numbers look even better when you think about who Love was having fun with. The four players on the team with the most receptions—Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, or Christian Watson—all had two catches between them.
Wicks grabbed his second pass as well as scored a touchdown in the last few seconds of the first half before leaving the game because of a chest injury.
Watson and Reed did nothing. The rest about those guys were released without being picked, on the practice squad, or were backups.
That meant that Love’s main pass targets for most of the game were Romeo Doubs, Malik Heath, Bo Melton, or Tucker Kraft. This season, Doubt has started all but one game.
It was like Christmas came early this year because the NFL had some exciting games before the big games on Sunday and Monday.
The LA Rams scored 30 points again on Thursday, which helped their late-season push for the playoffs.
The Bills beat the Easton Stick-led Raiders to keep their dreams of making the playoffs alive. And with Mason Rudolph in charge, the Steelers shocked the Bengals.
Browns fans have had a great winter! Joe Flacco threw for more than 300 yards in three straight games, which is the first time in his long NFL career that he did so toward DeMeco Ryan’s defense in a game that Houston had to win.
Amari Cooper, on the other hand, was at his best, making tight-window grabs at every level to go over 200 yards. This is a playoff team that likes to throw the ball around.
It will be interesting to see how the Packers’ pass defense does against Carolina. However, Green Bay cannot let the Panthers get going on the ground.
With just 14.7 goals per game, Carolina is 2-12. They still rank about average in the league in rush tries per game, though, even though they often play last and often by more than one score. This shows how committed they are to it.
Matt LaFleur said this about the Panthers team: “I see a team who competes at a high level.”
“In terms of, there’s a lot of fighting on the tapes.” That’s clear no matter what the score is. You are constantly able to see it on their tape.
“In the game against Atlanta last week, it was pretty clear.” They play a team at the top of their league and beat them. This weekend, I think we’ll get their best shot.
This season, the Panthers’ run game hasn’t been great by any means. In fact, their raw numbers show that they are below average. With 3.9 yards per try through 14 games, they are ranked 24th.
But there is value in sticking with something. Chuba Hubbard, the starting back, has run for 104 yards along with 87 yards twice in the last three games.
Even though his 3.9 yards per carry this season aren’t very impressive, he’s been very active with the ball.
Out of all 61 eligible running backs, he ranks 20th in missed tackles caused and 21st in runs of 10 yards or more.