Big Packers fan so i'm intrigued by this. I was never really sold on the Love pick and looks like a rough start with that Saints loss.
I'm with you - that being said, their "project" first round picks have ended up being pretty good. Rashan Gary and Eric Stokes are key contributors now, plus Darnell Savage and Jaire Alexander as well. So maybe Love will be good. Good enough to isolate the only reason the franchise is a perennial Super Bowl contender? Almost definitely not. But.. we'll see I guess.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dfsJunkie
Just squeaked by. Keep feeding that man Jones. Love's been okay, nothing special yet.
It's sort of a double-edged sword: Jones is the guy the defenses key in on, so he finds it hard to get space, but he sort of needs to be able to run in order to open up Love. Hopefully once I get Bakhtiari back it will be a little more manageable but I'm doing my best not to abandon the run, because then it could get ugly.
The games are always fun when longtime friends Kyle Shanahan and Matt LaFleur face off, and this one was no different. Right from the start, the Niners looked to lean on the league's leading rusher through two weeks, Raheem Mostert, as he picked up a couple of first downs on the opening drive, but pressure from Za'Darius Smith forced Jimmy Garoppolo into throwing an errant deep pass into the waiting arms of Darnell Savage. What followed was perhaps the best drive of Jordan Love's young career. Without star pass rusher Nick Bosa (high ankle sprain) harassing him all game, he converted five third downs, including a nine-yard out to Davante Adams, an 18-yard crosser to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and an impressive RPO slant to MVS. Fittingly, from the ten yard line, Love scrambled out to his right and ran it in himself to open the scoring at 7-0.
Shortly thereafter, Rashan Gary started the Niners' drive with a big sack, but San Francisco counter-punched, as Brandon Aiyuk slipped right behind the back line of the defense for an 85-yard touchdown catch. And then on the ensuing Packers drive to start the second quarter, Love made his only mistake of the night, throwing a curl route to MVS which was jumped by Emmanuel Moseley who walked into the endzone for six, making it 14-7 Niners. After a three-and-out, the Niners kept the momentum rolling, converting on a third-and-13 with a 24-yard grab by George Kittle, allowing Jimmy G to finish off the drive with a three-yard TD pass to backup tight end Ross Dwelley.
Down 21-7 and needing to stick around in the first half, Jordan Love showed poise, coming out of the pocket for a 23-yard scamper down to the Niners' 36. That was followed by two pretty strikes to Allen Lazard, including a nine-yard score to cut the lead to 21-14. But the Niners continued to pour it on Joe Barry's defense late in the second using the man who gashed Mike Pettine's defense in the NFC Championship Game just two years ago. After George Kittle made a heads-up play for 16 on a deflected ball, Raheem Mostert picked up a 13-yard burst to the two minute warning, followed by 25 on a screen down to the Packers' 28. On the next play, he made up the rest of the field on a 28-yard touchdown to give the 49ers a 28-14 lead. But Love and the Packers wouldn't be denied, as the second-year quarterback made a huge third down throw to Davante Adams for 27 down to the San Francisco 38 with under a minute to go. After Allen Lazard took a defender with him down to the 10 yard line, Love finished off the drive with just nine seconds left in the half, hitting Aaron Jones on an angle route past Fred Warner for six! The teams went into the locker room, the 49ers leading 28-21.
The scoring didn't end there. As Green Bay opened the half with the ball, they looked to make it worth deferring the kickoff, and they did. Davante Adams made a key third down grab, but the big play of the drive was a massive 67-yard deep strike to MVS, scorching Jason Verrett to tie the game! After both teams finally made some stops including a huge stop by Packers' rookie cornerback Eric Stokes on a Shanahan fake field goal attempt, the Niners picked up a field goal to go up 31-28 heading into the final frame.
Green Bay opened the quarter with some chunk plays - a 10-yard third-down conversion by Lazard, a 14-yard grab by Robert Tonyan, and a 12-yard run by Aaron Jones. Unfortunately, after Jason Verrett punched an endzone ball out of the hands of Davante Adams, the Packers had to settle for a game-tying 22-yard field goal. With about five minutes left, the heavyweight Niners offense landed another haymaker: after hanging in there all game, Kevin King was beaten deep by Deebo Samuel for 62 yards down to the Packers' 2 yard line! On the next play, Samuel was rewarded with a 2-yard score to give the 49ers a 38-31 lead.
Looking for his first career fourth-quarter comeback, Love completed a 3-yard crosser to Robert Tonyan on third-and-2, before hitting him for another first a couple of plays later. After hitting Davante Adams for 8 across midfield with just over two minutes left, the drive stalled, and on fourth-and-2 just past the two minute warning at the San Francisco 46, Love's pass to Adams fell incomplete and that just about did it. Mostert picked up a first down, and while the Packers made the next third down stop, it was too little too late. Robbie Gould iced it with a 50-yard field goal with six seconds left to snuff out any hope of a Packers' road upset on primetime.
FINAL SCORE: 49ers 41, Packers 31.
Outside of Moseley's pick six, Love flashed the most talent he has thus far this season, clearly settling into the game as it went along and helping his team convert 12 out of 18 third-down attempts. He threw for nearly 300 yards and added 73 yards and a touchdown on the ground as well, and he truly looked like a dual-threat quarterback of the future. After the game, wide receiver Davante Adams said he was glad the world got to see the guy the team sees in practice every day, and that he's proud of how prepared Jordan came out even though they came up short.
Regarding injuries: Besides Bosa, who is still going to miss a couple of weeks, the only player injured in the game was Packers' lineman Jon Runyan Jr., who is set to receive x-rays on his ribs in the Bay Area before flying home to Lambeau.
NEXT UP: The Packers (1-2) arrive home in Wisconsin to face off with the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0), a team they haven't beaten in two tries since their Super Bowl XLV victory in 2011!
Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers
Sep 26, 2021
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
SCORE
Green Bay Packers (1-1)
7
14
7
3
31
San Francisco 49ers (2-0)
7
21
3
10
41
Team Stats Comparison
GNB
SFO
Total Offense
446
442
Rushing Yards
165
120
Passing Yards
281
322
First Downs
22
16
Punt Return Yards
2
18
Kick Return Yards
62
31
Total Yards
510
491
Turnovers
1
1
3rd Down Conversion
12/18 (66%)
6/11 (54%)
4th Down Conversion
0/1 (0%)
0/1 (0%)
2-Point Conversion
0/0
0/0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
3/1
2/1
Penalties
2
1
Posession Time
26:09
21:51
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
GNB
SFO
1:17
(GNB) Jordan Love 10-yard run (Crosby PAT good)
7
0
0:36
(SFO) Brandon Aiyuk 85-yard pass from Jimmy Garoppolo (Gould PAT good)
7
7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
GNB
SFO
11:51
(SFO) Emmanuel Moseley 30-yard interception return (Gould PAT good)
7
14
7:17
(SFO) Ross Dwelley 3-yard pass from Jimmy Garoppolo (Gould PAT good)
7
21
3:20
(GNB) Allen Lazard 9-yard pass from Jordan Love (Crosby PAT good)
14
21
1:26
(SFO) Raheem Mostert 28-yard pass from Jimmy Garoppolo (Gould PAT good)
14
28
0:08
(GNB) Aaron Jones 10-yard pass from Jordan Love (Crosby PAT good)
21
28
THIRD QUARTER SCORING
GNB
SFO
10:37
(GNB) Marquez Valdes-Scantling 57-yard pass from Jordan Love (Crosby PAT good)
28
28
0:58
(SFO) Robbie Gould 19-yard FG
28
31
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING
GNB
SFO
7:30
(GNB) Mason Crosby 22-yard FG
31
31
4:43
(SFO) Deebo Samuel 2-yard pass from Jimmy Garoppolo (Gould PAT good)
Speaking to reporters after practice on Tuesday, Packers' head coach Matt LaFleur gave an injury update, confirming that right guard Jon Runyan Jr.'s x-rays showed broken ribs and that he will be out for "a few weeks," leaving Lucas Patrick as the Packers' only healthy right guard. Talking about the loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football, LaFleur stressed coming together as a team and "not losing sight of who you are" as the team returned to Wisconsin for their game against the Steelers this Sunday.
Around the NFL, the trade waters stayed hot this week, as the Miami Dolphins sent wide receiver Preston Williams to the Tennessee Titans for a 2022 5th-round pick and a 2023 7th-round pick. Stuck behind DeVante Parker, recent signing Will Fuller V, and recent draftee Jaylen Waddle on the Miami depth chart, Williams gets a chance at a fresh start alongside superstars A.J. Brown and Julio Jones in Nashville.
Nobody said it was gonna be easy! Lol. On defense the pass rush has been pretty successful but the secondary's been getting beat. I think I might have to move Stokes up ahead of King and see if that helps. Sullivan hasn't been too hot either. But it's cool. On offense, limiting turnovers is going to be the key. Love's ability to move around gives me a little bit of leeway but until he gets more accurate I'm just gonna have to try to make it easier on him. Thanks for reading!
In a rematch of Super Bowl XLV, the undefeated Steelers came to Lambeau to challenge the inconsistent Packers. It opened up with Krys Barnes barely dropping an ill-advised throw over the middle by Ben Roethlisberger, though the drive ended in a punt anyway. A couple of drives later, the Packers opened the scoring on a 51-yard field goal by Mason Crosby.
After a Steelers punt, Jordan Love hit Robert Tonyan on an out route and he got blasted by Terrell Edmunds, jarring the ball loose for Devin Bush to pick up down to the Packers' 20-yard line. Shortly thereafter, Diontae Johnson went up over Jaire Alexander for a big catch down to the 5, and after three attempts, Najee Harris punched it in for the score and a 7-3 Steelers lead. On the Packers' next drive, a couple of nice runs by Aaron Jones and a 20-yard crosser to Marquez Valdes-Scantling put the Packers out at the Steelers' 26. After a Jones run on a read option down to the 10-yard line, Tonyan made up for his earlier mistake by corraling a big touchdown in the back right corner of the endzone! The Packers took a 10-7 lead.
But the defense remained shaky. After a 22-yard grab by Johnson on the first play of the drive, despite a Za'Darius Smith sack, Juju Smith-Schuster took a ball down the sideline for 20. Chase Claypool made a 12-yard grab to the 25 and then Harris picked up a 17-yard gain down to the 8. After the defense forced a 4th down, Mike Tomlin aggressively went for it and Roethlisberger hit Juju for a 2-yard score despite tight coverage from Darnell Savage to put the Steelers up 14-10 with just under 2 minutes left in the half.
The next drive was emblematic of Love's starts thus far. After MVS made a toe-tap grab down the sideline on first and Love hit Adams on a beautiful throw for 11 on third down, the Packers got through into Steelers territory. They got down to the 11 on another two catches by Adams and MVS with seven seconds left! But in taking a shot at the endzone, Love put the ball just too high for Allen Lazard, who tipped it right into the arms of Devin Bush for a gutting interception to end the half at 14-10 Pittsburgh.
Whatever head coach Matt LaFleur told his team at halftime about ball security, it flat out did not work. Shortly into the first drive out of the half, Tonyan again was hit by Edmunds and Joe Haden picked the ball up at the Packers' 45 for the Steelers! Although the Packers didn't allow points thanks to a huge sack by Eric Stokes, the turnovers didn't end there. Mideway through the quarter, despite some more strong running from Jones and a 4th down conversion by A.J. Dillon down to the 6-yard line, Love straight up missed Davante Adams over the middle and the ball landed right in the waiting arms of -- you guessed it -- Devin Bush inside the 5!
After a three and out by the Steelers, the Packers' morale hit rock bottom when Love was hit by Stephon Tuitt to force a bad throw that Minkah Fitzpatrick took back 57 yards to the house! This put the Steelers up 21-10. Showing some resilience at the very least, Love connected with a 51-yard bomb to Davante Adams in single coverage down to the Steelers' 14 to end the quarter.
A couple of plays later, Aaron Jones plunged in from the 9-yard line to pull the Packers back within one score, though they couldn't pull within a field goal as the two-point conversion attempt to Adams fell incomplete. A few drives later, the Steelers added a 30-yard field goal from Chris Boswell to go up 24-16. On their final opportunity with the ball, A.J. Dillon picked up four on a third and 2 to convert. Next, on another third down, MVS made a huge grab out to midfield to convert, and the Packers made their way inside the Steelers' 5 yet again. However, they weren't able to make it over the hump, as a ball to Adams on 4th and 4 from the 4-yard line was tipped by Haden, and on the Steelers' next drive, Harris picked up a first down to put this one on ice for Pittsburgh.
FINAL SCORE: Steelers 24, Packers 16.
This one quite simply came down to turnovers. Both running backs eclipsed 100 yards (Harris 25 carries for 112 yards, Jones 20 carries for 104 yards) and a score and each team had a 100-yard receiver (Johnson with 6 catches for 103 yards and Adams with 7 catches for 117 yards), and each quarterback threw for a score. The difference was Love's three interceptions and Tonyan's two fumbles, as the Steelers didn't give the ball up once.
"It's a credit to our defense that we were even still in this game," Love admitted afterward. "It wasn't my best game, I wasn't seeing the field well, they disguised some coverages and I didn't do a good job of breaking it down like I do in practice, and I gotta fix that. That's on me."
NEXT UP: The Packers (1-3) head south to take on another AFC North foe, the Cincinnati Bengals (2-2), led by Joe Burrow and their potent young offense!
Pittsburgh Steelers at Green Bay Packers
Oct 3, 2021
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
SCORE
Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0)
0
14
7
3
24
Green Bay Packers (1-2)
3
7
0
6
16
Team Stats Comparison
PIT
GNB
Total Offense
276
466
Rushing Yards
110
184
Passing Yards
166
282
First Downs
14
25
Punt Return Yards
0
13
Kick Return Yards
0
49
Total Yards
276
528
Turnovers
0
5
3rd Down Conversion
3/13 (23%)
5/11 (45%)
4th Down Conversion
1/1 (100%)
1/2 (50%)
2-Point Conversion
0/0
0/1 (0%)
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
2/1
2/0
Penalties
0
0
Posession Time
21:58
26:02
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
PIT
GNB
2:19
(GNB) Mason Crosby 50-yard FG
0
3
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
PIT
GNB
9:48
(PIT) Najee Harris 2-yard run (Boswell PAT good)
7
3
4:44
(GNB) Robert Tonyan 13-yard pass from Jordan Love (Crosby PAT good)
7
10
1:52
(PIT) Juju Smith-Schuster 2-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Boswell PAT good)
14
10
THIRD QUARTER SCORING
PIT
GNB
0:27
(PIT) Minkah Fitzpatrick 57-yard interception return (Boswell PAT good)
21
10
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING
PIT
GNB
11:25
(GNB) Aaron Jones 9-yard run (2PT conversion failed)
After Tuesday's practice, head coach Matt LaFleur addressed reporters for a quarter-season analysis of Jordan Love's performance so far. While admitting that Love is still a "work in progress," he's encouraged by the early returns so far. He stated that one of Love's best qualities is his desire to get better and prove himself as the face of the franchise. He told the beat reporters how frustrated Love was after the Steelers game and that LaFleur advised him to "be mad, be angry, be pissed off" and to "channel that in the next game and go kick some ***."
10-04-2021, 09:04 AM
