Nostra-Damon: Regular Season Weeks 11-13
In part four, I looked forward in time to see the Green Bay Packers’ future and saw the outcome of weeks eight through ten. If you missed part four, then click here to catch up! This week I look into the future to see the terrible-sad-unfortunate series of events that take place for the Packers in weeks eleven through thirteen. And much like it was with the Baudelaire children from the novel series A Series of Unfortunate Events, you can expect no happy endings here. This is Nostra-Damon: Peering Into The Packers Future Part Five.
Week 11: Chargers at Packers
The (6-3) Packers host the (7-2) Los Angeles Chargers. The only teams that the Chargers have lost to this season: the Chiefs and the Jets. And those games were close too. They aren’t any joke at all. Justin Herbert has been playing at an MVP level all season long and this matchup was no different.
Although all of this is true, the Packers were competitive in this game. The Chargers were just too much. The Packers offense scored decently enough between the run game with Aaron Jones and the passing game with Jordan Love and his receiving weapons. Particularly by attacking the middle of the field, the Packers were able to put points on the board. The Packers had a plan to avoid Derwin James at all times. James has been having an all-pro season.
When the game came down to it though, Jordan Love began pushing the ball down the field a little too much. Eventually, Derwin James made a play and intercepted a Love pass, returning it for a touchdown. Consequently, this put the game out of reach for the Green and Gold.
Chargers 34-Packers 20
Week 12: Packers at Lions (Thanksgiving)
The last time the Packers played the (5-5) Lions, it was the highest scoring Thursday Night Football game in NFL history. Uniquely, for the second time this season, the Packers and the Lions not only play each other again, but also on a Thursday. This is the Thanksgiving Day game.
The Packers came out on fire to begin the game. Not only did the Packers start with good field position, they moved right down the field and scored a touchdown. The touchdown was beautiful fade route to rookie wide receiver Jayden Reed. In fact, Reed had been taking on a more prominent role with the Packers as of late. Reed may have come as a smaller receiver but he played much bigger than his size and he made that known on this touchdown pass.
The Packers seemed to be dominating the game, and yet somehow the Lions kept sniffing around. The Packers couldn’t leave them behind. Detroit had played tough all season long and had never yet gotten blown out. Consequently, they just never gave up: definitely a trait passed down to the players by their head coach Dan Campbell.
Nostra-Damon: A Sudden Change
With four minutes left in the game, the Packers were up 27-13. Seemingly, the game seemed to be over. The Packers began to run their four-minute offense to drain the clock and to finally go enjoy their Thanksgiving turkey when tragedy struck. Snap dropped, ball kicked backward, Lions rookie Jack Campbell finds the ball, Campbell picks up the ball and runs it back for a scoop-and-score. The extra point was good. The score was 27-20.
The Packers got the ball back and were able to kill some clock, but the Lions were eventually able to stop them. The Packers had to punt the ball back to Detroit.
Nobody truly knows what got into Jared Goff on that drive. The Lions drive started on their own eight yard line with less than two minutes left and yet Goff was calm as can be. Completion after completion, the Lions continued to drive down the field. At one point, Quay Walker had his hands on the ball but dropped the interception. The Lions continued to drive and then it happened: Amon-Ra St. Brown beat Jaire Alexander on a slant-go and caught the touchdown pass. The extra point was good. The score was 27-27.
Overtime. The Lions, as these things tend to go, won the coin toss and elected to receive. One play later, the game was over. Jameson Williams beat the Packers secondary deep off of play-action and Goff hit him in stride.
Packers 27-Lions 33
Week 13: Chiefs at Packers
Playing on a Thursday can be very difficult for the players, but it does come with the blessing of having four extra days off before the next contest. The Packers honestly needed it before this one. They were welcoming the defending world-champion (8-3) Chiefs into Lambeau. The Chiefs have probably the most explosive offense in all football thanks in part to their MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
This game was more than just a rematch between Jordan Love and Patrick Mahomes. It was Sunday Night Football. It was the Sunday in December. And, it was the first blizzard of the year for Green Bay.
This proved to be advantageous for the Packers. The Chiefs weren’t able to run some of their usual concepts that they normally would have run. Everyone heading into the game expected a high-scoring contest, but that wasn’t to be. The game was very similar to the Packers-Chiefs game from 2021.
Moreover, the game was aesthetic as well. The focus was mostly on the short pass game and the run game. The Packers had success running the ball with AJ Dillon. Jordan Love found success in the middle of the field with Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave. The Chiefs just so happened to have better success. Particularly, they had success with old reliable Travis Kelce. The Chiefs at Packers was not the high-scoring game pundits wanted it to be, but it still was fun game. The Chiefs ultimately won it.
Chiefs 20-Packers 14
The Packers at one point were 6-2 on and all of sudden dropped four straight games to now be 6-6. At the beginning of the season, everyone knew this stretch would be the hardest, and it proved to be just that. The Packers were in every game and their spirit wasn’t crushed yet. Playing against the Chiefs solidified in them that they could still definitely compete. If anything, the game against the Chiefs inspired them.
Who knows how the season will end for the Packers? They could continue to lose and be mediocre or they could turn the corner and restart their winning ways. There are five games left in the season and still a ton to play for.
Oh by the way, I know.
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Damon is a diehard, fully-immersed cheesehead who currently lives in southern Missouri. He teaches at a local high school and has a family YouTube channel about all things Packers. You can follow him on twitter at @packersfamily and on YouTube at The Packers Family.
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