The Green Bay Packers defeated the Indianapolis Colts 16-10 in Week 2. The Packers managed to win without their star QB Jordan Love. It was a realistic expectation for Green Bay to play a sloppy, mistake filled game against the Colts. Especially since Green Bay was led by back up QB Malik Willis. However, compared to Week 1 in Brazil, the self-inflicted mistakes were relatively limited. The Packers have a solid opportunity to play clean football against a 0-2 Tennessee Titan team this Sunday.
In Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay was flagged 10 times for a total of 71 yards. One penalty wiped away a Packer touchdown. Luke Musgrave did not get off the field in time when Love attempted to catch the Eagles with too many men on the field. Jayden Reed proceeded to score on the nullified play. On the following drive, a holding penalty by by Rasheed Walked knocked the Packers out of the rezone. Green Bay settled for three. On the next drive, a Romeo Doubs offensive pass interference penalty and a Tucker Kraft holding penalty forced the Packers to settle for three points once again.
In Week 2, Green Bay had 6 penalties for 50 yards. Two of the six happened on the first drive. The Packers had another touchdown taken off the board because of a penalty. However, Green Bay did proceed to score a touchdown on that drive. In the second quarter, Josh Jacobs fumbled at the goal line as he was falling into the end zone.
It is Not Just the Penalties for Green Bay
Many of these errors in Brazil were simple Week 1 mistakes. Missed throws, dropped passes, poor communication, etc. However, Kicker Brayden Narveson has missed two field goals through two games. Green Bay has scored 9 points off of 6 turnovers in the first two games. Mistakes are a killer in the NFL.
Give the defense credit, they have forced turnovers but the team needs to capitalize moving forward. Leaving points off the board is a dangerous game to play. Now, there is reason for hope. The number of penalties did decline in Week 2. The communication on defense appeared to be improved from Week 1. The offensive operation was much cleaner in Week 2. Unlike the Colts, the Packers had one costly turnover. Normally, the team with the few mistakes wins the game.
The Packers head to Tennessee this Sunday to play the Titans. Tennessee is 0-2 to start the season. Green Bay showed improvement against the Colts. Matt LaFleur is well aware that his team is 8th in the NFL in the number of penalties against them. LaFleur knows the Packers have left points off the board. Expect LaFleur to emphasis the importance of playing a clean football in Nashville, TN. The Packers are one less mistake away from being 2-0 and that is with their star QB injured. If Green Bay continues to reduce the number of self-inflected mistakes, they will be an awfully difficult team to beat.
