After two weeks of demoralizing losses, the Green Bay Packers have re-entered the win column with their 27-20 victory against the New York Giants. Although the Giants are a broken team in many ways, the game was only won through a heroic touchdown catch by Christian Watson with less than 5 minutes left on the clock. Standing in the way of what might have been a much bigger win was 2 issues that were Packers’ obstacles last year.
Drops
Drops are one of the Packers obstacles that was most cited for their disappointing offense in 2024. Their receivers were tied with the New York Jets for the most dropped passes in the league. Combined with Jordan Love’s nagging injuries, the offense never really picked up where it left off at the end of the 2023 season.
So far this season, drops have not been a big issue for the Packers. That changed against the Giants, where they dropped 6 passes for an estimated loss of 92 yards. This is an unacceptable loss for a team that was desperate for a win.
The drops were not only an issue for the offense either. Although Evan Williams did pick off Jameis Winston in the endzone once, Carrington Valentine dropped two potential turnovers and Kesian Nixon dropped another one. Even for a position that is described with “if they could catch, they would be receivers” the value lost in these drops is frustrating.
Kicking
Ever since the departure of Mason Crosby in 2022, the Packers have been searching for a trustworthy kicker. After moving on from Anders Carlson and Braden Narveson, it appeared they had found a solution in Brandon McManus. However, he has missed several games due to injury.
The substitute teacher turned substitute kicker Lucas Havrisik played on Sunday and made only one of his three extra point attempts. Before the Packers game winning score, they were trailing the Giants by one point when they should have been winning by one. Although it was an extremely windy game where the Giants kicker also missed an extra point, Havrisik did not kick well enough.
This disappointing performance comes after weeks of McManus kicking poorly. Of all kickers who have attempted a field goal this season, McManus ranks dead last in field goal percentage. He ranks especially badly on kicks outside the red zone, where he has only made 3 of his 9 attempts.
With Havrisik struggling in McManus’ absence, there are no easy solutions for the Packers on special teams. A reliable kicker looms large in the list of potential Packers’ obstacles for the remainder of the year.
