"I thought we had a play to Christian to go win it in the end zone," said Jordan Love on the game ending interception he threw in the final minute of the Packers loss to the Raiders Monday night.
The Packers offense looked absolutely lost in the first half, scoring only 3 points and totalling 112 total yards of offense. After relying on the running game on the first drive, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur went away from AJ Dillon and aired it out.
Which did not work.
Jordan Love had his first 3 interception game in the NFL, and they were three different kinds of interceptions. On one pick, Jordan Love simply didn't see Robert Spillane staring him down in the slot and absolutely threw the ball directly to the Raiders linebacker.
Later in the game, Love threw 2 interceptions targeting Christian Watson. One was a rocket on a slant that was blanketed, again by Spillane, and then the game ending pick to Watson in the Raiders end zone.
Green Bay continues to make the same silly mistakes game after game. The offensive line is struggling mightily without David Bakhtiari, which makes Love's job very difficult. Untimely penalties hurt Green Bay in the first half, and simple execution errors marred the offensive and defensive sides alike.
Now give credit where credit is due, the Packers are still facing injuries. Both Quay Walker and Darnell Savage left the game early with injuries, and Love is missing an All-Pro left tackle and running back. But for the Packers, there can be no excuses.
"Obviously we miss Aaron Jones, but it's not an excuse. We have got to find a way to win," said Love.
Every team faces injuries, and it's the great playcallers and quarterbacks that overcome that. Yes, it is Love's first season as QB1, and that needs to be remembered. Aaron Rodgers was 2-3 to start his first season, and in 2008 Rodgers posted his worst TD/INT ratio of his career. The learning curve to starting quarterback in the NFL is steep, but for the most decorated franchise in NFL history, the leesh is short.
And let's be clear, this is the youngest team in the NFL. There is going to be a learning curve, and Packers fans can accept that. Things we can't accept though are absolute blunders by the coaching staff like allowing Preston Smith to cover Davante Adams 1 on 1, or targeting a practice squad running back more than your top receiver in the passing game.
"There are some things that I need to do better and not put him in a position where he is going to throw those interceptions. I am not trying to make excuses for it (the youth) but we need to do a better job on that side of the ball putting our guys in a position to succeed," said LaFleur.
Joe Barry did not speak to the media after the game, and that's probably for the better. While the Packers defensive coordinator probably gets a little too much heat for the GB deficiencies on that side of the ball, he is still the guy.
The defense did not do a terrible job, in a vacuum. Las Vegas gained fewer yards than Green Bay did, and they had 3 extra possessions from Love's turnovers. But, like Jaire Alexander said after the game, they still need to step up.
""I think at this point it's pretty obvious that the defense has to not give up any touchdowns. I think that's the part of being self-critical of our defense because the offense is pretty young and they're still figuring out their mojo," said Alexander.
At the end of the day. Barry and LaFleur got outcoached and out played by the worst defense in the NFL and one of the worst decision making head coaches in the league. Thankfully, Green Bay has a full bye week to figure their stuff out and get back on track. But let's be clear, Packers fans will not let this kind of performance happen again without some serious outrage.
Do you feel your seats warming up a little bit, Packers coaches?
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