Week 8 vs Pittsburgh and Week 9 vs Carolina

The Packers entered their week 8 matchup versus the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 4-1-1 record, good enough to give them the #1 seed in the NFC. They were coming off back-to-back wins against the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals. Both games were much closer than Packer fans would have liked, especially considering how both teams were fairly injured and underdogs against Green Bay. 

This Sunday Night matchup had countless storylines to it, Jordan Love finally getting his chance to face off against his mentor, Aaron Rodgers. Matt Lafleur went against the quarterback he coached in his first years as a head coach, and Aaron Rodgers had the chance to become one of only four quarterbacks to beat all 32 teams. Both teams entered the matchup hoping to boost their already impressive records: the Packers at 4-1-1 and the Steelers at 4-2. 

The Steelers dominated the first half, entering halftime with a 16-7 lead. The Steelers' defense, regarded as one of the best in the league, was answering almost everything the Packers were throwing at them. Aside from a touchdown on their 2nd drive, scored by Tucker Kraft, the Packers couldn’t seem to get much going. Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers offense, however, were putting together much better drives. They had three drives end with a field goal, before finally punching one into the endzone to DK Metcalf to go up 16-7. The Packers finished the half with their 2nd missed field goal of the game. A fitting ending for a subpar half. 

The Packers came out of halftime looking like they had something to prove. Tucker Kraft marched down the field, setting them up in the red zone to get Savion Williams his first career touchdown. The Steelers answered back with their 4th field goal of the game, to extend their lead to 19-14. Josh Jacobs wasn’t having his best game; he ended the game with fewer rushing yards than his backup, Emmanuel Wilson, but his ability to find the endzone was still there. He ran a touchdown in, followed by a 2-point conversion to Romeo Doubs to give the Packers a 22-19 lead. After a defensive stop from the Packers, they got the ball back and never looked back. Tucker Kraft added to his monster game, scoring his 2nd touchdown of the day. He would end the game with seven catches for 143 yards.

The Packers were now up 29-19, and the Steelers' offense looked completely out of gas. They went three-and-out two more times, where the Packers added a field goal after both stops. A garbage time touchdown by the Steelers would bring the final score to 35-25. Jordan Love had a fantastic game, throwing for 360 yards and three touchdowns. The Packers' defense showed up in the 2nd half, almost completely shutting down Aaron Rodgers and giving the Packers' offense plenty of opportunities. Aaron Rodgers showed nothing but respect and class in the post-game handshakes to Love, Lafleur, and the many other teammates and staff he worked with throughout the years. The Packers would immediately shift their sights to their Week 9 opponent, the Carolina Panthers. 

The Packers were sitting pretty at the top of the NFC rankings, and were two-touchdown favorites vs the 4-4 Carolina Panthers. Carolina was not a bad team by any means, winning 3 of their last four games, with their only loss in that stretch being to the Bills. Still, most people weren’t giving them much of a chance to walk into Green Bay and hand the Packers their 2nd loss of the season. 

The game was an offensive disaster class; the first score didn't come until the Packers made a field goal with less than 8 minutes left in the first half. Rico Dowdle was doing whatever he wanted to the Packers' defense, and marched into the endzone to give the Panthers a 7-3 lead. The Packers managed to get another field goal before halftime, but were still trailing 6-7 going into halftime. The Packers put together a decent opening drive out of halftime, but walked away with no points after another missed field goal from Brandon McManus. The Packers defense was still holding firm, but was not getting much help in return as Jordan Love threw an interception right after getting the ball back. Rico Dowdle capitalized with his 2nd rushing touchdown of the day, putting Carolina up 13-6 after a missed extra point after his “two pump” celebration. 

The Packers offense continued to struggle, going for it on 4th down in the end zone, Jordan Love threw up a prayer that was right into the hands of a Carolina defender, who somehow dropped it. The Packers defense gave the offense one last chance, which they finally capitalized on, with a Josh Jacobs touchdown to bring it to 13-13. However, the Packers' defense could not hold off Carolina's final drive and lost to their 2nd walk-off field goal of the season, 13-16. 

Overall, it was an extremely disappointing game for Green Bay; penalties, poor play-calling, and a poor offense were all major contributors to this loss. Losing to a quarterback who threw 11-20, for 102 yards and an interception, is inexcusable. The Packers' defense was still solid, but gave up 130 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns to Rico Dowdle. This is not the first time the Packers have lost to a team they were heavy favorites against. Matt Lafleur seems to play down to his opponents sometimes, resulting in headaches of games like this one and the Week 3 loss vs. the Cleveland Browns. The Packers have an extra day to regroup, as they face the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night next week. This should be an exciting game between two of the NFC’s top teams. This matchup is crucial, as it could solidify Green Bay as a contender in a wide-open NFC.