The Green Bay Packers got outplayed and out-coached in all three phases of the game Monday night. The New York Giants did not turnover the ball, while the Packers had three of them. This Packers team had too many penalties and mistakes to win the game.
Here are the studs and duds from the Monday night loss to the New York Giants.
Green Bay Packers Studs
Wide Receiver Jayden Reed
Jayden Reed was one of the few bright spots of the night. He had four rushes for 38 yards, eight catches for 27 yards, and a touchdown on the ground. He blocked well in the run game as well. The Packers have found another second-round stud in Reed.
Tight End Tucker Kraft
The Packers may have ended the third-round curse with Tucker Kraft. He had four catches for 64 yards and was a bulldozer in the run game. He does not have the quickness to open up the field like Musgrave, but his physicality sets him apart. PFF gave Kraft a grade of 76.4 and a 70.5 run-blocking grade.
Green Bay Packers Duds
I want to preface that most of the team could fall into this category. This was a poor performance between penalties, mistakes, and overall quality of play.
Cornerback Keisean Nixon
This has to be one of the worst games of his career. He got picked apart in coverage; the biggest one was on the game-winning drive. He got beat by Wan’Dale Robinson for a huge gain to get the Giants into field goal position. Nixon also muffed a punt, giving the Giants a good field position in which they scored a touchdown. This position of need will need to be addressed in the offseason.
Quarterback Jordan Love
Jordan Love played better in the fourth quarter but never looked comfortable. The interception where he was targeting Wicks was a poor decision. He also fumbled on a quarterback keeper. He had accuracy issues most of the night, but was still able to lead a late go ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Overall, his level of play and consistency needs to improve.
The Packers Defensive Line
This was supposed to be the game where the Packers defensive line dominated the trenches. Play after play, they get too deep into the backfield, and Tommy DeVito would scramble for a significant gain. The Packers have too much draft capital invested into the defensive line to be this bad.
Joe Barry
Often, I give Joe Barry the benefit of the doubt. Players play. On the last drive by the Giants, Barry had the defense playing much too far off the line. The Giants had two timeouts and plenty of time on the clock; the Packers need to stay aggressive.
As mentioned above, the team has been underperforming on the defensive side of the ball. Year after year the Packers invest into the defense, but do not get results. The Lack of improvement from the defense with Joe Barry as the coordinator is alarming. It is time to move on from Barry.
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