Something Is Wrong in Green Bay: Packers Embarrassed in Home Opener

Three games into the season, it’s becoming harder to explain away what’s happening in Green Bay.

The Packers didn’t just lose to Atlanta Thursday night.

They were dominated.

The Falcons walked into Lambeau Field and handed Green Bay a 35–14 loss, dropping the Packers to 1–2.

After three weeks, we’ve seen a fourth-quarter collapse against Minnesota, an overtime escape against the Jets and now a game where Green Bay was thoroughly outplayed at home.

At some point, you have to start asking whether these are isolated problems or signs of something bigger.

Green Bay Got Bullied

The numbers are ugly.

Atlanta finished with 498 total yards.

The Falcons ran for 242 yards.

Green Bay?

17 rushing yards.

Bijan Robinson ran for 194 yards by himself, more than 11 times Green Bay’s entire rushing output.

Atlanta controlled the football for more than 37 minutes and ran the ball 41 times.

That’s not losing because of one bad turnover or a couple questionable calls.

That’s getting physically beaten.

A Packers defense that entered Thursday as one of the NFL’s best against the run had absolutely no answer for Robinson.

What Exactly Is This Offense?

This might be my biggest concern.

Jordan Love attempted 53 passes.

The Packers ran the ball nine times.

Yes, Green Bay eventually found itself in a situation where it had to throw.

But this offense hasn’t established any kind of consistent identity through three games.

Love finished with 312 yards and two touchdowns, but much of that production came with Green Bay trying to climb out of a massive hole.

There were positives.

Matthew Golden had his first 100-yard receiving game and scored his first regular-season touchdown. Christian Watson added 96 yards and another touchdown.

But those performances are going to get lost when the offense spends most of the night playing from behind.

The Problems Keep Changing, but They Keep Coming

That’s what concerns me most about this 1–2 start.

Against Minnesota, Green Bay couldn’t finish.

Against New York, the Packers committed 14 penalties and needed overtime to escape.

Against Atlanta, the run defense collapsed and the offense became completely one-dimensional.

Every week it’s something different.

And instead of fixing one problem and moving forward, another seems to appear.

Matt LaFleur called Thursday a humbling night.

He’s right.

Now we need to see how his team responds to it.

It’s Only Three Games, But…

Nobody’s season is over at 1–2.

There is too much talent on this roster to panic after three games.

But there is a difference between being 1–2 because you lost a couple close games and being 1–2 while repeatedly showing major problems.

The Packers have done the latter.

This team has looked undisciplined.

It has struggled to establish a running game.

The defense just got run over at home.

And through three weeks, Green Bay has yet to put together anything resembling a complete football game.

Maybe Thursday night becomes the wake-up call this team needed.

Maybe we look back a month from now and barely remember this game.

But right now?

Something doesn’t look right in Green Bay.

And three weeks into the season, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.