The Packers kicked off their season against the Eagles last weekend in Brazil. It was an extremely sloppy game from the Packers, as the night was filled with plenty of missed opportunities and numerous mistakes.
Green Bay struggled all night with converting in the redzone and settled for one too many field goals, all of which contributed to the 34-29 final. Not only did the Packers commit 10 penalties last Friday, but starting quarterback Jordan Love was injured on one of the final plays of the game.
While there is much doom and gloom surrounding such a disappointing start, there were a few positives to keep in mind moving forward.
Turnovers
The Packers defense under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley generated three turnovers on Friday. It seemed under the previous coordinator the Packers oftentimes lacked aggression.
This was far from the case Friday as the defense was able to snag two interceptions from Jalen Hurts while also causing an early fumble.
Rushing
There were concerns about the depth of the running back room prior to the matchup Friday, as AJ Dillon was put on season ending IR, and newly drafted Marshawn Lloyd was nursing a hamstring injury.
Josh Jacobs and Emanuel Wilson seemed to hold down the fort as they both rushed for a combined 130 yards. Jacobs handled the majority of the rushes with 16 carries for 84 yards. His longest run would be for 32 yards.
Wilson did a stellar job on his 4 carries as he generated 46 yards, averaging 11.5 yards per carry. The Packers got creative and handed the ball off to wide receiver Jayden Reed who took his one carry 33 yards for a touchdown.
Rookie LB
Green Bay’s rookie linebacker, Edgerrin Cooper, shined in his NFL debut. The second round pick out of Texas A&M made his presence known as he finished the game with three tackles and a pass deflection.
Cooper stated “I was really excited. I’ve been itching to go out there for a long time and hit people.” Not only was Cooper’s explosiveness and play making ability visible to everyone watching, but it seems Matt LaFleur also noticed his impact, “I would anticipate him getting more time moving forward.”
Jordan Love
It seemed from early on that Jordan Love never felt comfortable against Philadelphia. Whether it was the field conditions or first game jitters, he struggled with finding a rhythm. Love would go down on one of the final plays of the game with an apparent leg injury.
A replay revealed that the Love likely suffered a knee injury, which would cause anyone to think worst case scenario. Love was later diagnosed with an MCL sprain that is said to be between grade one and two.
While this is a relief, as this injury was determined to not be seasoning ending, it is still unclear as to how much time he will miss. The Packers have not placed Jordan Love on injured reserve.
As of right now, Head Coach Matt LaFleur seems to be confident in Love’s injury status as he claimed, “He’s doing good.” All in all, disaster avoided.
The Packers look to bounce back this weekend as they take on the Indianapolis Colts at home.
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