Packers shouldn’t panic after losing on the road to Chargers
By John Buhler
So what if the Green Bay Packers lost on the road to the Los Angeles Chargers? They’re 7-2 and every team in their division lost today. No reason to panic.
It happens. Sometimes a great team loses on the road to a mediocre team. That is exactly what happened when the Green Bay Packers went across the country to face the Los Angeles Chargers in Carson on Sunday. It was mostly a slow death by field goals, as Michael Badgley made four of five of his kicks, but Green Bay was never in this ball game. And you know what? That’s okay.
Look, Green Bay no-showed offensively. It’s not the end of the world. Aaron Rodgers only threw for 161 yards and a touchdown. The poor guy had to run his own two-point conversion in to give the Packers 11 points on the afternoon. That wasn’t nearly enough, as Green Bay lost by 15 in a game no one saw coming.
We do have to give credit to the Chargers run defense, which held the Green Bay rushing attack to 45 yards on 11 carries. But this was just one of those games the Packers have to get over fast. They only managed 184 yards worth of offense and gave up 442 on defense. That’s not great, but at least the Packers didn’t turn the ball over at any point in this AFC vs. NFC game.
The truth is the Packers are fine at 7-2 on the year. What is even better is all three of their division rivals also lost on Sunday, so the Packers still sit atop the highest perch in the NFC North.
The Minnesota Vikings lost on a last-second field goal vs. the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead. The Chicago Bears looked terrible offensively on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles. And the Detroit Lions lost their road game late against the Oakland Raiders. So every NFC North team fell on the road in Week 9. It’s a competitive league and these things happen from time to time.
Though the Packers played the worst of any of their four division rivals on Sunday, that doesn’t matter because all four teams lost. Even if the Packers don’t end up with a first-round bye because of teams like the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay is still in a great position to host a home playoff game at Lambeau. Who outside of the Packers wants that?
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At the end of the day, there is no reason to panic if you’re the Packers. It was a road game against a desperate Chargers team who needed a win in the worst way. This game was more about the Chargers playing their best game of the season than the Packers laying an egg. Take the loss and move on. There is plenty of football left to be played. Green Bay will be alright the rest of the way.
