5 Packers lessons we learned from Week 1: Green Bay can survive without Jordan Love

The Packers ventured down to Brazil with the hopes of scoring an upset win over the Eagles. Instead, they've come back to the United States with a 0-1 record and an injured starting quarterback. Things have not gone according to plan for Green Bay to begin their 2024 campaign.

The good news for each coach Matt LaFleur and his coaching staff is that Jordan Love avoided a season-ending injury and they still have 16 regular-season games left to play. There's plenty of time for the Packers to hit their stride and grow into the sort of Super Bowl contenders their fans hope they will become.

If Green Bay wants to ascend to that sort of rarified air they will need to learn everything they can from their erratic Week 1 loss to the Eagles. Here are five things the Packers found out about themselves in the 34-29 loss.

5. It's time to keep an eye on Jaire Alexander

It's too early to panic about Jaire Alexander's play at cornerback but his struggles against the Eagles were not a good sign for Packer fans hoping he will play like an All-Pro this year. He managed to pick off one of Jalen Hurts' passes on the night but he still only managed a PFF grade of 52.1.

At the very least, the Packers need to disabuse themselves of the notion that Alexander can be left on an island to combat the opponents' top receivers on a regular basis. He can still hold up in occasional one-on-one battles but he needs more safety help now than he did in previous seasons.

Alexander will have better games, but the Packers need to face the possibility that his prime is behind him. Any decline in his game will place pressure on his teammates in the secondary to improve their performance immediately.

4. The tight ends need to be more involved

Love only completed 50 percent of his passes before he went down with a late-game knee injury. The Packers need more efficiency in their pass game if they want to make a deep postseason run. Incorporating more short and intermediate throws to the tight end should be a part of that game plan.

Unfortunately, the Packers only targeted tight ends five times on the night. Tucker Kraft caught two balls and Luke Musgrave was shut out completely. That's not enough production for a team that wants to leverage heavy formations to boost their ground game.

Musgrave, in particular, needs to become more involved in future game plans. He has the dynamic ability to threaten opposing secondaries down the seam. Leveraging that ability could really open up the middle of the field for Green Bay's offense while Love is on the sideline.

3. Javon Bullard needs to get better in a hurry

Starting rookies in Week 1 is always risk for NFL teams who consider themselves to be Super Bowl contenders. The Packers placed a lot of faith in safety Javon Bullard against the Eagles but he failed to stand up to the pressure of Philadelphia's aerial attack.

He posted one of the worst PFF grades on the night with a final score of just 46.1. He stood up admirably against the ground game but he looked lost when tasked with covering opposing receivers. The former Georgia standout gave up a catch each of the three times he was targeted on the night.

Bullard has the physical skills to play better in future weeks, but he needs to pick his game up in a hurry if he wants to remain in the starting lineup. Xavier McKinney can protect him at the other safety spot but not as much as he required in Week 1.

2. The Packers need more from their big-name edge stars

Green Bay's defense can not play at a high level unless they get meaningful production from their edge rushers. Rashan Gary and Preston Smith failed to live up to their high standards in the loss to the Eagles.

Gary managed to notch one sack on the night but was anonymous for long stretches. Philadelphia made life difficult for him by getting the ball out quickly, but he was non-existent against their rushing attack as well. He must perform like a more well-rounded player in future weeks to help this defense play like a top-10 unit in the NFL.

Smith's performance in Week 1 was similar to that of his edge mate. He only came up with one solo tackle of his own and could not stop Philadelphia from effectively running the ball to his side of the field. Both Smith and Gary need to be much better in future weeks.

1. Josh Jacobs has a chance to keep the offense on track

Jordan Love's injury will place a lot of pressure on several of his offensive teammates to keep scoring points while he's on the sideline. Running back Josh Jacobs might be the single player who will be counted on to pick up most of his quarterback's slack.

The good news on Jacobs is that he looked lively on almost every carry against Philadelphia's talented defensive front. He didn't get a ton of volume but he did manage to break out for one explosive 32-yard rush. That's the kind of big play the Green Bay offense will need from him over the next month or so.

Packers fans should expect to see Jacobs get the ball early and often in Week 2. LaFleur will leverage numerous designs to get him the ball in space. Expect for him to get an AJ Dillon-like workload until Love comes back to help provide the offense some balance.