The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in Packers vs. Cardinals
The Packers and Cardinals faced off at Lambeau Field this Sunday. Each team had their game plan going in, with the Cardinals trying to be more aggressive after defeating the 49ers and the Packers wanting to be more well-rounded after a tough win against the Rams. The Packers wanted to gain momentum and get what they wanted. The Cardinals have some work to do to get back in the race for the NFC West. This article will explore the good, the bad, and the ugly of the events in this matchup.
The Good
The Packers’ offense and defense in the first half were excellent. Jordan Love threw three touchdowns, and the defense forced multiple three-and-outs on the high-powered Cardinals’ defense. Love's first touchdown pass to Jayden Reed was a nicely designed play call, and then a couple of minutes later, Love found Christian Watson for an open 40-yard touchdown. Romeo Doubs, who was suspended for one week due to conduct detrimental to the team, fought his way in for a touchdown, too. The offense is discovering how lethal it can be with Love's accuracy, the reliability of the wide receivers, good blocking tight ends, and great running. Doubs caught another touchdown in the second half and fought off another cornerback to get in. The Packers would regret trading Romeo Doubs at the deadline because he is extremely reliable and is a quarterback's best friend.
The defense was excellent and forced three turnovers, which included three forced fumbles. Jaire Alexander, Karl Brooks, and Evan Williams were fantastic in this game and did their job effectively and efficiently and were forced to be reckoned with. The rookies Edgerrin Cooper and Javon Bullard were great, too, and made multiple tackles for losses and disrupted the Cardinals’ pass offense. Xavier McKinney made some good tackles, too, and the other Packers defenders stepped up around him and made sure the Cardinals receivers could not get anything going. The rush defense was great, too, and made sure James Conner did not get many yards, which is a nice turnaround from allowing over one hundred yards to Rams running back Kyren Williams. The pass rush put a lot of pressure on Kyler Murray, but they could not muster a sack. They did a solid job. The Packers’ offense and defense are only improving.
The Bad
There were not many bad moments in this game besides a couple that can be recalled. The first bad moment was when Bo Melton slipped and fell down on his route, which led to the Cardinals picking off Love and scoring on their drive. Melton did have some solid runs and good blocks, but it seems he is not the same difference-maker as he was last year and in the playoffs. The Packers should look to give more touches to Dontayvion Wicks, who had no drops this game after multiple last week and made some key conversions. The next is Brayden Narveson. After making all of his extra points, he missed another field goal, which Packers fans were worried about. The field goal miss ultimately did not matter, and he made his next attempt, but he now has five field goal misses on the season, which is the most in the NFL. These misses are going to foreshadow something in the future where either the Packers lose because of his miss or will flip the momentum in an opponent's favor. Narveson has to improve, or the Packers should cut him and honestly bring back Anders Carlson or another option. There are no excuses for his misses, and I am sure Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst's patience is running thin for the young kicker.
The Ugly
The only ugly moments were the Packers' defense playing prevent before the half and letting the Cardinals march down the field when they did have possession. The Packers kicker continues to be an issue, and the pass rush needs to get sacks on quarterbacks. However, other than a few far-between moments this week, the Packers should be happy with how their players performed this week. The bad and the ugly will need to be fixed or improved against a very good Texans team next week.
