Thoughts From the Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons (9/17/2023)

 Some thoughts from the Green Bay Packers' 24-25 loss in Atlanta earlier today:

The loss stings but there were positives. Jordan Love, in particular, is far from a finished product and is going to have some growing pains but for most of the game he looked the part of a franchise quarterback. At minimum, he's not turning the ball over, though there was at least one close call in this game. All three of his touchdowns were to rookie receivers too, that's a positive sign as well.

This was a game that could have easily gone the other way. Green Bay's defense dropped two interceptions. Jordan Love's quarterback sneak in the fourth quarter could have been enough for a first down and made a difference in the game had the rest of the team known what he was doing. A miscue on the first drive took them out of field goal range (and even then, Green Bay might have been better off attempting it anyway). It was a loss but a little extra from the football gods and it could have easily been a win.

Aaron Jones was missed. There were three key pieces missing, including speedy wide receiver Christian Watson and left tackle David Bakhtiari, but not having their dynamic running back made a difference, I think. AJ Dillon is a pounder and the Packers have quite a bit of depth at running back, but a healthy Jones takes this whole offense up a notch.

Somebody please teach Love how to slide. Love isn't a running quarterback but will do so when needed. He's not going to last the season if players are able to get free shots on him though. Get the first down and avoid the hit by sliding. That rule is there for a reason.

On that note, somebody please tell Keisean Nixon it is OK to take a knee. Everyone loves a great kick return and Nixon is arguably one of the better returners in the league. But when you're nine yards deep in your endzone, a 25-yard return doesn't do your team a whole lot of good when you could have started on the 25 instead of the 16.