Sunday’s bounce-back victory over the New York Giants started as badly as it could have for the visiting Green Bay Packers.
The Packers were expected to win, and needed to win, coming off consecutive home losses. Instead, the Giants’ offense went right down the field on their opening possession and put the Packers in an immediate 7-0 deficit.
However, Jordan Love threw a 17-yard touchdown to Christian Watson and Evan Williams saved the day with an interception in the corner of the end zone to preserve a 27-20 victory.
In our weekly Packers stock report, here are our risers and fallers from what can only be called an underwhelming victory.
There’s no understating what Evan Williams did for Sunday’s win over the Giants.
The Giants were playing with a third-string quarterback and an interim head coach. Had they scored a touchdown with little time remaining, the Packers were going to be facing a do-or-die two-point conversion.
Instead, one of Winston’s errant passes finally found the hands of one of Green Bay’s defensive backs. It was Williams, his second of the season. This one, saved Green Bay from having to answer a lot of questions during the week.
Brian Gutekunst has made some great moves in his time as general manager. Trading for Micah Parsons, drafting Jordan Love and signing Xavier McKinney are moves that are going to be celebrated for seasons to come.
One of his best moves at this point, undoubtedly, was a trade that was seen as a desperation move to fortify his backup quarterback position. At the end of training camp last year, Gutekunst traded a seventh-round pick for Malik Willis.
Willis saved the Packers last season by winning two games that he started, and a third where he played most of the game in relief of an injured Love.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis (2) runs the ball against New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Coming into Sunday’s game, Love had played every snap this season. After he exited the game late in the first quarter with a left shoulder injury, Willis took over facing a second-and-16 from the Giants’ 40 with the Packers trailing 7-0.
The Packers were in a lot of trouble, and Wills helped bail them out of it. An 8-yard run by Chris Brooks was followed by a 16-yard run on a designed keeper by Willis. Finally, facing a third-and-goal from just outside the 1, Willis rolled right and fired a missile into the waiting hands of Christian Watson.
Jordan Love returned after Willis’ touchdown pass, but the backup had done his job, just as he’s done anytime he’s been called on in relief.
“We don’t win that game without Malik,” coach Matt LaFleur said.
Green Bay’s receivers had a tough time catching the football, and Watson was not immune to that. In the fourth quarter, Watson dropped a pass that would have converted a third-and-2 from their 25 and it resulted in a Green Bay punt.
Throughout the game, however, Watson was Green Bay’s most reliable receiver. His biggest play came on one that looked like it was destined to end in disaster. A snap from Sean Rhyan was errant and bobbled by Jordan Love, but he was able to recover and scan the field. He dialed up a slot fade to Watson, who skied over the Giants’ defensive backs and hauled in the decisive touchdown.
Watson has been a big-play machine since being drafted by the Packers. The Packers will continue to insist they do not want to feature a receiver, and maybe they’re right. What they need to ensure, however, is that Watson is on the field and consistently involved in their offense.
Green Bay’s receivers came into the offseason with a primary focus on improving their issues with dropping the ball. They had been better in that regard this season but Sunday’s game was a disaster.
Romeo Doubs had three drops. Christian Watson had a drop. Luke Musgrave had a fumble that was eventually ruled a drop. Fellow tight end John FitzPatrick had a drop.
Overall, the offense had nine drops by our count just on offense. That does not include the four dropped interceptions on defense.
The Packers have a lot of talent but cannot get out of their own way sometimes. Sunday’s culprit for that was not penalties or turnovers, but rather dropping the football.
Luke Musgrave has a golden opportunity in front of him with Tucker Kraft sidelined for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Musgrave has yet to make much of that opportunity, and Sunday’s game did not do much to inspire more confidence in the Packers’ third-year tight end. Musgrave’s first catch resulted in a fumble that was relatively benign as it fell harmlessly out of bounds.
Late in the first half, he had another play that was initially ruled a fumble that would have given the Giants the ball near midfield with a chance to score before halftime. A bad snap from Sean Rhyan caused Love to scramble to find the ball. Once he did, he recovered and probably should have just thrown the ball out of bounds.
Instead, he checked the ball down to Musgrave in an attempt to gain some yards and salvage the play. Musgrave dropped the ball as he went to the ground, and the play was ruled a fumble that the Giants recovered.
After replay review, it was ruled that Musgrave never had full control before going to the ground.
Regardless of the result of the replay, Musgrave needs to hold onto the ball. The fumble was not forced. He did not take a big hit from an opposing defender. He simply dropped the ball.
The Packers drafted Musgrave in the second round and hoped he could be a downfield threat in their passing game.
He’s never established himself since his record-setting rookie season.
Brandon McManus has struggled this season, and there was some question as to whether he should be playing with a leg injury.
The last time we saw McManus, he was not even close on what would have been a game-tying attempt against the Eagles from 64 yards. McManus was not on the injury report this week and looked ready to go for Sunday.
Instead, McManus was added to the injury report on Saturday due to his injured quad and was inactive for the game. His replacement, Lucas Havrisik, had been perfect on field goals and extra points coming into play Sunday.
The Packers have kept him on the roster while insisting McManus was healthy, and he was not a kickoff specialist, so keeping him was a unique situation to say the least.
Havrisik took the field after Malik Willis’ touchdown pass to Christian Watson looking to tie the score for Green Bay. He was lined up on the left hashmark and missed wide to the right; the kick was not close.
He’d miss another extra point in the second half, although this one was largely to blame on the field goal operation more than Havrisik himself.
Matt LaFleur said coming into the year he was happy that he did not even have to think about his kicking situation anymore after struggling to find Mason Crosby’s replacement.
Now, with McManus injured and Havrisik missing his first kick on the day, those kicks are not as automatic as they were supposed to be coming into the season.
The Packers have invested a lot of money and draft choices into their pass rush.
For the last three weeks, they’ve been largely nonexistent.
Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons (1) strip-sacks New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
They had one sack on Carolina’s Bryce Young, that came via a blitz from Xavier McKinney, which turned into a fumble and a 6-yard gain. They did not sack Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts.
While the Giants have two excellent offensive tackles, this was supposed to be a game in which the Packers could find what has been missing for their rushers.
That was not the case.
The book appears to be out on Green Bay’s rushers. Don’t let Micah Parsons wreck the game, and the rest of the guys are not nearly productive enough.
Parsons and Isaiah McDuffie teamed up for the team’s first sack of the game on a fourth-and-3 late in the third quarter to snuff out a Giants potential scoring possession. Parsons had a strip-sack on the final play of the game, as well.
Outside of that, however, Green Bay’s highly paid and highly decorated pass rush was mostly silent against the Giants’ offensive line.
Maybe the return of Lukas Van Ness will help, but this is a group that is supposed to be Green Bay’s superpower. They need to rediscover their powers.
Keisean Nixon has had some good moments this season. He came into play Sunday second in the NFL in pass breakups.
Sunday?
He had multiple chances to end a Giants scoring drive.
Jameis Winston turned his back to the defense and, when he squared his shoulders, he threw up a prayer. Nixon and Xavier McKinney had a chance to make a play, but Nixon was in better position.
Much like the theme of the day, the play was not made, and the Giants had new life.
Later in the same series, they faced fourth-and-2 from the Packers’ 22. Winston had time and found Isaiah Hodgins for a 13-yard gain. Defensive backs are going to get beat in this league. That’s the nature of the position. The reality is that Hodgins was on Pittsburgh’s practice squad to start the week and had only two receptions over the last two seasons.
If that’s happening against practice squad receivers, what is going to happen next week against Justin Jefferson? A few days later against Amon-Ra St. Brown? What about D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze?
You get the point.
Nixon has had good days at the office, but he probably should not be a Super Bowl contender’s best cornerback. The further this season has gone on, the more evident that has become.
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