Post-Game Report
The Packers received the opening kickoff and came out swinging, driving down the field with 4 passes on five plays. After a tackle for loss on third-and-one brought up a fourth-and-two at midfield, the Packers elected to go for it. Their gamble didn’t pay off, as Love connected with Musgrave but Chargers safety Alohi Gilman wrestled him down short of the sticks, forcing a turnover on downs. The Chargers, moved by the Packers’ fourth down attempt, went for it on their own fourth down four plays later. A fourth-and-four from the Packers’ 43-yard line, Herbert dropped back to pass and slung it to a wide open Donald Parham across the middle. Parham promptly dropped the pass, giving the ball back to Green Bay near midfield. The Packers offense couldn’t do anything with it, going three-and-out on the following drive. The Chargers drew first blood, driving down the field off the back of a 37-yard run by Ekeler. The Packers’ defense held in the redzone, forcing the Chargers to settle for a Cameron Dicker 25-yard field goal. The Packers retaliated with a six play drive that featured a 15-yard rush by rookie Jayden Reed and a 20-yard catch and run by AJ Dillon. They capped off this drive with a 32-yard rushing score by Reed to go up 7-3. The Packers’ lead would be short lived. Six plays later, Chargers tight end Stone Smart broke away from safety Jonathan Owens and took a catch 51 yards to the house. This put the Chargers up 10-7 early in the second quarter. The next drive, the Packers looked well on their way to retaliating again. Love and the offense drove just outside of the redzone with help from a deep completion to Dontayvion Wicks and a face mask penalty. A false start and a fumbled snap killed the drive, setting up a 52-yard field goal attempt for Anders Carlson. Carlson’s kick whiffed wide right, keeping the score locked at 10-7. This is Carlson’s third missed field goal this year. The Packers defense held, forcing a three-and-out the following drive and giving the ball right back to a hot Packers offense. With just under six minutes in the half, Love and the offense orchestrated a 16 play drive, ending with a 28-yard Carlson field goal in the Chargers redzone to tie the game going into the half. During that final drive before the half, the Packers lost starting running back Aaron Jones to a knee injury. Six plays later, backup running back and preseason star Emmanuel Wilson suffered a shoulder injury. Neither player returned for the rest of the game. The Chargers took the opening drive down the field, deep into Green Bay territory. On third and goal from the Green Bay seven-yard-line, Herbert dropped back to pass and found Keenan Allen wide open in the front of the endzone. Allen dropped the pass, forcing the Chargers to settle for another field goal, this time a 26-yard attempt, to retake the lead 13-10. After trading punts, the Packers quickly drove down the field, first with a 27-yard completion to Wicks. Two plays later, Love found Tucker Kraft for what was initially ruled a 39-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown. Officials reviewed and ruled Kraft stepped out at the 12, officially making it a 27-yard catch and run by Kraft. Two plays later, Love found Christain Watson in the endzone for an 11-yard touchdown pass to once again take the lead. Carlson shanked the extra point, keeping it a three point game 13-16. Herbert diced up the Packers’ thin secondary on the ensuing drive. The Chargers threw it three-straight times, once to Allen for 38 yards, and two back-to-back to Parham for 21 and 14 yards. Knocking at the door from the Green Bay two-yard-line, they gave the ball to Ekeler up the middle, but Kenny Clark punched out the ball. Rashan Gary jumped onto it, recovering the fumble and stealing a possession from the Chargers. Deep in their own territory, the Packers couldn’t get much going. Love barely missed Luke Musgrave on what would’ve been a huge gain, and two more incompletions forced the Packers to punt. Herbert once again went to work carving up the Packers defense. On an 11-play drive, Herbert had five plays go over 10 yards, including the go-ahead 10-yard score on a pass to Allen. With just over five minutes left in the game, the Chargers took a 20-16 lead. With the game on the line, it looked as if Love would once again fumble the game away on a turnover as Mack strip sacked Love on the second play of the drive. Zach Tom prevented this, quickly recovering the fumble. The next play, on third and 20, Love launched it deep for Wicks. The ball fell incomplete, but Wicks drew a defensive pass interference call, keeping the drive alive. Two plays later, Love connected with Wicks for a 35-yard completion bringing them to the Chargers 26-yard line. After a Dillon two-yard scamper, Love dropped back and launched a deep one to Romeo Doubs in the endzone. Doubs secured the contested catch, giving the Packers the lead. Carlson made the extra point, making it a 20-23 game. Needing a stop, the Packers defense came up big the next drive. Two straight incompletions brought up third and 10, where Rashan Gary made his presence known, sacking Herbert to force a Chargers punt. With just under two minutes to play, the Packers ran the ball three straight plays, forcing the Chargers to use their remaining timeouts. Unable to get a first down, they punted the ball back to Herbert with 1:27 left in the game. A defensive pass interference by Keisean Nixon following a third down incompletion kept the drive alive. Despite this, the Packers defense held. On a fourth-and-one from their own 35, Herbert dropped back to pass again and targeted Smartt, but Clark got a hand up and batted the ball down, forcing the turnover on downs and slamming the door on the Chargers. Love knelt out the clock, securing the 23-20 win for the Packers.Players of the Game
- Jayden Reed: For the second straight week, the second-round rookie makes an appearance on this list. Reed has become the go-to guy for Love and a versatile playmaker in recent weeks. Reed hauled in four catches for 46 yards and racked up another 46 yards and a touchdown off of three carries on the ground. Reed has quietly emerged as a stud for the Packers, and has a bright future with the Packers.
- Jordan Love: Love absolutely balled out today. For the first time in his career, Love threw for over 300 yards passing, racking up 322 yards to go along with a pair of passing touchdowns. More importantly, Love didn’t turn the ball over, for the first time since week two. Love has strung together some solid performances as of late, and has shown glimpses of being that guy for the Packers.
Injury Report
- Aaron Jones left the game in the second half with a knee injury. He was carted to the locker room and declared out for the remainder of the game. According to Matt LaFleur after the game, Jones’ ACL is intact, and his injury isn’t seen as long term.
- Emmanuel Wilson left the game shortly after replacing Jones with a shoulder injury, he did not return.
- De’Vondre Campbell suffered a stinger in the fourth quarter.
- Dontayvion Wicks was evaluated for a concussion late in the fourth quarter, he did not return as this was on the final drive and he is questionable next week. Â
