The Green Bay Packers lost their seventh game out of their last eight after they fell short against the Philadelphia Eagles, 40-33, on the road in Week 12 of the 2022 NFL season. The Packers are now 4-8, settling into third place in the NFC North. Here we'll discuss the four Packers most to blame for their tough Week 12 loss vs. the Eagles.
Throughout the first half, the Packers ferociously battled the Eagles, owners of the No.1 record. Try as they might, though, the Packers were left in the dust in the final two quarters. Green Bay just missed many opportunities early in the third quarter. To open the second half, the club received the ball, and Keisean Nixon was able to launch a fantastic return for 52 yards. That put the ball at midfield. Instead of converting that field position, however, the offense went three-and-out. To make matters worse, Aaron Rodgers went out with an injury as well.
And then, after the Eagles scored on their next possession to extend their advantage even more, the Packers offense drove to the Philadelphia 6-yard line. While head coach Matt LaFleur was ready to go for it on fourth-and-3, a false-start penalty along the offensive line drove them back 5 yards. This forced the Packers to settle for a field goal, trimming the score to 11. Meanwhile, Rodgers completed the drive but was clearly in discomfort on each dropback and did not return anymore after the field goal.
That sequence of events was enough for Philly to extend the lead a bit beyond the Packers' reach. Green Bay returns on the road next week and has a chance to bounce back. They travel to Chicago to face the Bears.
For now, let us look at the four Packers most to blame for their Week 12 loss vs. the Eagles.
Numbers from Philly.
Stats 📊: https://t.co/JsfLyHOdn7#GBvsPHI pic.twitter.com/Vc8N86JFCO
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 28, 2022
4. TE Tyler Davis
Green Bay tight end Tyler Davis didn't exactly impress in this game. In one play, he took the wrong route and wasn't flat enough. This caused Aaron Rodgers to throw his second interception of the game. Yes, Rodgers should not have thrown the ball, but Davis committed the type of mental error that plagues this offense. Even when he was not running routes, Davis struggled. He seemed overwhelmed as a blocker on five run-blocking attempts and one pass-blocking snap. A bit more is expected from him, especially since he is already in his third year in the NFL.
3. Packers Run Defense
On Sunday night, Green Bay's terrible run defense was just flat-out exposed. Keep in mind that their run defense was rated 29th in the NFL in DVOA before Week 12. It was very easy to see why especially after they allowed 363 yards on the ground on a 7.4-yard-per-carry average. This anemic run defense is maybe the primary reason the Packers are 4-8 on the season and all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
The full front seven should be mentioned here, too. This defensive line was repeatedly blown off the ball, while second-level linebackers missed tackles and were constantly late to fill gaps. To illustrate, Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, and Krys Barnes missed eight tackles combined, according to PFF. Of course, we are guessing the total is actually higher considering coach LaFleur reported 20 misses for the defense as a whole. The inept ground defense allowed the Eagles to have 11 rushes of 10 yards or more. They also had four different players who had carries of at least 10 yards.
2. Packers Pass Defense
Eagles star QB Jalen Hurts was 16-of-28 for 153 yards and two touchdowns. The touchdowns came from Quez Watkins (30 yards) and AJ Brown, who beat Rasul Douglas. Meanwhile, Jaire Alexander waited for an interception a few plays before Brown's score, which made it 34-20. However, instead of getting a pick, he allowed DeVonta Smith to grab it for 14 yards to convert a third-and-12. They only intercepted two passes, though. The first of which was deflected by Kingsley Enagbare and the second by Alexander.
On the bright side, the Packers did record two sacks. One came from Justin Hollins and the other was shared by Jarrett Reed and Preston Smith. Reed has actually been a bright spot as a pass rusher, despite his sack totals. This is what they want to see more of, not the porous secondary.
1. DC Joe Barry
The Packers had three days to prepare for the Eagles. It's almost as though defensive coordinator Joe Barry spent all of that time just planning for Thanksgiving dinner instead of scheming for Jalen Hurts & Co. I mean, the Packers just looked absolutely horrible on defense in this game. Take note that Hurts exploited them so much that he nearly broke the NFL single-game running yardage record for a quarterback. He's crazy good, yes, but it sure looked like the Packers were running like headless chickens out there.
Sure, the Packers offense wasn't exactly stellar, too, but this loss was really on the defense, which practically didn't show up in Week 12.
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