Packers’ 7-3 Record Masks Deeper Issues
The Green Bay Packers have shown flashes of greatness this season, but serious flaws are keeping them from being a Super Bowl contender.
A game-winning field goal block against the Chicago Bears moved the Packers to 7-3. The Athletic‘s playoff projection model now gives them an 80 percent chance at making the playoffs, with a chance to take an even bigger jump this week with a win against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 12.
Their record suggests that the Packers have a shot at making a deep playoff run. However, major concerns on both sides of the ball are holding a young but talented team back from Super Bowl contention.
Don’t Blame It on Love
It’s easy to point to Jordan Love as an issue for the Packers as the NFL’s co-leader in interceptions. However, the former first-round quarterback isn’t holding Green Bay back, even with all of the turnover-worthy plays.
Love threw his 11th interception of the season on Sunday, sailing a throw to a wide-open Tucker Kraft in the red zone for a costly turnover. However, despite that interception, Love still generated an impressive 0.52 EPA per dropback, according to RBSDM.
In fact, Love’s 12.1 EPA was more than his counterpart for the Bears in Caleb Williams, who had 11.2 total EPA despite having twice as many dropbacks in the game.
Williams was credited with having one of his best games as a pro, while Love was heavily criticized for his interception. However, outside of that throw, Love was dialed in, fitting throws into tight windows, avoiding pressure in the pocket, and even launching a deep shot to Christian Watson for one of the biggest plays of the game.
In fact, three of Love’s best throws of the game were on targets to Watson.
Sunday’s game against Chicago was another example of Love’s aggressive play style. He’s not afraid to push the ball deep, as he’s tied for fourth in the NFL with an aDOT of 9.5 yards. That leads to explosive plays, but it also comes with risk, which is a big reason why he has so many interceptions.
The Packers seem content in living with the feast-or-famine play style with the passing game. Despite the turnovers, it’s not one of the main reasons why this team is being held back from Super Bowl contention.
