Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always by my trusted colleague Weston Hodquitz. Coming to you hear from our studios at Lambeufield to talk about, unfortunately, another tough loss for the Packers West twenty three to nineteen to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Akrascher Stadium. Just wanted to say that one more time for your benefit, I.
Think you're getting paid over here, Mike doing it that often.
My feeling, my feeling on this game. I wrote about it already in a few different places. Yes, the ending was the same and the ending was just as frustrating as the other similar endings that the Packers have been subject to this season. But this was not the same script as far as the game goes, and the script and the way this game unfolded gives you something to feel a little bit better about with the Packers than some of these other losses that we've had to discuss.
I know you're not a big social media guy, you're not a big meme guy, but this almost, this game to me almost kind of felt like the kombucha Lady where she's like trying to determine whether or not she liked the flavor of it, and it's going back and forth. That's kind of been me in the aftermath of this loss,
because when it first happened, I was pretty disappointed. I kind of thought I was like, Man, it happened to these guys again, Yeah, where they just they they fell into a spot where they're having to play and trying to win in the fourth quarter. But the more and more time passes, the more content I am with not only the outcome of the game, but where the Packers are at this point in time. And I think you can kind of feel that a little bit with Matt Lafleur,
with this locker room. You don't want to lose, and a loss is a loss is a loss.
Yeah, we stinks.
There were so many things that when we talk about the signs of progression from week one to week ten, the things that necessarily didn't always see in the losses earlier this season that were present in this game against the Steelers. The Packers got off to a faster start offensively, defensively, gave up some points, first time in thirteen straight games where they gave up a touchdown on the opening offensive possession for the opposing team.
First touchdown on the opening drive for the offense since week one.
Since week one. Yeah, And it wasn't that they just scored a touchdown. It was that they had to respond right right. They had to actually match the touchdown that
the Pittsburgh had had. And then I look at some of the guys that stepped up along the way AJ Dillon running the way he's been running the last few weeks, this rookie class, this skill position players being able to step up and defensively, not defending the run as well as they have been two hundred plus yards unacceptable, but not finding and sort of falling and regressing after that first series, those first two series where they give up
fourteen points, the defense came back and battled the Green Bay Packers have a lot of work to do in three and six is not good enough. But now that were forty eight hours away from this thing, I feel like they're small things that Matt Lafleur and this coaching staff can point to towards we did this better. Now we need to do it to the level of which we're gonna be able to win a football game.
Yeah, the start for the defense was very frustrating to watch. As you said, Pittsburgh scored touchdowns on their first two possessions, they had a field goal on their third possession, so they had seventeen points on three drives out of the gate, and quite frankly that what was the most disappointing thing with the way the defense started the game was that until the final third down of the third drive, they did not get Pittsburgh in anything worse than a third
and three. I mean, my point is they didn't even really give themselves much of a chance to get off the field because Pittsburgh just stayed ahead of the chains for essentially three drives until that third one ended in the red zone and they were in third and long and then ended up having to kick a field goal.
So that for to see the Packers' offense start the way it did and to start productively and still find yourself in a seventeen to seven hole in the middle of the second quarter was definitely deflating a lot of other regrets in this game. And we'll certainly talk about some of the positives that we think the Packers are going to build on, but again, drop passes on offense,
the penalties on both sides of the ball hurt. A blocked extra point, you can't overstate how large a role that played in the game, because you know the Packers then on those final two drives they have to get a touchdown instead of being able to settle for what might have been a game tying field goal to extend the game, and then you never know what happens after that. But the blocked extra point, the replay review thing, I'm not even going to get into it. I said my
piece in Monday Mornings Insider Inbox. I'll stand by what I said there, and I know you're not really interested in talking about it either.
All I'm gonna say, if I may really quickly, is that New York when when New York started jumping in on these calls where it wasn't just on the officials at the field, That's where I thought maybe we would start to get a little bit more clarity on these things.
I actually think it's muddled the water even worse because in the past, I'll be honest with you, if it was just up to Scott Novak and his and his staff and his crew on the field, okay, whatever, it's just he's They're calling back to the New York office to try to make sense of these things and they still can't figure it out.
Yeah.
Meanwhile, you look at Dean Blandino for the thirty third team and I get it. Man, I'm the biggest Dean Blandino stand there is. But what I will keep saying, Mike is that when Dean Blandino was the VP officiing in the National Football League, there was accountability. Every week Dean Blandino was coming out there, he was explaining, clarifying what the calls were, good, bad, and everything in between. Yep,
it's no longer out river On. But the way that this has degressed for the NFL in the last ten years, I have never had less confidence in officiating week to week and in any of my time covering the National Football League.
Yep, I agree. I agree with you.
That's my only two cents.
Yeah, I agree with you entirely, And as I said, I will stand by what I said. I answered multiple questions about it in Monday Mornings Insider inbox. I am quite confident, even though I've only positive a theory, I'm quite confident that I'm right in how in how that went down. I'll let you folks read it.
I don't want to take it in the business.
Yeah, but other regrets too, even aside from that one, you know, And as you mentioned, the defense did bounce back, they gave the offense a chance to come back, and the Packers actually did take the lead in this game.
But we had talked all week last week about needing to win the turnover battle, and at a time when the turnovers in the game were zero zero, Packers had the best chance for one that would have potentially turned the game around, and unfortunately, Devandre Campbell led an interception, maybe a pick sick slip through his hands. How many times coming back from these road games are we talking about interceptions and potential pick six. Is that the Packers
are not coming up with the plays. Those are the game changers, those are the ones you gotta have. Campbell's not the only one who's missed one this year. It's been it's been all season long. So you get on the plane with those with those regrets as well, after you take a deep breath and you try to settle in and go, okay, how are you going to move forward here and try to get a home win over the La Chargers, and we'll talk more about the Chargers
on our next episode. But when you look at what this offense did Wes, you know, it's not just Jordan Love thrown for two eighty nine. It's not just putting up three ninety nine total in a road game. It's the The explosive play was back suddenly for the Green Bay Packers. Six plays, six offensive plays in this game, five passes, one run that were twenty eight yards or longer. Those six plays accounted for over two hundred yards, more than half of the three hundred and ninety nine. That's
how you get productivity in this league. And even saying the six of twenty eight or more, there were two or three others that were twenty twenty two to twenty three yards right in that range as well. The explosive play was there. I thought, I thought Jordan loves delivery when the explosive plays were there to be made, I
thought he was. I thought he was spot on. I think there's no question that even with the two interceptions at the end of the game, Jordan Love played his best game as a Green Bay Packer.
He made the throws that you want to see a franchise quarterback, make the decision making, and obviously the red zone, the one for five that Green Bay had down there. It'll continue to be debated this week. It's something people are gonna have their eye on. But I was watching somebody had cut up all those explosive plays and put them together. That's a real deal NFL quarterback. The way he stepped into the pocket, the way he saw through the pass rush, the way he was able to keep
his eyes downfield and deliver good footballs. And yeah, there were some fun ones. The thirty five yard touchdown to Jayden Reid, the forty six yard pass to Jaden Reid, which was kind of a broken play, the seam to
Luke Musgrave, the corner to Luke Musgrave. But as I wrote about an insider Inbox, I think my favorite play was the Dontavian Wicks one because it came off somewhat off schedule and it was a rookie fifth round pick finding a hole in the secondary in Jordan Love, dancing left, dancing right, doing all these little maneuvers within the pocket, standing tall and delivering a thirty two yard pass on third and long. Green Bay really executed, I thought well.
Within the offense in this game, they need to get back to producing like they did earlier this season in the red zone. That was a huge strength for them early on. But overall, again, I just I think when you look at the litmus test for Jordan Love and him checking the boxes you want to see with him being aotential, you know, starting quarterback for the future for Green Bay, there were so many promising signs in this one.
Yeah, I one hundred, which which makes ending tough, you know, yeah, exactly. And that's the thing is to see the game, to see the game end with the back to back interceptions, I mean, I'll start with this, the one on the last play of the game. The fact that the Packers take over on their own nineteen yard line with fifty nine seconds left and no timeouts and needing a touchdown, and Jordan Love gets them to the sixteen yard line with three seconds left to get even a legitimate shot
at the end zone. I thought that was some impressive work. And it started with, as you said, the forty six yard passed to Jayden Reid. That was some really good improv by both guys, by about the quarterback and the receiver to find that opening for a big play. You convert the fourth down to aj Dillon, you know, hustle up, spike the ball, give yourself a chance. The interception on the last play though, I mean, come on, folks, I mean,
look at the film. Steelers have seven guys who are literally lined up sidelined to sideline across the goal line. I mean, which is how you defend which which is exactly how you defend that. And you need you need a p you need practically a miracle to uh to be able to get that ball into the end zone. And and Love took it. He took his shot. It didn't work out, it got picked off. I don't blame
him for that interception. I didn't like the one on the previous possession though, and and Matt Lafluur has made has made some comments about that because they tried the out and up with Christian Watson down the sideline. Watson didn't really sell the out before he went up. It wasn't it wasn't the best route, and as Matt Lafluur
also said, it wasn't the best coverage. Look for that kind of a route to try to make that play in the red zone where the field is a little bit tighter, and when it's only second down from the fourteen yard line, there wasn't there wasn't the need necessary really to uh to gopher broke there, so that one, unfortunately, you know, does does fall on Jordan and it does fall on h On Watson for a couple of different reasons.
A heck of a play by Patrick Peterson. I mean, what can you say, A veteran guy who's going to be in Canton someday whenever he's still playing, but whenever it's five years after he's retired, the guy is going to be in Canton, and he made he made made a whale.
Of a play. It was if I can't just mention this because you and I were discussing this at our cubicles. Yeah, on Monday. It reminded me of your dad in the driveway, where it's like, you may have all the athleticism in the world. You might be the better, you know, more more conditioned athlete at this point, but the old man's gonna back into every once in a while and he's gonna post up and maybe not dunk, but he'll he'll
get the ball in the hoop. Yeah, that's Patrick Peterson at the stage of his career and he finds a way to make things happen.
Yeah, that a heck of a heck of a play by him. But you'd love to see the Packers. You'd love to see Jordan Love and the offense kind of live to play another down there and take your crack on. You know, third and nine from the fourteen, you still got plenty of time on the clock to get that touchdown, or who knows, maybe with that much time on the clock and you got three timeouts, and you know the
defense had you know, been hanging in there. Maybe maybe you end up actually kicking the field goal and try to get the ball back one more time for another field goal to win. Who knows, But they didn't give themselves that opportunity. But we also have to point out here we talked all last week about a couple of darn good edge rushers for the Pittsburgh Steelers and TJ. Watt and Alex high Smith, And credit to Rashid Walker
and to Zach Tom also to the plan. When you when you look at the film, you see you see the chip blocks, you see the help in certain situations that don't allow Watt and high Smith to just you know, pin their ears back, as they say, and come after the quarterback. The Packers slowed those guys up. They neutralized them as best they could. When Jordan Love is dropping back forty plus times and you look at the stat sheet at the end of the game and Alex Highsmith
has almost no stats to speak of and TJ. Watt just has one sack and two quarterback hits on forty plus pass dropbacks in Pittsburgh on the road. That's a heck of an effort in pass protection by the Packers. And that's another good sign here moving forward, because we've been talking about, you know, when is this offensive line going to settle in to you know, to where they are with the young players that are fitting in and figuring out their roles and everything and helping this offense
find a level of efficiency. That game, that game, to me, was hopefully the start of that because that was a challenge against the Pittsburgh pass rush, and the Pittsburgh pass rush did not dictate how that game went.
They didn't. I was super impressed. You had to read about it in my inbox. But Zach Tom the effort he had in that game, and there was a lot of times I isolated.
Just on him outstanding performance again against against a tremendous player.
Yeah, and it was you know, Aaron Jones chipping here and there. You know, guys the tight ends contributing to that. But there were a lot of times too where Zach Tom just had to get into his backstep his kickstep, and it was just him versus TJ. Watt yep and what is going to make his plays? He just will, but they again neutralize that threat. Can't say enough about really Walker, really this entire offensive line. I've watched that run too by AJ Dillon probably about a half dozen times.
Now, Man, you cannot execute a sequence of blocks better than how the Packers executed on that play. That's what you might have missed, which is now on the website if people want to check out the video clips and my diagram my descriptions. I look specifically at all six of the twenty eight plus yard explosives and try to diagram and explain how and why they worked, if you want to check it out.
Yeah. And I was talking with Burt Griffin in the locker room afterwards from WFRV, and he said, I mean, it was the old John Riggins play where it's you know, you give Rashid Walker gets on his guy and you have both Runyon and Tom pulling from the right side,
and they sealed it off perfectly. And for aj Dillon Man, a guy that has kind of had to go through some pitfalls this season, but to be able to finally get that high stepping down the sideline the old Walter Payton style, I can only imagine how that must have felt to him, and to be able to get up. You know, that game in itself, Mike basically rose his average yards percary from three point three to three point seven.
That's the difference of an explosive play. The Packers have to get all their different various playmakers kind of all kicking at the same time. Here. You know, it was a tougher game for Aaron Jones. There was lamenting some issues afterwards, but by and large Green Bay has had most of their weapons available now and you're seeing when they're used in concert how dynamic they can be.
And I'll just say this with regard to and I try to explain this, am I what you might have missed piece as well. For those who like to get all hung up on scheme and play calling, versus execution. When coaches, when guys like us say, you know, you look at the film and there's you know, things are there to be executed that aren't executed properly. That forty yard run by aj Dillon. Packers had a seven man offensive line, five linemen, two tight ends, one on each side.
The Steelers had an eight man box. It was seven on eight. Schematically, that's advantage defense. But when everything is executed the way you draw it up, it's a busted It's a busted run out the gate for forty yards. It's not all about scheme and play calling, folks. It's about how the guys on the field execute their assignments. And that play was a perfect example of it.
Yeah, in the plays in which Green Bay were able to generate those explosives, it speaks to that the challenge for green Bay just tying this all together in a bow is what you said earlier with the mixed extra point, with the blocked extra point. Green Bay was finding themselves back and playing from behind from pretty much the very beginning.
They got that quick little lead at the end of the third quarter, but then obviously the Pittsburgh Steelers came back and answered with what is probably an all Pro type season right now from Chris Boswell, with the way he's playing. Yeah, and for Green Bay, it just shows you why every single thing you do has to be tight. Yeah, you have to have it all coming together at the same time.
And that's that's what That's what I was going to say, because the Packers, the Packers are at the stage where they're trying to put it together. They're trying, they're trying to they're trying to grow, they're trying to get this thing going. But you're still at the stage where your margin of error is incredibly thin. And when your margin of error is as thin as it is with this Packers team, every little thing matters. And yeah, it's a it's a blocked extra point that plays a huge role
in the game when the field goal unit. According to Matt Lafleur, was coach to alter the snap count and to not allow a guy, a veteran like Patrick Peterson coming off the edge to time the snap and get the jump that he needs. Yes, there should have been a better block on him, but he's also not supposed to be able to time up the snap that well. But yet he was. Because it looked like, you know, the operation was, everything was normal, nothing was really changed up.
Those those are the little things. Aaron Jones not getting out of bounds on the final drive on the checkdown pass, he has a chance to you know, to get to the sideline and save you know, fifteen eighteen seconds before, which are time that the Packers end up losing before their next snap, which then is why you only get one crack at the end zone once you get inside the twenty, you don't have maybe two or three there because there isn't the time on the clock. Every little
thing matters with this team. And that's why this one, this one was was this one hurt more in a sense in terms of the regrets. The regrets in this one hurt more, but for a good reason because there were so many other good things that had happened in the game, and this team is, this team is getting there. You gotta believe that at some point point one of these final drives is going to result in is going to result in the victory, and then it really becomes
something that they can build on. But they've got to keep they've got to continue to cut down on those mistakes that are proving so costly.
Yeah, and that's where I think, in my opinion, when I look at this whole scenario right now for green Bay in the way it's working out, I'd be more concerned if you didn't have the young guys making plays. I'd be more concerned if this was a veteran leaden team that is making the mistakes that they're making. They're kind of being the team that we sort of expected
they were going to be. Unfortunately for green Bay, they've been going up against a team like Pittsburgh that, in addition being credibly well coached, they do have veteran leaders where you need them, and I think, in some ways, getting back to that Patrick Peterson analogy earlier, when you have the guys that have been there and done that, Yep, sometimes it is experienced, it helps you prevail.
Yeah. Absolutely, Well, I'll take care a little bit of sponsor business here. West Serious XM NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute NFL news that trueful ball fanatics need twenty four to seven, three sixty five, and at Cousin subs, we have something for everyone, like our Wisconsin Cheese Curds, mac and Cheese Golden Fries and creamy shakes, all paired with your favorite sub or sub in a bowl. Cousin subs fifty years of better.
Can I say one last thing on the game before we move on? Yeah, because I didn't get a chance to mention it. Kishawn Nixon. I had another big return forty nine yards.
Yeah he did.
I just want to say this because I want people to understand that that we're getting close here to what I would consider to be another all pro type season, and he's done it without like that huge return. Kishawn Nixon now twenty six point four yards per return. The only kickoff returner in the league right now that I believe is above four hundred return yards. Kishaw Nixon's at five oh two and it's getting cold out. That could be a big thing to follow the second half.
Of this season, Absolutely no question about it.
Thank you for this Wes Hokowitz minut. It brought to you by Cousin Subths. Yeah.
But I'm glad you brought that up because that even that even points out another regret that you have, which is when you know you get really good field position off of a you know, a kick return near midfield by Keishawn Nixon, but then the offense goes three and out and you're not able to able to capitalize capitalize on it when maybe all you need is one or two first downs and you're getting three points on the board.
And in a game you lose by four with a couple of red zone cracks at the end, you know, every every point matters. Looking around the rest of the league in Week ten, it's funny how this league works, Wes. It truly is a week to week league, because last week, at this time in this show, I said, well, all the big games the home team's held serve yep, right,
Well look what happens the following week. Cleveland wins at Baltimore, Houston wins at Cincinnati, San Francisco wins at Jacksonville, Detroit wins at the Chargers, all of the big games that we talked about heading into the weekend, the road team ends up pulling them out, and Washington almost wins at Seattle the game in a game that comes down to the wire. A really wild, absolutely wild week in the NFL.
The Monday night game ended up being the sixth game of the week in the NFL that ended on a walk off field goal, which is an all time record. It was already an all time record at five, and then Monday night made it six. You also had two other games that I know of from highlights that I watched that came down to a Hail Mary on the last play of the game. And then of course you have the Packers game with a shot at final play
touchdown from inside the red zone. The games this week in the NFL were wildly entertaining and some pretty significant results, especially with some of those things that happened in the AFC, with Cleveland beating Baltimore, Houston beating Cincinnati, and then on Monday night, the Denver Broncos on the road beat the Buffalo Bills and suddenly the Broncos and Russell Wilson and Sean Payton are in the playoff conversation in the AFC.
Yeah, my biggest thing from this weekend, Michael and I didn't get a chance to watch it live, but I watched the highlights. I have so much respect right now for the Vikings, Kevin O'Connell, that entire front office, Josh Dobbs going in there and playing the way he's playing right now. And did you see that clip too where he got to us Bank Stadium. He didn't know how to get to the Vikings locker room. Oh no, I
like the security people were actually like directing him around. Shay, I've been there too, brother, I mean I've been there too. It's a tough place to figure out. But yeah, this, you know, he makes plays. He makes plays with his feet and Mike. I've said this so many times and I think I even mentioned it a few times when Aaron Rodgers was hurt in the past. In order for backup quarterbacks to succeed, you are not going to be
able to win the same way that your starter did. Yeah, you can have a guy that might fit the scheme or whatever, but a lot of times it comes down to organized chaos and Josh Dobbs has mastered that. And for them to go in and perform the way they did and hold Serve against New Orleans with the menagerie of running backs that they're utilizing right now, I think that speaks a lot to him. Justin Jefferson coming around.
Fortunately for the Packers, they don't need to see them yet for another month and you know, kind of see what happens there and Detroit. Uh, I made it my key to victory we'll talk about it more on Thursday. We'll talk about it on Final Thoughts and Packers Preview and the other eighty four different types of video content that you and I produce. But you have to score points in order to beat the Chargers, and you better do it in their house too, if you're gonna if
you're gonna be successful. Detroit did that, and you know, Jamier Gibbs has kind of proven me wrong a little bit. He's been very steady for them, been a good contributor, and you know, Detroit is high.
Dan Campbell was back to his fourth down madness too, and you know, yeah, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It worked at the end of the game. That's the way that crazy sequence he passes. He passes on a forty four yard field goal to go forward on fourth and two because he's in it, he's in a shootout.
He doesn't really want to put his defense back on the field against Justin Herbert, so he's going to go for it on fourth and two, try to get the first down and then drain the clock for a walk off field goal, and it ends up working. The field goal ends up being only three yards closer, yeah, than what it would have been it was a forty one yarder instead of a forty four yarder when it was
fourth and two. But there's no time on the clock and his defense doesn't have to go back out there to defend Justin Herbert again in a shootout game, and the Lions get another victory. And I want to echo your point about Kevin O'Connell because we're not normally in the business of tossing bouquets at division rivals. But for all the talk about, okay, just what do the Vikings
have when they win thirteen games? But it's all these down to the wire things and all of these supposed luck metrics in this and that, you know, look at their season last year and everybody's wondering, Okay, just what do the Vikings have? Kevin O'Connell is proving that what the Vikings have is one heck of a coach. And I think that is a co which much like Dan Campbell now in Detroit. That's a coach that the Packers are going to have to deal with for a long
time because those guys aren't going anywhere anytime soon. They've they've got some they've got some things figured out they're doing some impressive work. And and it's on the Packers now with Matt Lafleur, with Jordan Love with this young offense to uh to catch up and uh and get to where uh. And we're going to see the Packers play both the Lions and the Vikings again here before the end of the season. I think it could be some pretty entertaining football.
And I have so much respect too for the way in which the Vikings and Lions have gone about these rebuilds or whatever you want to call him over the last few years, because for so long, all these organizations made it about, hey, we need to stop Aaron Rodgers. So we're just gonna make our head coach, a defensive minded head coach draft for defensive players. Right, And here's a little spoiler alert for you. Uh, it's gonna be difficult to stop Aaron Rodgers, regardless of who your head coaches.
Mike Szimmer did a fine job of it many times, but ultimately it didn't bring the Vikings a Super Bowl.
He's still I mean, as good as Zimmer was, he still didn't actually win a whole lot of games against Aaron Rodgers. Yes, he had some success, but for the most part, Rogers still controlled that raval.
So instead the Lions went and got one of the popular coaching candidate's a guy that interviewed here as well, and Dan Campbell. Kevin O'Connell was the newest branch of that, you know, Sean McVay tree. They brought him in and they're playing good football right now. Me personally, yes, you're always pulling for the Packers. You want to see them succeed. But when you get competitive divisions like this, I've been saying for years, Mike, the NFC North is so much
better than people give it credit for being. I agree, And it's only been because you've had the Packers for ten fifteen years, and then it's been the Vikings, and then maybe a little bit of Lions, then the Bears come out of nowhere, then it's back to the Vikings. There just hasn't been that consistent number two. But when you go up pound for pound playoff seedings, victories, in the postseason, regular season wins, the North is right up
there with everybody. Yeah, So anyway, put a little respect on it.
Well, I think I think there's going to be I think there's gonna be some darn entertaining games coming up within the division, a non division game coming up this week for the Packers. Before the Thanksgiving showdun in Detroit, we will talk about the Chargers. We'll talk more about that Chargers Lion shootout on our next show, but for now, we'll call it a rap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team all week long on Packers dot com. For Wes,
I'm Mike. Thank you for tuning in everybody. We will see you next time.