#747 Packers Unscripted: Thanksgiving turnaround

we're taping this episode Packers and Lions. Packers and Lions will square off on Thanksgiving at Ford Field, so we'll try to both review and preview. Biggest statistic, of course, from the victory over the Chargers Jordan Love three hundred and twenty two passing yards with two touchdowns and the Packers first three hundred yard passing game since December of twenty twenty one and first one for first one in

Jordan Love's career. And it was great to see the offense build on four quarters of production in Pittsburgh, even though it didn't produce as many points as you would have hoped. With another four quarters of production against the Chargers, even though again not as many points as you would have hoped, but two days too, I'm sorry, two games in a row. The Packers offense has been a threat for four quarters and not gone into some kind of a shutdown mode like we had seen earlier in the season.

But ultimately, Mike, you can talk about red zone defense, you can talk about, you know, the amount of young players that stepped up in this thing. For me, it came back to Jordan Love because I thought when the Packers needed him to be his best, he was. And you know, there were some moments there got a little tight,

a couple third and lungs at some inopportune times. You're really sure which way it was going to go, but yep, Love kept his composure through the ball with confidence, trusted his receivers, and I'll tell you what if you were looking for a play, a go ahead score, that was going to indicate the little progressions and where Green Bay

was working to and what they need to overcome. Romeo Dobs showing extremely good not only timing with the high point of the ball, but also pulling that down aggressively physically, and the amount of celebration and jubilation that was shared with that team afterwards. Jordan Love played the way he needed to play, protected the football, and the green Bay Packers won a much need a football game.

to Don Tavian Wicks over the middle. Then Love went back to Wicks again. He bounces off a tackler, turns a short pass into a thirty five yard gain, and then the twenty four yard are over the top to Romeo Dobbs. When Love kind of hustled up the offense and noticed that the Chargers were a little discombobulated on defense, He's like, hey, let's snap the ball and go, and Romeo was one on one on the outside. He put it up there with a chance for the go ahead

touchdown and the Packers got it. The other thing that I really liked, and to me, when you're looking for those little things, because we all see the big things, when you're looking for those little things that show the progress of the offense and where things are now compared to a couple of months ago, I will I will point to something that was learned after the game in the postgame press conferences, and I wrote about it in my Rapid Reaction piece after the game that's on the

website off folks want to check it out. Jordan Love offered up that in the third quarter, the touchdown pastor Christian Watson in the back corner of the end zone was not a play that was in the game plan. He said, you know, he sort of said, I think coach Lafleur drew that one up on the sideline. So then I asked Matt Lafleur when he came into the podium afterwards, I followed up on that and said, okay, so this is what Jordan said. He said, you drew

the play up on the sideline. Lafleur explained even further that it was actually tight Ends coach John Dunn, who had come up with the idea. He and Lafleur kind of collaborated on it, presumably over the headset or whatever, but it was on that drive there was a defensive look they had seen from the Chargers earlier in the drive. John Dunn came up with an idea, a route idea

to possibly exploit that. So they talked about it during the drive and then when the Packers got down into the red zone, Lafleur dialed it up, called the play, and Love and Watson, the route runners, everybody executed it perfectly for a twelve yard touchdown touchdown pass. The fact that they could do that in an important situation it was not something in the game plan. It wasn't repped during the week. It was an improv move based on

something they thought they could exploit with the defense. It gets thrown in there into a red zone situation and it was executed perfectly. The route was there, the throw was right on target, and the Packers get a touchdown

in the red zone. To me, that one play was an incredible sign of progress because I don't think if they're trying to collaborate on the headsets and come up with something on the sideline for a red zone play for a touchdown back in September or October, that that's going to work, that the Packers are going to get a score there. They got one. It was a big

score at the time. It gave the Packers the lead at the time in the third quarter, and I just I thought that hearing about that and learning about it, about that and how that went down, that really opened my eyes.

game at the second level. And you know, that's one thing we've learned this year with Jordan love and intention, in addition to just his intelligence at football IQ, the fact that you know he is thinking about the game on that next level. He's not just being given the play call and trying to execute it. He's trying to figure out, Okay, what can I do to manipulate the defense. That's three years of growing, That's three years of working

with Aaron Rodgers. That's three years of being in Matt Lafuur system and understanding what his coach wants from him, and you're able to take chances like that and produce. And then lastly, I just want to mention this too for these young receivers. There's a quote that Jaden Reid gave to Pete Doherty from the pres Gazette after the game, which I thought was a really huge highlight of how far this receiving corp has come in the last two months. Guy like Reid who's now been nominated back to back

weeks for the NFL Rookie of the Week. Yeah, fourth guy in franchise history, according to Elias that has had forty five receiving yards and forty five rushing yards in a single game in franchise history, with that thirty two yard touchdown end around helping boost his rushing numbers. But he said, I mean two months later, three months into the season. There's things he's doing out there now that he doesn't think he would be able to do the

first few weeks. The way he's thinking of the game, the speed at which he plays, but then also mentally processing what's happening around him. And you're seeing that with him, You're seeing with Don Tavian Wicks, You're seeing it with Tucker Craft.

so that drive gets killed. Keenan Allen, who we talked about last week, I wrote a bottom last week. He's in the ten thousand yard club. He dropped two passes near the goal line that both would have been at a minimum first and goal if not touchdowns. And then at the end of the game, Quinton Johnston drops I mean an absolute seed of a throw by Justin Herbert, I mean Mike Goodness puts it right on the money along the Packers' sideline there, and Quinton Johnston drops it.

Would have put the Chargers at a minimum in game tying field goal range in the final thirty seconds of the ballgame, if not, possibly if he's able to catch it and stay in bounds, maybe he even scores on it. So the Packers caught some breaks there, and I don't want to minimize those because this game definitely could have

gone the other way. But I'll say this as well, going up against Justin Herbert, who came as advertised, the first time either one of us got to see him live and in person, and he was impressive and his arm is really something. But at this stage of the season, the plan, the plan was the Packers' top four cornerbacks were going to be JR Alexander Rousoul, Douglas, keishn Nixon, Eric Stokes. In your top two safeties would be Darnell Savage and Rudy Ford. So that's your dime defense with

six defensive backs. One of those guys, only one was on the field on Sunday against Justin Herbert. The Packers needed Carrington Valentine. They needed Corey Ballentine. They needed Anthony Johnson Junior, the rookie safety. They needed Jonathan Owens at safety. Nixon was out there and he's gotten it out on a bad ankle because he got hurt early in the game. So as much as as much as the Chargers dropped

passes certainly had a big impact on this game. I thought essentially a makeshift secondary of sorts for the Packers. Based on what the plans were going going along this season. I thought they didn't. They didn't make things easy for Herbert. I guess he had to make some darn good throws and he did. It's just that his receivers kind of let him down.

The Packers didn't make it easy for them. They had to make the most of the opportunities that they were given. And there weren't a lot of breakdowns that just led to guys being able to just be wide open. Fortunately, when Parham was he dropped it.

Packers secondary credit for battling. I mean, yeah, there were a couple of flags. You know, Keishaan got flagged for a you know, on a third down, but you know he's trying to cover Keenan Allen, you know, in the slot and and trying to blanket him as best he can. Close call, tough call, gives them a free first down, you know, But but you just you line up and

keep fighting and keep playing. And that's what these guys did and h and as it turned out, fortunately Johnson dropped the Johnston dropped the deep ball at the end. He was a guy who really hadn't done much at all, and then he's got He ends up being the guy with the chance to make the big play at the end of the game, and he doesn't make it.

turnover battle. This was not going to be a team that you could play in have take not get takeaways and lose the turnover margin expect to win. It just doesn't happen. If you look at what they've done this season, the Chargers are going to make life very difficult on you. So what happens Austin Eckler fumbles, trips, fumbles, and as Kenny was explaining afterwards, the thing is something they preach

all the time. They rep it every single week when ball carriers are trying to get back to their feet. If you ever wanted to look for the moment which ball security is the last thing on their minds when they're trying to stumble back to their feet, That's exactly what happened with Eckler on that play. Kenny punches the ball out. Rashan Gary gets the sack that is kind

of generated by Kenny Clark's pressure. When the game was on the line late Packers had a little bit of a mental lapse there where Shawn gets busted there for the off sides on fourth and six makes it a fourth and two, although at that point of the game they weren't gonna run anyway, so it didn't matter. But Kenny puts his hand up and he gets the batted ball.

That fourth quarter, with what the defense did, it allowed them to overcome you know, a big run from Austin Eckler, a big scramble or two from Herbert keenan Allen's production, Smart's touchdown because they came back and they won that turnover margin in the end.

Cousin Subs fifty years of better. All Right. The Detroit Lions, as they do traditionally hosting the early Thanksgiving game, the first of the Thanksgiving triple header. The Packers are the visitors this year. And I tell you what, West, and this is what I said when we did our three Things video for this week, which this week's Three Things video is on Monday because instead of in the middle of the week because the game is on Thursday. We're

all adjusting. But all you have to do to see how tough the Lions are to beat is look at these last two games. They gave up thirty eight points to the LA Chargers. Justin Herbert directed five consecutive touchdown drives, and yet the Lions still wouldn't be beat. Then they

come home against the Chicago Bears. Jared Goff throws three interceptions, the Bears get four takeaways in all end up plus three in the turnover margin, and the Bears have a twelve point lead with four minutes to go in Detroit against the division leaders, and yet the Lions would not be beat. This is a tough bunch. And I'm telling you the I expect the atmosphere at Ford Field on Thursday. I can't even think of the last time that the Lions and their fans would be looking this much forward

to hosting a game on Thanksgiving. As to what's going on this year. The atmosphere in that place is going to be is going to be off the chart.

I'm not worried about Jared Goff. Jared Goff, this is gonna happen. He's had three interception games before in his career. He's gonna have Shoot. He started the game against Green Bay with an interception right to Rudy Ford. But you don't worry about how he's gonna bounce back. But to see the way Jamior Gibbs, that young defense, Aiden Hutchinson, they have a lot of mental toughness and one of the things that I think Detroit had been zapped up

for many years was confidence, talent, and toughness. And this is not going to be a cakewalk by any means, But I will say this, I think they're going to see a much different Packers team this second time around than they did the first time.

first place. Their guy was getting booed by the home fans because that impatience that you know, that that worry that you know, is there is this still maybe somehow the same old Lions that's that's still there. Yeah, And it came out. It came out against the Bears when the Lions had their backs against the wall and the fans were really nervous about that game. But you know, it's credit.

And the reason those are the top the two things at the top of my list is because those are the two things I believe were the biggest reason, the two biggest things the Packers couldn't do the first time they faced the Lions on that Thursday night game back in September. The Lions had that ended up with the two hundred plus yards rushing and Aiden Hutchinson just set the tone defensively, allowing that Lion's defensive front to do whatever it wanted to do because the Packers didn't have

an answer for Hutchinson. So those are the two things at the top of my list. And then the other thing was in reference to something I just mentioned. Packers are gonna have to handle the environment in this game, because the Packers have gone on the road, you know, to Atlanta and to Vegas and Denver, and there have been there's been a decent contingent of Packers fans. It's you know, hasn't really been a quote unquote true road

game anywhere that the Packers have been this year. Quite frankly, even even Week one, we've certainly seen games at Soldier Field with more Packers fans than there were in Week one. But this one Thanksgiving in Detroit with the Lions in first place playing the Packers, I don't think there's gonna

be a lot of Green Bay fans there. And this is gonna this is going to be an environment where the crowd is going to have an influence on things and the Packers are gonna have to handle, you know, the the momentum swings and what's gonna happen out there, because because this is gonna be a true road game.

once and then fumbled the next one. Then they finally got a Santos field goal.

especially with the way that Jamior Gibbs is running. Now, that first game, it was all the.

would be an amazing, amazing addition for this team. But I'll tell you what, Mike, when you're this beat up and you're playing on a short week, it was one of my points I made an inbox sometimes you just got to run the football. Just roll the football out there and see what happens. Packers will have a plan. It'll be a good plan. But there's not a lot of rhyme or reason to these Thursday games, especially Thursday morning game.

both go down with injuries against the Chargers. The good news is it sounds like at least the preliminary thoughts were that Aaron Jones did not suffer a significant injury. But I certainly don't expect to see him suiting up on Thursday in Detroit after what happened with his knee. Emmanuel Wilson, we haven't at this point, we haven't really heard many updates yet, but he injured his shoulder. So the Packers down to just aj Dillon and now have

they've signed Patrick Taylor. They brought him back for running back depth, and also brought back James Robinson on the practice squad who had spent some time on the practice squad earlier this season. So the Packers trying to fortify the running back situation due to the injuries. But other stuff cropped up in the Chargers game too, Dantavian Wix being evaluated for a concussion. I saw Luke Muskrave popped

up on the injury abdomen. The Packers' list of injuries here is long, and there's you know, quite frankly, it will in a lot of ways probably be right up until ninety minutes before kickoff when that inactive list gets turned in that we'll find out exactly who's going to be available for Green Bay. Because you're not making those decisions on a Tuesday after you played on Sunday. You're gonna give these guys you know, up until you know, as long as you can to say hey, can you

suit up or not? And then the Packers are gonna roll with what they've got.

back on the practice squad. But one of the lines that really stood out to me from what Ben Sermon said before Robinson was released the first time the Packers running back coach Sermons was that he felt confident enough that if Robinson had to play in a game, he was where he needed to be to play. Guy's been here, done that thousand yard rusher in the National Football League.

If Jones and Emanuel Wilson aren't there, they're going to need a third running back, especially considering Josiah Deguara, who Matt Lafleur pointed this out to Larry McCarron after the game. I didn't even think about this when the Packers. Everybody's thinking, oh, they're down to one running back when they lost Jones and Wilson. Well, Josiah Deguarre is their other like HVAC,

like personal protector. If they would have needed another guy to be in the backfield and shotgun with Geordan Love on third down, right, they were really getting down that depth chart. So it's that sort of thing that Green Bay's probably need a third running back in this game as well. All that being said, one of the things that this team has done really well so far this

season is guys stepping up in those moments. The only reason the Packers are where they are right now, and the fact that they have hope going into this game against the Lions, is the Anthony Johnson's, the Carrington Valentines, the Jonathan Ford or Jonathan Owens. Excuse me, guys that we're either starters in the league before or are just your typical seventh round rookies that are just looking for an opportunity. Those guys have been up for the challenge.

Isaiah McDuffie again next to Kay Walker. The other thing too, I'll point out I didn't notice this until I watched the film and I did my what you might have missed with all the film clips on Kenny Clark this week from the Chargers game. So of course, the last play is the fourth and one batted pass by Clark. Isaiah McDuffie was all over the tight end like Herbert was going to try to squeeze that one in there.

I don't know if that ball would have gotten in there or not, or if Herbert maybe was just gonna be looking for, you know, for a defensive pass interference or holding or something. McDuffie. McDuffie had the coverage on that fourth and one, And even if Clark doesn't doesn't bat that pass, I think there's a good chance that that passes incomplete. So again, another young guy who's filled in for Green Bay, and he might have to fill in again.