- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,216,661
- Reaction score
- 59
The Green Bay Packers lost a third straight game after giving up 216 rushing yards and four scores to Derrick Henry in a 41-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night at Lambeau Field.
While backup quarterback Malik Willis was a standout, his individual greatness was not enough to overcome the shortcomings defensively and a few costly mistakes on offense.
Here's the good, the bad and the ugly coming out of the Packers' loss in Week 17:
Malik Willis shines in showcase performance: Starting in place of Jordan Love, who remained in concussion protocol, Willis was nothing short of magical -- completing 18 passes for 288 yards and a score and rushing for 60 yards and two more touchdowns. With all eyes on Lambeau Field, Willis accounted for 348 total yards and was dynamic as a thrower and runner. He battled through a right shoulder injury and lost practice time due to an illness and still played the best individual game of his pro career. You can bet all the quarterback-needy teams in the NFL stood and took notice. Willis will be a free agent come March, and he's likely guaranteed himself a nice, big payday and a real chance to be a franchise quarterback.
More injuries: The Packers came into Saturday night with a battered roster, and the loss to the Ravens provided no reprieve. In fact, general manager Brian Gutekunst will likely need to make several roster moves to field a 48-man gameday roster next week. In addition to Malik Willis exiting with a shoulder injury late, the Packers also lost special teamer Zayne Anderson (ankle), defensive tackle Jordon Riley (Achilles), receiver Dontayvion Wicks (concussion), cornerback Nate Hobbs (knee) and cornerback Kamal Hadden (ankle). Anderson, Riley and Hadden had to be carted off after suffering what appeared to be significant injuries. The Packers already have 10 players on injured reserve or the PUP list, including Micah Parsons, Tucker Kraft, Devonte Wyatt, Elgton Jenkins, Nick Niemann, John FitzPatrick and Kristian Welch. At quarterback, it's possible the Packers will have to turn to Clayton Tune in the regular season finale if Jordan Love doesn't clear concussion protocol and Willis needs to rest his injured throwing shoulder.
Run defense: The ugliest performance of the season by the Packers defense was punctuated late by Derrick Henry's 25-yard touchdown run, which gave him four scores and over 200 yards rushing and put the Ravens over 300 yards rushing on the night. From the very first possession to the Ravens' final scoring drive, the Packers defensive front got run over by big, dominant offensive line and a future Hall of Fame running back. Henry consistently had holes, and he made defenders pay at the second level. The Ravens also got 60 rushing yards from backup quarterback Tyler Huntley and 34 more from backup Keaton Mitchell, and Baltimore created 22 total first downs with the run game. The Packers will be an incredibly easy out in the postseason if the run defense doesn't improve immensely in the next two weeks.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Good, bad and ugly from Packers' loss to Ravens in Week 17
Continue reading...
While backup quarterback Malik Willis was a standout, his individual greatness was not enough to overcome the shortcomings defensively and a few costly mistakes on offense.
Here's the good, the bad and the ugly coming out of the Packers' loss in Week 17:
The Good
Malik Willis shines in showcase performance: Starting in place of Jordan Love, who remained in concussion protocol, Willis was nothing short of magical -- completing 18 passes for 288 yards and a score and rushing for 60 yards and two more touchdowns. With all eyes on Lambeau Field, Willis accounted for 348 total yards and was dynamic as a thrower and runner. He battled through a right shoulder injury and lost practice time due to an illness and still played the best individual game of his pro career. You can bet all the quarterback-needy teams in the NFL stood and took notice. Willis will be a free agent come March, and he's likely guaranteed himself a nice, big payday and a real chance to be a franchise quarterback.
The Bad
More injuries: The Packers came into Saturday night with a battered roster, and the loss to the Ravens provided no reprieve. In fact, general manager Brian Gutekunst will likely need to make several roster moves to field a 48-man gameday roster next week. In addition to Malik Willis exiting with a shoulder injury late, the Packers also lost special teamer Zayne Anderson (ankle), defensive tackle Jordon Riley (Achilles), receiver Dontayvion Wicks (concussion), cornerback Nate Hobbs (knee) and cornerback Kamal Hadden (ankle). Anderson, Riley and Hadden had to be carted off after suffering what appeared to be significant injuries. The Packers already have 10 players on injured reserve or the PUP list, including Micah Parsons, Tucker Kraft, Devonte Wyatt, Elgton Jenkins, Nick Niemann, John FitzPatrick and Kristian Welch. At quarterback, it's possible the Packers will have to turn to Clayton Tune in the regular season finale if Jordan Love doesn't clear concussion protocol and Willis needs to rest his injured throwing shoulder.
The Ugly
Run defense: The ugliest performance of the season by the Packers defense was punctuated late by Derrick Henry's 25-yard touchdown run, which gave him four scores and over 200 yards rushing and put the Ravens over 300 yards rushing on the night. From the very first possession to the Ravens' final scoring drive, the Packers defensive front got run over by big, dominant offensive line and a future Hall of Fame running back. Henry consistently had holes, and he made defenders pay at the second level. The Ravens also got 60 rushing yards from backup quarterback Tyler Huntley and 34 more from backup Keaton Mitchell, and Baltimore created 22 total first downs with the run game. The Packers will be an incredibly easy out in the postseason if the run defense doesn't improve immensely in the next two weeks.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Good, bad and ugly from Packers' loss to Ravens in Week 17
Continue reading...
