The Green Bay Packers came back to beat the Denver Broncos on Sunday after a sluggish first half.
It was brief. Green Bay’s last-ditch effort fell short as safety P.J. Locke intercepted a deep toss from Jordan Love into double coverage, giving the Broncos the lead. The Broncos won 19-17 as a result of the turnover.
The Broncos, who were in last place and had a 1-5 record coming into Sunday, gave Love and the Packers’ offense another difficult day as they were defeated. As the Packers failed to score more than 20 points for the fourth straight game, Love concluded the day by completing 21 of 31 passes for 180 yards, two touchdowns, and the late interception. When Green Bay faced a defense that allowed a league-high 33.3 points per game before Sunday, they were unable to take advantage.
The Packers’ day got off to a rough start as none of their drives in the first half gained more than 47 yards. The Broncos led 9-0 at the half after the Packers were unable to score on the scoreboard.
The Packers then staged a comeback in the second half. They traveled 64 yards to kick a field goal to start the second half. They then scored touchdowns on consecutive drives to take the lead.
Romeo Doubs, a wide receiver, engaged Pat Surtain II, a cornerback, in combat in the end zone to secure Love’s first touchdown throw. With two hands on the ball, both players sank to the ground. The Packers didn’t turn the ball over and instead secured the score since the tie goes to the offense.
A better pass would have given Doubs a clear shot at grabbing the ball without a struggle in the end zone corner, but he made sure that it didn’t matter.
Given that Doubs missed a far simpler catch, Love’s second touchdown required some luck. Before Jayden Reed scored on the ricochet, this ball rebounded off Doubs’ hands at the goal line and up into the air.
On their subsequent possession, the Broncos answered with a 52-yard Wil Lutz field goal to regain the lead at 19-17. With 3:50 left, Green Bay regained control and had a chance to drive for the winning touchdown. However, two plays before Love’s crucial interception gave Denver the victory, a holding penalty put the Packers behind the sticks at second-and-20 close to midfield.
After a promising 2-1 start in Love’s debut season as the starting quarterback, the setback brings the Packers’ record to 2-4 and marks their third straight defeat. Love exits Sunday with a 57.5% season completion rate after throwing 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
With 331 yards against a Broncos defense that allowed a league-worst 440.3 yards per game entering Sunday’s action, an offense that entered Sunday ranked 28th in the league in yards per game (281.6) only slightly improved.
Love was given control of the offense in 2023 after spending the previous three seasons sitting behind Aaron Rodgers on the Packers’ sideline. There is still a lot of potential for growth after six games.
