An almost unbelievable stat coming out of the Green Bay Packers’ last two losses: against the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles over the last two games, the Packers advanced the ball past midfield and into opposition territory 12 times — six in each game — but managed to score only 20 total points.
How is this possible?
The Packers are imploding in enemy territory and recklessly throwing points away.
The six trips past midfield against the Panthers:
- Packers get to Carolina’s 16-yard line, but Savion Williams fumbles after running into his own blocker on a quick screen. Turnover.
- Packers get to Carolina’s 14-yard line, but Elgton Jenkins is penalized for a false start, Love takes a sack and Christian Watson is penalized for a false start on back-to-back-to-back plays, setting up 3rd-and-23, and the Packers eventually settle for a 49-yard field goal.
- Packers get to Carolina’s 8-yard line, but an incompletion on first down and a short run on second down sets up third-and-long, and Romeo Doubs fails to make the contested catch in the back of the end zone. The Packers settle for a 27-yard field goal.
- Packers get to Carolina’s 25-yard line, but a run stuff and an incompletion set up 3rd-and-10, and the Packers can’t convert. Brandon McManus misses a 43-yard field goal.
- Packers get to Carolina’s 8-yard line, but Emanuel Wilson is stuffed for a 5-yard loss on 3rd-and-3, and the Packers aggressively go for it on 4th-and-8 and fail spectacularly. Turnover on downs.
- Packers drive for a game-tying touchdown on their final possession of the game.
Five trips inside the 20-yard line netted only 13 points.
The six trips past midfield against the Eagles:
- Packers get to Philadelphia’s 38-yard line, but Jordan Love is sacked for a loss of 11 yards, and the Packers gained no yards on 4th-and-20, forcing a punt from near midfield.
- Packers get to Philadelphia’s 27-yard line, but Josh Jacobs misses a blitz pickup and Jordan Love is strip-sacked, and the Eagles recover the ensuing fumble. Turnover.
- Packers get to Philadelphia’s 42-yard line, but Josh Jacobs is blown up for -4 yards on first down, Romeo Doubs can’t finish a contested catch on third down past the sticks and Bo Melton drops a pass past the sticks on fourth down. Turnover on downs.
- Packers get to Philadelphia’s 35-yard line, but a procedural penalty wipes out an explosive play to Christian Watson inside the 10-yard line, and the Packers don’t gain a yard on second or third down and decide to punt from the 40-yard line.
- Packers drive for a touchdown.
- Packers get to Philadelphia’s 46-yard line, but only six seconds remain, and an incompletion trying to get more yards is incomplete with the Eagles defending the sideline, and Brandon McManus doesn’t come close to hitting from 64 yards out as time expires. Game over.
Teams are playing the Packers soft, knowing that a couple of first downs and even advancing past midfield isn’t guaranteed to generate points because the LaFleur/Love offense is so inconsistent down to down and capable of imploding at any moment. And the implosions keep happening in enemy territory. A missed block here. A sack there. A penalty here. A failed third down there. All robbing the Packers of points to end otherwise promising drives.
The Packers scored two touchdowns over the last two games. The first tied the game at 13 late in the fourth quarter against Carolina; the second cut the lead to 10-7 midway through the fourth quarter after the Packers fell behind 10-0 to Philadelphia on Monday night.
Against the Panthers, the Packers struggled mightily in the red zone. Against the Eagles, the Packers struggled getting from the area on the edge of field goal range into the red zone.
In an age when kicking long field goals is easier than ever, scoring only 20 points on 12 drives advancing past midfield is hard to fathom.
The Packers are consistently moving the football — that’s the good part here. But finishing has become a game-losing issue for the Packers offense.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers offense keeps imploding in enemy territory
