Three Exaggerated Reactions to the Packers’ Giants Loss Inexplicably, the Green Bay Packers blew a lead against the Giants after defeating the Chiefs and Lions. These are our three main conclusions.
The offense had figured out how to make big plays without making big mistakes. Stops were made by the defense when it mattered. Everything was pointing toward the Packers because the New York Giants, who had an undrafted rookie quarterback and one of the worst defenses in the NFL statistically, were not progressing very quickly. Rather, they arrived in the City That Never Sleeps and dozed off for three hours. These are the Three Overreactions for this week.
1. Joe Barry Must Go
On the way back to Green Bay, LaFleur did not fire Joe Barry, the defensive coordinator. He will not fire him today, this week, or the following week. But if this team is to advance and once again be a contender in 2024, something has to change.
Barry is a decent guy. I don’t believe he’s the idiot that irate fans have painted him as, some of whom are unaware of how much harder it is to play defense these days than it was in 1996 and 2010 when the Packers won Super Bowls.
By points allowed this season, the Packers rank eleventh. Their current NFL record of nine games in a row with 24 or fewer points allowed is tied for the longest in the league and the longest by the team since 2010. Or, at least, that ought to be, winning football. But where is that instinct for murder? Where is the mindset that says, “It’s time to win the game”?
With 1:33 remaining and the Packers attempting to preserve a 22-21 lead, it was nowhere to be found. For most defenses, finishing that game would have been a difficult task. In the NFL, that is just the way things are. However, Barry performed as though the Packers were leading by four points instead of just one.With the defenders so far away from his pass-catchers, Tommy DeVito, the undrafted rookie quarterback who confused the Packers all night with his escapeability, had an easy time of it.
Saquon Barkley gained seven yards and about five yards of separation when he caught the ball on a second-and-five from the thirty. Similar to the previous two plays, Darrius Slayton was given a 10-yard cushion by Carrington Valentine on first down from the 37. Slayton took advantage of this to push the ball close to midfield for a gain of 9.
The defensive backs played closer to the receivers on the game-winning 32-yard completion to Wan’ Dale Robinson, but Robinson roasted Keisean Nixon at the line of scrimmage to set up the Giants for the winning field goal.
With the game on the line and the biggest drive of the evening, Tommy DeVito looked like Tom Brady thanks to Barry’s defense. Barry seemed to be trying to avoid losing the game rather than going out and trying to win it. The Packers lost by providing DeVito with soft coverage and a cozy pocket. What in the world is Barry going to do against a top quarterback when a trip to the Super Bowl is at stake if that’s the plan and the outcome against an unsung rookie quarterback in a crucial moment in a crucial regular-season game?