I’m going to start this off by saying what I know most Green Bay Packers fans are already thinking: a Week 3 out-of-conference road trip is just a mile marker on the long road to the Super Bowl. Green Bay came out of the gates with intensity and purpose, stacking two big wins at Lambeau, only to head on the road against a Browns team still trying to climb out from the wreckage of past decisions.
The human side of football always sneaks in. Trap games happen. What looks like an easy win turns into a tooth-and-nail fight. The past two weeks have been all smiles for the Green and Gold, and I’ve been right there with everyone else, excited about what’s ahead.
But can someone please call the Monstars from Space Jam and tell them to give the Packers their fire and confidence back? That’s the only way I can explain what we just watched. Forget that it was “just the Browns.” Cleveland came into Sunday with the league’s top defense through two weeks, and they looked the part again.
Packers didn’t play to win, they played not to lose, and it cost them
What drives me nuts is how timid this offense looked. They played like they were scared of making mistakes. Even so, they were up two scores late in the fourth quarter, grinding out a low-scoring road win. Then the self-inflicted wounds piled up.
The Browns pushed into Packers territory, but after two bad penalty calls, Rashan Gary, Micah Parsons, and the defense stood tall, holding them to a field goal. On the kickoff, Savion Williams had a solid return wiped out by not one but two holding flags. Instead of starting at the 34 with under four minutes to go, Green Bay was pinned at its own 18.
Matthew Golden picked up six yards on two runs, setting up 3rd-and-3. One more first down and the game is iced. Instead, Love forced a ball into Dontayvion Wicks and coughed it up deep in their own territory—the one thing that absolutely could not happen.
Then came the dagger. Brandon McManus, usually automatic, had his potential game-winning kick blocked. Seconds later, Andre Szmyt—who missed twice in the clutch last week—steps up and drills a 55-yarder like it was nothing.
The Browns celebrated; the Packers trudged off, victims of their own mistakes. It felt like the worst regular-season loss under Matt LaFleur, and while it’s nowhere near Seattle 2014 levels of pain, the echoes were there: a team that played not to win, but not to lose.
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That’s the problem. In Aaron Rodgers’ last years, I wrote about how both he and the team lost that “Eye of the Tiger,” that Apollo Creed mentality. This group seemed to have rediscovered it, but on Sunday, it vanished. Instead of attacking Cleveland’s defense, they obsessed over Myles Garrett. The run game never got traction, which left Love in too many obvious passing downs.
It was open season on the quarterback.
Now comes the test. After the game, Parsons—who played his heart out—apologized for not doing more and for jumping offside. That’s leadership. That’s accountability. It needs to be the standard instilled and embedded in the minds of every player and coach on this roster.
This is the moment when we find out who this team really is. The “passive late-game Packers” storyline has gone on long enough. The days of playing scared have to end. It’s time to stop protecting wins and start taking them.
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