The Green Bay Packers fell behind early and never caught up during a mostly one-sided defeat at the hands of the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night at Lambeau Field.
The Titans took a 7-0 lead on the opening drive, went into halftime up 14-6 and took leads of 20-9 and 27-17 in the second half before closing out the 10-point victory.
Here’s what went right, what went wrong and what it all means for the Packers:
What went right
– Rookie Christian Watson caught two more touchdown passes. His last two games: eight catches, 155 yards, five touchdowns.
– The Packers held Derrick Henry to only 87 yards on 28 carries, and his longest rush was only nine yards. The Titans averaged 2.8 yards per carry overall.
– Randall Cobb returned from injured reserve and caught six passes on six targets for 73 yards, including two catches over 20 yards.
– Preston Smith, on his 30th birthday, had two sacks, both ending drives on third down.
– Rasul Douglas kept the Packers alive with a second-half interception of Ryan Tannehill.
– The Packers offense didn’t technically have a turnover, although two turnover-on-downs in the fourth quarter don’t count in the official stat.
– Keisean Nixon had a 24-yard punt return, the team’s longest of the season. Amari Rodgers’ career-long return was 23 yards.
– Rookie Quay Walker finished with a team-high 12 tackles, including a tackle for loss on fourth down in the first half.
What went wrong
– The Titans had more yards, first downs, passing yards, rushing yards, time of possession, tackles for loss and red-zone trips, and they never trailed.
– The Packers rushed for only 56 yards and averaged 2.9 yards per rush. The Titans run defense was as good as advertised.
– The Packers offense failed on four straight possessions to end the game, including one after an interception and one after a punt return into Titans territory.
– During another game in which the Packers needed to make throw to win, the passing game just couldn’t get it done.
– The Titans had four players with a catch of 30 yards or more. On at least three different occasions, a coverage breakdown created a wide-open receiver for an explosive play. Ryan Tannehill finished with 333 yards and 12.3 yards per completion.
– The Packers had an extra point blocked.
– Rookie Treylon Burks caught seven passes for 111 yards, including a late 51-yard bomb against Jaire Alexander.
– Thirteen targets for Allen Lazard and Sammy Watkins netted 57 yards, all from Lazard. Aaron Rodgers missed them both for likely completions down the stretch.
– Aaron Jones fumbled for the second straight game and third time this season.
What it means
The loss sucks all the momentum out of last week’s comeback win over the Cowboys and sets the Packers on a path where nothing but a 6-0 finish to the season will result in a playoff berth. The margin for error for this maddeningly inconsistent football team is now zero. The Packers had a golden opportunity to get a second straight win, get to 5-6 and set up a playoff run over the final six games. Now, the Packers are one more loss away from thinking about the offseason, and that loss could easily arrive next Sunday night.
What's next
The Packers will go to Philadelphia to play the (currently) 8-1 Eagles, who are getting ready to take on the Indianapolis Colts on the road in Week 11. The game is in primetime on Sunday night.
