Chargers drop the ball, Packers seize opportunity to win second game in three weeks

The Packers offense took big steps on multiple fronts, but the Chargers' drops made the difference in Sunday's tilt.

Good morning!

For the first time since the opening month of the season, the Green Bay Packers have won two contests in three weeks, toppling the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 23-20. Sunday's performance furthered multiple trends from the past month -- both positive and negative -- while placing the Packers on an upward path as they prepare for a short game week.

Today's edition of The Leap looks under the hood of Green Bay's victory to see how much the team has changed of late and what it might mean moving forward.

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The Packers have won two of their last three games and currently sit one spot from the final NFC wild-card berth. Have they turned the corner or is this a dead-cat bounce?

Jason B. Hirschhorn: As has become customary with the 2023 Packers, no short, simple answer exists. Certainly, Sunday's victory holds significant meaning for Green Bay. Jordan Love played arguably his best NFL game a week after a performance that, to that point, probably held that title (the fault of the turnovers largely lies elsewhere). Love again made mistakes, including underthrowing wide receiver Romeo Doubs on a deep shot in the first half and overthrowing tight end Luke Musgrave in the fourth quarter, but the overall body of work stands out as his most consistent start-to-finish outing to date.

And Love didn't shine alone. Rookie wideouts Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks each delivered their strongest games yet. Reed led the Packers in yards from scrimmage, including a touchdown of a jet sweep that showcased his elite acceleration and ability to change direction. As for Wicks, he saw more targets than at any time since Christian Watson returned to the lineup, creating after contact in a way perhaps no other Green Bay receiver can.

Both Reed and Wicks had drops, the former in the first quarter and the latter in the fourth. Still, the development of the two rookies over the last month should not go ignored. Right now, they look like the Packers' two best wide receivers.

"I do think we can all see the improvement," Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur said following the game.

However, the Packers could not have won Sunday's game without the Chargers repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot on offense. Keenan Allen, the star wideout whom LaFleur referred to as a "monster" during the week, dropped multiple passes that would have gone for scores. Most teams cannot overcome such costly errors, but Los Angeles would have if not for rookie Quentin Johnston letting the game-winning ball slip through his fingers.

Most teams do not quite literally drop three touchdowns, and Green Bay would not have survived the additional points from any of them. Progress matters, especially with a roster this young, but the outcome speaks more to the Chargers' dysfunctions than anything else. The Packers cannot expect to receive this much help from an opponent, and they almost certainly won't from the Detroit Lions this Thursday.

The Packers' place in the standings doesn't reflect their quality as a team. The delta between them and the Minnesota Vikings remains considerable even without All-Pro Justin Jefferson in the lineup. And between the Thanksgiving tilt in Detroit and a prime-time matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, the upcoming schedule doesn't provide much reprieve either. Green Bay might have taken some steps toward competency, but proof of concept remains elusive.

How much does Aaron Jones' knee injury hurt the Packers?

JBH: Obviously, the impact of Aaron Jones' injury on the Packers depends on the severity of the knee damage. As of Sunday evening, the team has provided some guarded optimism about Jones, suggesting that he might have avoided a worst-case scenario.

"I don't think it's long term," LaFleur said of Jones' injury after the game. "Certainly, it looked really bad. I was really concerned, just seeing it live. I didn't see a replay or anything. But seeing it live, it did not look good. But he's in good spirits in there. Hopefully, it's just a short-term deal."

Packers News' Tom Silverstein reported shortly thereafter that the preliminary tests on Jones showed that his ACL remained intact. The veteran running back will undergo an MRI on Monday to confirm as well as reveal any other issues he might have in the affected knee.

But even if Jones can return in the not-too-distant future, the timing of the Packers' next game creates complications. The team has just three days to rest before the Thanksgiving showdown in Detroit. The lack of recovery time along with Green Bay's notoriously conservative medical staff make it nearly a fait accompli that Jones will not suit up this week.

Of course, the Packers didn't just lose Jones on Sunday. Backup running back Emanuel Wilson also went down during the first half, suffering a shoulder injury. After the game, Wilson said his shoulder popped out of place and he shouldn't miss much action, but that doesn't mean he will return in time to play the Lions.

With the return timetables for Jones and Wilson unclear, the Packers have few options. Currently, they have only AJ Dillon healthy and on the roster at the position with rookie Ellis Merriweather stashed on the practice squad. That means the front office will probably add another running back before Thursday.

Former Green Bay running back Patrick Taylor signed with the New England Patriots roughly a month ago, though he resides on their practice squad and could return to Wisconsin. Similarly, the Packers could poach Tyler Goodson off the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad. None of these options can negate the loss of Jones, but at least they offer some familiarity with Green Bay's offensive system and personnel.

All of which underscores the short-term impact of Jones' injury. While the Packers have options, none come close to filling his shoes during a stretch of games featuring arguably their toughest remaining opponents.

Other than the QB, what was the Packers' most positive development to come out of the game?

JBH: The Packers' young playmakers have gained more trust from the coaching staff. During Sunday's game, head coach Matt LaFleur and his assistants drew up a play on the sidelines based on what they had seen from the Chargers defense. While not uncharted territory for the staff -- this happened frequently with Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams at the controls -- the youth of the personnel has largely prevented Green Bay from attempting such on-the-fly adjustments in 2023.

As it turned out, the play proved pretty significant as it resulted in the Packers' first touchdown pass, an 11-yard catch by Watson that flipped the lead.

"I got to give (tight-ends coach) John Dunn all the credit in the world on that," LaFleur said of the play call. "There was a play earlier in that drive, and we always look at the pictures. We saw something there. He suggested a play, and then we just called it and hit the coverage and those guys went out and executed. It was a great job by Christian just hauling ass across the field, and Jordan made a good throw."

Mental errors have largely characterized the Packers offense over the first 10 weeks, but this moment highlights how the unit has learned from those growing pains. For this call to work, not only did Watson have to hit his spot in full stride, but Wicks had to pull the linebackers toward the right and two rookie tight ends had to hold the attention of multiple Chargers defenders, all on a play variant they hadn't practiced.

Green Bay's young personnel still has plenty of ups and downs ahead, but the group has indeed made progress. LaFleur and Co. wouldn't have called this play otherwise.