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Green Bay Packers

Green Bay: All You Need is Love

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GREEN BAY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Green Bay Packers downgraded quarterback Jordan Love from questionable to doubtful on Saturday for their home opener Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.

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Love suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee in Green Bay’s Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil and did not practice this week. Yet on Friday, he was listed as questionable for Sunday’s game despite not being medically cleared to play, according to coach Matt LaFleur.

The Packers haven’t ruled Love out nor have they placed him onthe team’s injured reserve, which would require he miss at least four games.

LaFleur had previously said the Packers would not place Love on injured reserve as they went “day to day” with his evaluation.

Love, 25, was helped off the field with six seconds left in the 34-29 loss to the Eagles Sept. 6. He went 17-for-34 passing for 260 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Malik Willis was elevated to the starting role until Love’s return. Willis, 25, was acquired from the Tennessee Titans on Aug. 26 for a 2025 seventh-round draft pick and was the No. 2 quarterback behind Love entering Week 1.

Green Bay elevated quarterback Sean Clifford from the practice squad on Saturday to be Willis’ backup if Love is ruled out.

–Field Level Media

Niners Turn Back the Pack

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SANTA CLARA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – SF 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey rushed for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 1:07 left, and San Francisco held on to beat the Green Bay Packers 24-21 in an NFC divisional round playoff matchup on Saturday night in California.

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SF QB Brock Purdy completed 23 of 39 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown for the 49ers, who advanced to the NFC Championship for the third consecutive season. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw picked off two passes, including one in the final minute to seal the win.

San Francisco will host the winner of Sunday’s showdown between the host Detroit Lions and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the opportunity to advance to the Super Bowl.

Jordan Love completed 21 of 34 passes for 194 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Green Bay. Aaron Jones had 18 carries for 108 yards.
The high-stakes contest featured three lead changes in the third quarter.

The Packers grabbed a 13-7 lead on a 19-yard pass from Love to Bo Melton with 9:27 to go in the quarter.

Less than two minutes later, the 49ers answered to grab a 14-13 lead. McCaffrey took a handoff, evaded a would-be tackler and sprinted up the middle of the field for a 39-yard touchdown.

The back-and-forth battle continued as the Packers scored on the next possession. Eric Wilson recovered a fumble on a 73-yard kickoff return by Keisan Nixon, setting the Packers up at the Niners’ 20.

Four plays later, Love found Tucker Kraft open near the front right pylon for a 2-yard touchdown. Love then connected with Jones for a two-point conversion for a 21-14 Packers lead with 5:23 left in the third.

The 49ers pulled within 21-17 on a 52-yard field goal by Jake Moody with 14:56 remaining in the game.

The Packers tried to grab a seven-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but Anders Carlson missed a 41-yard field goal attempt with 6:18 to go.

Green Bay had the only score of the first quarter with a 29-yard field goal by Carlson.

The 49ers grabbed a 7-3 lead with 8:42 remaining in the second when Purdy connected with George Kittle for a 32-yard touchdown.
Carlson hit again from 29 yards to pull Green Bay within 7-6 before halftime.

San Francisco star wideout Deebo Samuel exited in the first half because of a shoulder injury and was later ruled out. Samuel, who finished with two catches for 24 yards, was evaluated after a helmet-to-helmet hit in the first half.

–Field Level Media

NFL Desk: Pack Hopes Offense a Go

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GREEN BAY – (Staff and Wire Service/Field Level Media Report) – Stopping a five-game losing streak by any means possible beats the alternative.

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Still, the Green Bay Packers felt they might also have relocated their groove, to boot, after snapping a lengthy midseason skid with a 31-28 overtime victory against Dallas last week.

Will rookie wide receiver Christian Watson remain the revelation he was in catching three touchdown passes against the Cowboys? The Packers are eager to find out whether or not their offense can keep rolling when they host the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night.

Green Bay has won two of the past three meetings in the series, including a 40-14 home romp over Tennessee during Week 16 of the 2020 season.

The winning team has scored 40 points or more in four of the past five meetings, a run that dates back to 2004.

Maintaining the trend Thursday might take some doing. Tennessee (6-3) has scored no more than 24 points in a game this season, while 31 points is the high-water mark for Green Bay (4-6).

The Packers, though, are confident they found a spark last week. Trailing 28-14 in the fourth quarter, Green Bay responded with two scoring passes from quarterback Aaron Rodgers to Watson before Rodgers steered the game-winning drive in overtime that culminated with Mason Crosby’s 28-yard field goal.

With Aaron Jones (24 carries, 138 yards, one touchdown) leading the way, the Packers topped 200 yards rushing for the third time in 2022. Green Bay started the same offensive line in consecutive games for the first time this season.

“That’s going to be an important part of our success moving forward if we can keep those guys healthy,” Rodgers said. “We’ve protected well. We’ve communicated really well, and we gave just little gaps for those backs, and man they had a big day.”

Tennessee is averaging 18.4 points per game. The Titans, who lead the AFC South by two games, are aiming to be unconventional, as only two teams of the 140 since 2002 to average 18.4 points or fewer have made the playoffs.

The Titans rebounded from an overtime loss at Kansas City in Week 9 with a 17-10 victory against Denver last week. With the Broncos geared toward stopping running back Derrick Henry, Ryan Tannehill connected with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine on a pair of scores after missing the previous two games with a sprained ankle.

Henry rushed for 53 yards on 19 carries to end a streak of five straight games with 100 yards or more on the ground. But that was against a Broncos ‘D’ that has allowed the ninth-fewest rushing yards (1,044) in the NFL.

As the second-leading rusher in the league, Henry hopes to come untracked against the Packers, who allow 4.8 yards per carry, tied for 28th in the league.

“I think the more carries you get him in a drive, the stronger he gets, and so that’s why it’s even more important that we pick up those third downs (when) we have the opportunity to, and get him (more) opportunities within the drive,” Tennessee offensive coordinator Todd Downing said. “Obviously that’s the mission, that’s the goal. We just didn’t do that well enough in the last game.”

–Field Level Media

Giants Defeat Packers 27-22 in London

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LONDON – (Staff and Wire Service Report by Field Level Media) – Saquon Barkley rushed for a 2-yard touchdown with 6:08 to play in the fourth quarter as the visiting New York Giants rallied to a 27-22 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday in London.

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The Giants (4-1), who trailed 20-10 at the half, went in front 27-20 after Barkley took a direct snap and went over right end. Barkley set up the score, turning a short swing pass into a 41-yard gain to Packers’ 19-yard line.

Green Bay (3-2) drove to the Giants’ 6-yard line, but Aaron Rodgers‘ fourth-down pass attempt was batted at the line with just over a minute remaining. The Giants took a safety with 11 seconds left after punter Jamie Gillan ran out of the end zone. Rodgers was sacked and fumbled on the Packers’ final play before he could get off an attempted Hail Mary pass.

The Giants tied the game at 20-20 with 10:08 to play following a 15-play, 91-yard drive, capped by Gary Brightwell’s 2-yard touchdown run. Graham Gano’s 37-yard field goal on the opening possession of the third quarter brought New York within 20-13.

Barkley, who entered Sunday’s game with an NFL-best 463 yards rushing, finished with 70 yards on 13 carries. NY quarterback Daniel Jones, limited all week in practice with a sprained ankle, completed 21 of 27 passes for 217 yards. He added 37 yards on the ground on 10 attempts.

Rodgers completed 18 of 24 passes for 147 yards in the first half with two touchdowns, but finished 25 of 39 for 222 yards.

Rodgers capped a 13-play, 75-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Marcedes Lewis, putting the Packers up 17-3 midway through the second quarter. It was the first reception of the season for the 38-year-old Lewis and first touchdown catch since Nov. 29, 2020.

The Giants pulled within 17-10 when tight end Daniel Bellinger scored on a double reverse from 2 yards out with 1:15 left in the half. Barkley keyed the drive with a 40-yard run from a direct snap — the longest run allowed by the Packers this season.

Mason Crosby’s 48-yard field goal on the final play of the half put Green Bay up by 10.

Green Bay went in front 10-0 with a five-play, 60-yard drive late in the first quarter, capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass to Allen Lazard.

–Field Level Media

Crosby, Hoyer, Zappe & Jones

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GREEN BAY – (Staff and Wire Service Report from Field Level Media) – Mason Crosby converted a 31-yard field goal as time expired in overtime Sunday, lifting the host Green Bay Packers to a 27-24 win over the New England Patriots.

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After both teams went three-and-out with their initial overtime possession, Green Bay (3-1) marched 77 yards in 12 plays, chewing up the final 6:47 of the game. The Packers converted a pair of third downs, including AJ Dillon’s 7-yard run inside the 2-minute warning that allowed them to run down the clock and tee up Crosby’s game-winner.

Green Bay forced overtime when Aaron Rodgers tossed his 500th career touchdown pass, a 13-yarder to Romeo Doubs with 6:14 left in regulation. But Doubs dropped a potential 40-yard game-winner in the end zone with 2:02 remaining.

Rodgers completed 21 of 35 passes for 251 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Aaron Jones rushed 16 times for 110 yards for the Packers and Allen Lazard caught six passes for 116 yards.

Brian Hoyer started at quarterback for New England (1-3), replacing the injured Mac Jones. But after leading the Patriots to a Nick Folk field goal on their opening drive, Hoyer sustained a head injury after being sacked by Rashan Gary.

Rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe was forced into action and played reasonably well in his debut. He completed 10 of 15 passes for 99 yards and his first NFL touchdown, a 25-yard strike to DeVante Parker at the 4:52 mark of the third quarter.

With Zappe on the field, New England’s already conservative game plan leaned even heavier towards the run in an attempt to keep Rodgers and Green Bay’s offense off the field.

The Patriots’ defense did its part to help. After giving up a 15-yard touchdown run to rookie wide receiver Christian Watson two minutes into the second quarter, New England took a 10-7 lead into halftime when Jack Jones picked off Rodgers and loped 40 yards down the left sideline with 13 seconds remaining.

–Field Level Media

Hoyer Preparing for GB Packers

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FOXBORO – (Staff Report with Field Level Media Wire Services) – Reserve quarterback Brian Hoyer lined up under center with New England’s starters at Wednesday’s practice, but coach Bill Belichick is not ready to eliminate his starter Mac Jones from the Patriots’ game plan Sunday at Green Bay.

Belichick said Wednesday that Jones was a longshot to practice the next two days due to an ankle sprain suffered in the Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Belichick said he saw Jones before meeting the media at Noon ET on Wednesday and said the quarterback is “getting better” with noteworthy progress the past two days.

“We’ll take it day by day,” Belichick said.

Hoyer, 36, might take every practice rep this week and still not start against the Packers, Belichick said.

Perturbed by pressing questions about the nature of Jones’ injury and hypotheticals for the week, Belichick asked the room, “What do I look like, a doctor? An orthopedic surgeon? Do you want me to read the MRI?”

Quarterbacks coach Joe Judge said Hoyer prepares diligently and wouldn’t be surprised to be on the field this week for his 40th career start.

“He’s always ready to take that next snap when he’s called on,” Judge said.

Fourth-round pick Bailey Zappe would likely serve as the No. 2 quarterback if Hoyer is called upon.

Hoyer has appeared in 75 career games and started one game with the Patriots (2020). He is 16-23 as a starter and has thrown for 10,631 yards and 53 touchdowns with seven teams.

–Field Level Media