After benefiting from turnovers in the early part of the season, the Green Bay Packers are now becoming a bit careless with the ball.
The Packers (5-2) turned the ball over three times and didn’t force any takeaways in their 24-22 win against the Houston Texans. Houston scored 16 points off these turnovers, including two scoring drives that began on the Packers’ 11-yard line.
Despite this, Green Bay secured its third straight win as Brandon McManus ended his Packers debut by kicking a 45-yard field goal as time ran out. However, the team’s struggle to protect the football was concerning, especially since they had entered the game with the best turnover margin in the NFL at plus-9.
“It’s hard to overcome losing the turnover battle by three in this league,” said Packers coach Matt LaFleur after the game.
This was the first time the Packers had won a game despite a turnover margin of minus-3 or worse since a 23-22 win over the Detroit Lions on October 14, 2019, according to Sportsradar.
Green Bay still leads the league with 17 takeaways, but they have also committed 11 turnovers. The only teams with more turnovers are the Las Vegas Raiders (16), Carolina Panthers (12), and Tennessee Titans (12).
Jordan Love has thrown 15 touchdown passes, placing him second in the NFL, just behind Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield. Love reached this number despite missing two games earlier in the season due to a knee injury.
However, he has also thrown eight interceptions, tying him with Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Las Vegas’ Gardner Minshew for the most by any quarterback this season. His eight interceptions have come in 179 attempts, while last season he was picked off 11 times in 579 attempts.
That shows Love’s confidence in his throwing ability and his readiness to attempt risky passes that could lead to big plays. For example, Love threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft on Sunday that almost got deflected or intercepted by Calen Bullock.
“It’s the NFL,” Love said. “There’s not always going to be wide-open guys. It’s going to be tight windows you’ve got to fit the ball in there sometimes, and I’m going to keep playing. I learn and grow from the mistakes, the interceptions and just keep playing, keep moving on, but that’s not ever going to limit me.”
