GREEN BAY, Wis. — Aaron Rodgers finally had his first big breakout passing game of the season Thursday night, but his throwing for 422 yards — at nearly 8 yards per attempt — also came in the Packers' first loss of the 2019 season. Unfortunately, he could do nothing to help a reeling Green Bay run defense, which gave up 176 yards — at 5.3 yards per attempt — to Philadelphia.
The Packers still fell well short of offensive perfection in their frustrating 34-27 home loss to the Eagles. They struggled in the red zone, twice settling for field goals and twice coming away empty in the fourth quarter with a turnover on downs at the 1-yard line and a game-sealing interception at the goal line. Rodgers was also strip-sacked, which gave the Eagles a short field earlier in the game.
The narrative going into Week 4 was the supposed early dysfunction between Rodgers and rookie offensive-minded head coach Matt LaFleur; now, criticism of Rodgers will be focused on a few critical mistakes, and both he and those mistakes will be blamed for a close loss.
VIDEO: Eagles vs. Packers full game highlights
The reality is, not being able to stop the Eagles' rushing attack is what ultimately cost them. Against the most complete offense they've seen so far this season, the Packers gave up only one fewer point than they had yielded in their first three games combined.
Consider: The Eagles' rushing offense was mostly inept until it faced the Packers, but on Thursday it got a combined 159 yards from Jordan Howard and rookie Miles Sanders on 26 carries. That performance wasn't a fluke.
The Bears gave them a break by not running much in Week 1, but the Packers still went into Week 4 as the NFL's No. 25 run defense, allowing 4.9 yards per carry. The Vikings (198 yards on 23 carries) and the Broncos (149 yards on 38 carries) did plenty of damage in the previous two weeks at Lambeau Field.
"I know we better fix it — otherwise, for teams, that's going to be their blueprint to beating us," LaFleur said. "They're going to run the football and grind it out. We've got to do a much better job to stuff the run in those early downs to get them in those longer-yardage situations."
There's no doubt the Packers' pass defense is much improved with edge-rushing additions Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith and an upgraded secondary led by rising shutdown cornerback Jaire Alexander; however, the Eagles did wear them down with the run and were more calculated with the pass as Carson Wentz got the ball out quickly and didn't force unnecessary action downfield.
That game plan led to no Green Bay sacks or takeaways, both of which were the staples of the revamped defense over the Packers' 3-0 start. Wentz is a big-game QB who can take advantage of a fully functioning run game — unlike Mitchell Trubisky, Kirk Cousins or Joe Flacco, the first three QBs the Pack faced.
VIDEO: Carson Wentz reacts to Eagles' win in Green Bay
That doesn't bode well for Green Bay as it prepares for a similarly tough matchup next week against the 3-0 Cowboys, who at the moment profile like a better version of the Eagles with Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott behind an elite offensive line.
Forget the early overreaction of Rodgers transforming into a game manager; in order to go from being the new NFC North favorite to contending for a conference title again, the Packers need to clean up their run defense. Otherwise, their pass defense and pass offense will be rendered irrelevant.
The good news is, the Packers have talent on their defensive line with Kenny Clark and Dean Lowry, and at some point soon they should get two starters in the front seven back from injury — end Montravius Adams and inside linebacker Oren Burks. For now, they can focus their film study on what they're not doing between tackles against the run, especially on the right side, where Howard and Sanders made their best chunk runs.
VIDEO: Jordan Howard's best plays vs. the Packers
"Collectively, we need to be more physical at the point of attack," Clark said. "We've got to stay in our gaps and get our run lanes fixed."
The Philadelphia result may serve as a well-timed wake-up call. Green Bay has a few extra days to get itself respectable before visiting Dallas in Week 5. To the credit of the Packers' defenders, they didn't have their heads hung low after the game; instead, they saw the game as more of a humbling teaching moment.
"We're not going to panic," Lowry said. "It's still early in the season and we're kind of still finding out where our defense is at and the certain runs that are good against it. We'll get it fixed. It's not going to be perfect, playing in this league. We've got the right guys in the room and great coaches, so we'll be ready."
VIDEO: Aaron Rodgers' best throws vs. the Eagles
The Packers' run defense has more often than not been shaky during Rodgers' time as a starter, but Rodgers has more often than not been able to save the day. They were were looking to be less dependent on Rodgers, but now they are headed back in that direction. If they continue to not stop the run, then they will be putting more pressure on Rodgers to build them a big lead early or come through flawlessly in the clutch.
He might have been able to carry them that way as a younger passer, but in a new offense with more rushing tendencies under LaFleur, bad run defense will prevent Rodgers and the Packers from playing complementary — and winning — football at a consistently high level.
