Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers are experiencing a forgettable start to the 2024 season.
The Packers are 0-1 after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil to open the campaign. Making matters worse, they could be without quarterback Jordan Love for at least a couple of games after he suffered an MCL injury on the game's final drive.
For a team with Super Bowl aspirations entering the season, it's a painful way to open the year. Now, back on home soil, Green Bay hosts the Indianapolis Colts at Lambeau Field on Sunday. While Love was improbably listed as questionable on the final injury report of the week, the presumption is newly acquired Malik Willis will make the start under center for the Packers.
He'll do so opposite the Indianapolis Colts, a team that struggled to generate offense of its own in an eventual Week 1 loss to Houston. The Texans scored 27 points, but two of those scores came on passes of 60 and 54 yards. In fact, take away those two scores, and quarterback Anthony Richardson went 7-of-17 for 96 yards.
The Packers' banged-up unit plus the Colts' feast-or-famine nature should make for a low-scoring affair. NESN.com's Ricky Doyle made the under 40.5 points one of his top plays of the week and explained why on this week's episode of "The Spread," NESN's football picks podcast.
"The most important factor in this whole thing is the quarterback situation for Green Bay. Nothing (Willis) did in Tennessee impressed me," Doyle said. " … I also just think Indy's offense, I don't think they're going to be able to sustain the pace they had in Week 1. … Also insane, (Richardson) completed 23.6 yards per completion. Gotta think that's not going to happen this week. Averaged 7 yards per play, gotta think that's gonna come down. I just expect fewer explosive plays from them, probably more ball-control tempo. … I think the pace is going to be a little bit slower for this one coupled with the Packers could bottom out offensively."
As for the Packers' long-term future, both Doyle and cohost Mike Cole agreed the Packers appeared to dodge a major bullet and should be fine, as long as they can tread water until No. 10 returns.
"You want a major spin zone?" Cole said. "I think it's a good thing they didn't go out and get someone. I would have loved for them to get Tannehill … but the fact that they didn't go out and do that tells me they're not overly concerned about Love and probably points to Love returning sooner than people think. They didn't put him on IR. … Some winnable games (in the next few weeks). Just weather the storm and get out."
Hear more from the guys in the segment above, and make sure you subscribe to "The Spread" and download this week's episode on Spotify.
