Five Key Things to Watch for After the Packers' Bye Week

After a tough loss to the Detroit Lions, the Green Bay Packers enter their bye week with plenty to work through. Sunday’s performance was far from the level of a Super Bowl contender, and unfortunately, the Packers have no one to blame but themselves. More often than not, their biggest enemy is themselves. While they have their bright spots, their low points are hard to ignore. The talent and pieces are there for this team to be really good, but it all comes down to consistency and discipline. Hopefully, the bye week will give them a chance to do some serious self-evaluation. Here are five key areas to focus on when the Packers return from their break.

Jordan Love’s Health

When Jordan Love has been on the field and healthy, he’s shown the ability to lead the Packers’ offense to success. While Love has thankfully avoided surgery and any extended time on the sidelines, injury troubles have clearly affected him, particularly his mobility in recent games. The bye week gives him a crucial opportunity to rest and recover, allowing any lingering issues to heal without the pressure of pushing through games. It’ll be important to keep an eye on how Love moves and looks once he returns from the bye week. 

Pass Rushers

The Packers recently traded linebacker Preston Smith, opening up more opportunities for young talents like Lukas Van Ness and Kingsley Enagbare to make an impact. The Packers’ pass rush has been inconsistent — in some games, it shows up, and other times, it disappears like socks in the dryer. The reality is that no player on the front four has more than three sacks this season, and no edge rusher has more than two and a half. The Packers are hoping to find more consistency and presence from their pass rush moving forward. With the increased snap count for the younger players, it’ll be interesting to see who steps up and rises to the occasion.

Drops

The Packers’ pass catchers are a talented, young group, but drops have been a consistent issue, especially in key moments. Against the Lions, there were five drops, including one by running back Chris Brooks in the red zone on third down, another by Tucker Kraft on third down right before a missed field goal, and two by Dontayvion Wicks — one on third down in Lions territory and another in the end zone on third down. While it was raining, the Lions were able to handle the conditions much better. The bye gives coaches and players a chance to address their shortcomings and better support the offense. If the Packers want to play to their fullest potential, the drops need to become a thing of the past.

Penalties

A constant issue throughout the season has been the yellow flags raining down on the field. Through nine games, the Packers have had 67 penalties accepted, not including declined or offsetting penalties. That puts them sixth in the league for the most penalties. The lack of discipline has been a major problem, one that has either nearly cost them games or outright lost them games. As the season heads into this critical stretch, the Packers must show more maturity, especially with these upcoming divisional matchups. In such a competitive division, these games could make or break their season.

Turnovers

As anyone who roots for the Packers can attest, Green Bay has committed 13 turnovers this season. Jordan Love is tied with Geno Smith for the league lead in interceptions, with 10. Unlike Smith, however, Love has missed two full games and part of a third. His decision-making at times has been questionable, as he forces the ball down the field, putting the offense in tough spots. These turnovers shift momentum entirely, and the Packers won’t be able to win games if those kinds of careless plays continue.

While the loss might be a bit disheartening, entering the bye week with six wins is still a solid position to be in. The Packers will have the opportunity to clean up their game during this week. So far, they’ve dropped every divisional matchup this season, and after the bye, they’ll face off against the Bears. While they’ve won the last ten meetings with Chicago, nothing is guaranteed if they don’t play up to their potential. Jordan Love will look to renew his ownership of the Bears when they resume their season in Week 11.