SEATTLE – It wasn’t as dramatic as their last trip to Seattle, and nowhere near as significant, but the Green Bay Packers blew another double-digit lead to lose Thursday night inside CenturyLink Field.
Aaron Rodgers missed a wide-open Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a first down on third-and-2, and after coach Mike McCarthy decided to punt instead of going for it on fourth down, the Seahawks ran out the clock on a 27-24 win.
The Packers came 2,000 miles to find out what they already knew: They can’t beat a good — or even average — team on the road. While they’re undefeated at Lambeau Field this season, the Packers are now 0-5 on the road.
Here are five takeaways:
Implications
If Thursday wasn’t a must-win, the Packers missed a huge opportunity to get their season on track. They forced a Seahawks fumble on the first play and jumped out to a 14-3 lead, only to collapse from there. They’re now 3-5 in their last eight and have lost four of their past five to drop to 4-5-1 on the season. With an extended weekend until their next game in Minnesota, the Packers will get some rest. But they need to run the table to finish with 10 wins, which has traditionally been McCarthy’s measurement for a playoff team. Once again, the Packers are on the brink of missing the playoffs, this time with a healthy Aaron Rodgers. It’s far from ideal.
Kyler Sackrell
Kyler Fackrell is a beast. Who knew? The much-maligned former third-round pick might be in the midst of a breakout third season. Fackrell terrorized Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson with three sacks, increasing his team high to eight on the season. He narrowly missed a fourth sack when Wilson tossed the football away as he was falling to the ground. He also batted a pass back to Wilson on a third down, forcing a completion to the quarterback for minus-11 yards. It was the second time Fackrell has had a hat trick in a game, his first coming at Lambeau Field against Buffalo Bills rookie quarterback Josh Allen in September. If that game felt like it might be a little fluky, there was no such sense Thursday night. Fackrell was the disruptive edge rusher the Packers have lacked all season. Maybe it’s time to reevaluate what he’s capable of producing.
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