Green Bay gutted out a solid victory against a desperate opponent. While they were aided by the sun “causing” a few drops by the Chargers, the Packers too, had to deal with the sun and had some drops of their own. As consistently stated, the turnover battle ended up being the difference in this game. Green Bay jumped on Ekeler’s fumble early in the 4th quarter. That took at least 3 points off the board for LA, and considering that was 2nd & Goal from the GB 2 yard-line, likely took off 7 points. This is the Chargers, and has been their MO for years. They have immense talent scattered across their roster, but they’re so mistake-prone that they’re a perennial .500 ball club. To quote a good friend of mine, “It sucks to suck.”

The second key of the game, and I always talk about, is time of possession. The Packers won the ToP battle 31:58 to 28:02. That helped their defense stay fresh enough to make two stands on LA’s final 2 possessions – even if Johnston dropped a bomb.

Lastly, it’s being overlooked, but Carrington Valentine (#37) might just be flat out good. Since the Packers traded away Rasul Douglas (or apparently what some fans considered Deion Sanders), Carrington Valentine has allowed 5 receptions on 18 targets, for 64 yards, resulting in a 41.9 passer rating. That’s quite good. Considering he’s a rookie 7th rounder, that’s incredible…and he may improve.

The major issue is the Packers allowed 150 yards on only 24 rush attempts (6.3 yards/carry), with 28 coming on a scramble by Justin Herbert and another 37 on a Preston Smith busted edge containment by Ekeler. Green Bay’s Defensive Coordinator, Joe Barry, is surviving with the Bend but Don’t Break defense which eventually will break against better teams – ala Detroit and Kansas City…the Packers’ next two opponents.