Packers Idle Sunday After Thursday Loss to Falcons; Week 4 Trip to Tampa Next
The short version
- Packers are 1-2 after a 35-14 Thursday night home loss to Atlanta on Sept. 24
- Green Bay does not play Sunday; its official bye comes in Week 11
- Next game: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, Oct. 4, noon on Fox
- Packers signed veteran left guard Laken Tomlinson
- Ravens-Cowboys in Rio de Janeiro headlines Week 3's Sunday slate on CBS
Green Bay sits at 1-2 after a 35-14 home defeat to Atlanta and now waits a week before facing the Buccaneers on Oct. 4.
The Green Bay Packers will not take the field on Sunday, Sept. 27. The team opened Week 3 of the NFL season on Thursday night, Sept. 24, falling 35-14 to the Atlanta Falcons at Lambeau Field. That leaves Green Bay with an extended break before its next outing.
The loss to Atlanta was the Packers' most lopsided home defeat in eight years. Quarterback Jordan Love and coach Matt LaFleur have been hampered most by offensive line problems through three games, and fans booed the team as it left the field. LaFleur described the result bluntly as a butt-whupping.
Green Bay's defense surrendered 242 rushing yards to the Falcons, 194 of them to running back Bijan Robinson, while the Packers managed just 17 yards on the ground as a team. The defeat dropped Green Bay to 1-2 on the season.
The season began with a 39-22 road loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 13, a game the Packers led 22-10 midway through the third quarter before Minnesota closed on a 29-0 run, including a 22-0 fourth quarter. In Week 2, Green Bay trailed the New York Jets 17-7 in the fourth quarter before rallying for a 20-17 overtime win on the road.
Although the Packers are off this Sunday, the break is not their official bye. That comes in Week 11 in late November, ahead of a Thanksgiving Eve game. The time off follows a stretch in which Green Bay played twice in four days.
The Packers' next game is a Week 4 road matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Oct. 4, kicking off at noon on Fox. It is the club's only noon start among its five October games and its third road contest in the first four weeks of the season.
Tampa Bay has also struggled early. The Buccaneers are one of only two NFC teams without a winning record entering Week 3, and they host the 2-0 Minnesota Vikings on Sunday before turning to the Packers. In other roster news, Green Bay signed veteran left guard Laken Tomlinson in a move aimed at strengthening the offensive line.
Sunday's Week 3 slate includes 14 games around the league, headlined by the Baltimore Ravens facing the Dallas Cowboys in Rio de Janeiro, the first NFL game played in that city. That game airs at 3:25 p.m. ET on CBS with Jim Nantz, JJ Watt and Tracy Wolfson on the call. Other Sunday matchups include the Kansas City Chiefs at Miami, the Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo, the Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay, and the Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco.
