The Falcons walked into Lambeau Field and left with a statement win, rolling past the Packers 35-14 on Thursday night. What made it sting for Green Bay was how thoroughly Atlanta controlled the game on the ground, with Bijan Robinson shredding the defense for 194 yards while Brian Robinson Jr. added 50 more.
For a Packers team that opened the season with bigger expectations, this felt like another step in the wrong direction. The defense, still without Micah Parsons, had no answer for Atlanta’s run game. But the more troubling development was on the other side of the ball, where Jordan Love’s uneven start to the year kept getting harder to ignore.
Love finished 28-of-53 for 312 yards, with much of that production coming after the game had already slipped away in the fourth quarter. He threw two touchdown passes and a late interception, but the Packers never found a steady rhythm. The ball didn’t consistently travel downfield, and Love wasn’t able to use his mobility to change the shape of the game.
That performance fits an early-season pattern that’s becoming impossible for Green Bay to brush aside. Love entered the night having completed just 52.1% of his passes, and the numbers from the first three games tell the story. He managed only 145 passing yards in the Packers’ 20-17 win over the New York Jets in Week 2, and even in the season-opening loss to the Minnesota Vikings, he threw for 387 yards while Green Bay still only put up 22 points.
The running game hasn’t offered much relief, either. With MarShawn Loyd and Kaleb Johnson combining for just 17 rushing yards, the Packers have been forced into an offense that looks far too easy to plan against. Without Josh Jacobs to lean on, there hasn’t been enough balance to help the passing game breathe.
Bijan Robinson was the night’s clear standout. He carried the ball 29 times, averaged 6.7 yards per touch, and also chipped in 19 receiving yards. He scored twice, consistently turning small openings into big gains and making Green Bay pay whenever the blocking gave him space.
Atlanta’s No. 8 overall pick in 2023 is now sitting at 349 rushing yards on the season after another explosive outing. For the Falcons, the win doesn’t suddenly change everything. For the Packers, though, the pressure is squarely on Matt LaFleur and a 1-2 team that badly needs answers.
In Other News...
Braves Playoff Rotation Just Lost A Starter At The Worst Time
The Braves playoff rotation took a hit at the worst possible time Monday, when the club announced that Martn Prez is headed to the injured list with lower back inflammation. It is a late setback for a team trying to line up its pitching for October, and it leaves Atlanta with less breathing room than it wanted as the postseason gets underway.
Prez was in position to matter in the NL Wild Card Series, and his absence also carries over into the NLDS if the Braves advance. With only a short window to adjust, Atlanta now has to rethink how it wants to piece together its early-round pitching plans while waiting to see how the rotation picture settles. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Could Dangle Big Names To Fix A Roster Problem
The Braves have already wrapped up the NL East, but the work ahead in Atlanta is likely to be less about celebrating the division title and more about figuring out how to smooth out a roster issue that has lingered beneath the surface. With an offseason in front of them, the front office could have to weigh whether the cleanest path to improvement means moving from a position of depth or from a few recognizable names who still carry real value in the market.
Alex Lodise, Cam Caminiti, Eric Hartman, Ozzie Albies, Spencer Strider and Reynaldo Lopez are among the players mentioned as possible trade candidates, and each brings a different mix of recent performance and contract considerations that could shape how other clubs view them. For the Braves, the calculation is less about attaching a label to any one player and more about deciding which pieces are most useful in solving the problem at hand without weakening the core that got them back to the top of the division. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Leave Cincinnati With One Big October Concern
The Braves spent a weekend in Cincinnati with little left to decide in the standings, but plenty to monitor as October approaches. Ronald Acua Jr. left with a shin contusion, though the early tests came back clean, and Atlanta also got a mixed bag on the field with a shutout loss, a narrow extra-innings win and another close defeat. There were bright spots along the way, including work from pitchers JR Ritchie and Chris Sale, plus contributions from Matt Olson and Austin Riley, but the bigger picture was less about the record than about how the group is holding up.
For a club that already has its division and postseason position locked in, the final tune-ups are about health and rhythm, and Acuas status now sits at the center of that conversation. The Braves do not need to chase anything in the standings, which makes every late-game decision and every awkward step on the bases feel a little more important than usual, especially with October closing in and the margin for error shrinking in a different way. [Read more 🡒]