Lambeau Field was supposed to be the Packers’ edge on Thursday night. Instead, by the second half, it sounded like a crowd that had seen enough.
Green Bay was beaten 35-14 by the Atlanta Falcons in its home opener, and the boos came in waves as the offense stalled out and the game slipped away. Tight end Tucker Kraft didn’t soften his reaction afterward. Athletic beat writer Matt Schneidman posted Kraft’s locker-room comments on X: “It’s pretty disappointing, especially for a home opener.”
Kraft expanded on that sentiment when he spoke to reporters. He said the reaction was hard to take because nobody imagines Lambeau Field sounding like that, adding, “That's pretty tough.
Like everyone pictures Lambeau Field and not boos. I don't picture boos.
I picture my home stadium. That's tough.
It's pretty disappointing, especially for a home opener. It's pretty disappointing.
It's not going to help us…”
He also made clear he doesn’t view the boos as some kind of fuel. Kraft said the noise won’t help Green Bay win, that the Packers are grown men who can still go play, and that the night would have been easier with 70,000 people behind them instead of against them.
The mood around the building matched the scoreboard. The Associated Press recap carried on FOX Sports summed it up from the sideline with coach Matt LaFleur saying, “Well, that was a humbling night,” before adding that the staff and players have extra days to look in the mirror and find answers before getting back to work.
Green Bay actually got the first punch in. Jordan Love found Christian Watson for a 4-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. After that, the Falcons took control and never gave it back, ripping off 27 unanswered points.
Michael Penix Jr., back in action for the first time after a torn ACL, settled in after throwing an early interception. Atlanta leaned hard on Bijan Robinson, who ran for 194 yards and two touchdowns, while Drake London piled up nine catches for 194 yards. By the end of the night, the Falcons had 498 total yards, including 242 on the ground.
Love’s final line was a busy one: 28 completions on 53 attempts for 312 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, according to the Packers’ official recap. But most of that production came after the game had already tilted badly. Green Bay managed just 17 rushing yards, and Matthew Golden’s five catches for 100 yards and a late touchdown weren’t enough to change the tenor of the night.
Kraft’s own stat line fit the disappointment around him. He finished with four catches on eight targets for 26 yards and dropped two passes, a first in his career, according to NBC Sports’ weekly report. With the run game nowhere to be found, Love had to keep throwing, and too many drives ended with points left on the field.
The numbers tell the story plainly:
Category Falcons Packers
Final score 35 14
Total yards 498 329
Rushing yards 242 17
Passing yards 256 312
Record after Week 3 1-2 1-2
The loss also snapped a long run of home-opening success. Green Bay had won 13 straight home openers from 2013 through 2025, matching the NFL mark held by the Miami Dolphins. The last time the Packers opened at Lambeau with a loss was a 30-22 defeat to San Francisco in 2012, according to the Associated Press account published by WISN.
This wasn’t just about the scoreboard, either. Green Bay entered the game missing several pieces.
Micah Parsons is on reserve/PUP while recovering from a torn ACL and has to sit at least four games under league rules. Josh Jacobs is on the commissioner’s exempt list and unavailable.
Left guard Aaron Banks was inactive. Right tackle Zach Tom’s replacement, Zach Bako-Bewele, is out for the season with a torn patellar tendon.
Atlanta attacked those gaps. Robinson’s 55-yard run was the kind of play that exposes a defense that can’t set the edge, and once Penix settled down, London kept winning and the Falcons kept moving.
ESPN framed Penix’s return as a major swing point for an Atlanta offense that had managed only 16 points across its first two games with backups. Green Bay had allowed 2.9 yards per carry through two weeks; on Thursday, that number ballooned to 5.9.
The conditions didn’t offer much comfort either. It was a cloudy 61-degree night, with 76,955 on hand.
But the usual Lambeau thunder never really showed up for the home team. Instead, the boos followed Love and the offense to the sideline.
Green Bay is now 1-2 and heads to Tampa Bay on Oct. 4. After a night like this, the Packers have to find their answers fast - and work to win back the sound they expected from Lambeau in the first place.
In Other News...
Bucks Risk Another Costly Summer Mistake With Jalen Duren
Jalen Durens decision to turn down a five-year, $200 million extension from Detroit has already put a big-money center back on the market, and Milwaukee has the kind of financial muscle that would let it jump into the conversation. For a Bucks team always looking to keep its title window open, a player with Durens age and physical tools will naturally draw interest, especially if the front office believes there is room to shape him into a long-term frontcourt piece.
But the Bucks would not be weighing this one in a vacuum. Their books already carry significant commitments, and a deal at that level would add another major layer of risk to a roster that has to balance present urgency with future flexibility. Durens playoff performance is part of the evaluation, too, which is where the hesitation begins to creep in for Milwaukee, because the price of chasing upside this summer could end up being another expensive mistake. [Read more 🡒]
Bucks Rookies Face A Crowded Camp Battle In The Post Giannis Era
The Bucks enter camp with a very different look after moving on from Giannis Antetokounmpo and reshaping the roster with a wave of incoming players and future draft capital. Among the names to watch are rookies Brayden Burries and Nate Ament, both of whom land in a situation where opportunity will have to be earned the hard way. Milwaukees veteran-heavy depth chart should make every practice rep matter, and it gives the front office a chance to see how the newcomers fit into a roster that is still taking shape.
For Burries, the early path could be especially crowded, with a real chance he begins the season outside the main rotation if the established pieces hold up. Aments route looks different, with development time likely coming in the G-League as the Bucks balance long-term growth against immediate expectations. It is the sort of training camp battle that comes with a rebuild in transition: less about easy openings, more about proving who can handle the next version of Milwaukee basketball. [Read more 🡒]