Biggest Takeaways from Green Bay Packers' Week 9 Loss

Despite an impressive rally to stage a comeback in the fourth quarter, the Green Bay Packers suffered their second-straight loss on the season Sunday, falling 37-29 to the Carolina Panthers. 

Though the offense impressed in the second half as it finally began clicking and showing some fire, it started the game seeming listless and broken.

The defense, meanwhile, appeared confused and careless throughout the matchup, blowing coverages and failing to put any pressure on Carolina quarterback Cam Newton.

The game was mostly a poor showing for the Packers, who prepare to take on the Detroit Lions in Week 10 and now find their lead in the NFC North in jeopardy, as Minnesota improved to 6-2 on the season Sunday.

We'll break down what went wrong and what the Packers can do to make it right, as well as one or two brights spots on the day despite the loss. 

Blown Coverages Abound on Defense

Mike McCarn/Associated Press

The Packers defense was their own worst enemy Sunday, compounding an impressive performance by the Carolina offense with mistakes that helped the Panthers even further. 

Cam Newton isn't working with an elite group of pass-catchers, but you wouldn't know that from their performance against Green Bay's secondary and linebackers. Five players had catches of 20-plus yards, and receivers Jerricho Cotchery and Devin Funchess both hauled in receptions of 50 or more yards. 

Four pass-catchers—Cotchery, Funchess, Corey Brown and Ted Ginn Jr.—averaged more than 20 yards per reception. 

Sure, Green Bay was without cornerbacks Sam Shields and Quinten Rollins, but the technique was shoddy on defense. Cotchery's 59-yard reception was the result of a blown coverage in the middle of the field, and Brown's long touchdown was set in motion by Demetri Goodson's mistake. 

The defense has allowed 1,125 passing yards over the last three games. That's not just poor execution; that's a worrisome trend. 

Offensive Line a Big Part of the Problem

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

Prior to the 2015 season, most anyone would have agreed the Packers headed into the year with one of the best offensive lines in the league. 

Now, it would be hard to find anyone who would say that. 

Green Bay's offensive line allowed five sacks and a whopping 14 quarterback hits on Aaron Rodgers against Carolina. The run game also sputtered, partially due to the line's inability to open gaps. 

Rodgers doesn't make his line's job easy by holding the ball as long as he does—he's averaging 2.96 seconds to throw this season, the second-longest in the league per Pro Football Focus—but the line was unable to sustain blocks to give him the time he needed to progress through his reads. 

"The Packers offensive line is going to want to burn this game film," observed Ryan Wood of Press-Gazette Media during the game. "They've been truly awful."

The worrisome thing is that the personnel on the line is completely intact from last year's excellent unit. What went wrong? 

They'd better find out, and fast. Given the lack of chemistry within the offense, Rodgers is going to need as much time as the line can give him. 

The Offense Can Still Be Explosive

Mike McCarn/Associated Press

The Packers offense is still looking like a shell of its former self, but there were a few moments on Sunday that provided some hope for the rest of the season. 

That started with how many plays the unit was able to run against Carolina. 

Heading into Week 9, Green Bay was second-to-last in the league in average plays per game, with 58.1 per TeamRankings.com.  

That improved to 72 plays versus the Panthers.

Three of Green Bay's pass-catchers had 80 yards or more on the day. Cobb led the team with 99 yards on four receptions and a touchdown, including a 53-yard reception. 

Davante Adams had 93 yards on seven receptions and a big 40-yard gain. 

And running back James Starks made a big impact in the passing game in the second half as the Packers attempted a comeback, with 83 yards and a 29-yard touchdown reception. 

It wasn't enough to get the team the win, but there are clearly enough playmakers on this offense to make it explosive. It hasn't been clicking through the first half of the season, but hopefully some of those big plays repeat themselves in the weeks to come. 

Pass Rush Is in Freefall

Mike McCarn/Associated Press

The Packers pass rush, at one point this season among the league's elite, is now looking like a sham. 

For the second week in a row, Green Bay was unable to get a sack, first on Peyton Manning in Week 8 and then again Sunday against Cam Newton. 

The Packers only got three quarterback hits on Manning, and they had even fewer on Newton, knocking him down just twice. 

Given the lack of pressure, Newton was able to throw his way to 297 yards and rush for 57 more, passing for three touchdowns.

Inexplicably, the unit appears to have declined after getting nose tackle B.J. Raji and outside linebacker Nick Perry back from injury. Those two players returning to the lineup should have dialed the sacks up a notch. 

Clay Matthews has been dealing with an ankle injury, but he was in the game, as was Julius Peppers and interior-rusher Mike Daniels. The Packers attempted a couple of blitzes, but they proved ineffective.

The Panthers defense, meanwhile, was doing everything the Packers couldn't, bringing out the linebacker-heavy NASCAR package and beating Green Bay's offensive line on blitz recognition.

Prior to Week 8, the Packers were second in the league in sacks with 23. By the conclusion of Week 9, that same total will drop them to at least fourth but, after all the NFL action is wrapped up, perhaps fifth or sixth.

Sacks aren't the only measure for successful pass-rushing, but the Packers have been lackluster in this category since the bye. 

Run Game May Be Better Without Eddie Lacy

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

The Packers are facing the prospect of playing without Eddie Lacy again after losing the running back for one game to an ankle injury earlier in the season, and then seeing him leave Sunday's game with a groin injury, as EPSN's Rob Demovsky reported. 

However, that might not be the worst thing for this team right now. 

Perhaps Lacy's presence in the backfield alone draws defenders down to the box, but his production has certainly given them no reason to stack it. On the season, Lacy has 308 yards on 83 carries and 10 receptions for 92 yards. 

Second-stringer James Starks, on the other hand, has rushed for 335 yards on 78 carries and has caught another 19 passes for 167 yards. 

The biggest number to pay attention to is the difference in Starks' and Lacy's yards per attempt. Starks is averaging a respectable 4.3 yards per carry, while Lacy has struggled his way to 3.7. 

Lacy has also only found the end zone twice this season. 

It's unclear how much time, if any, Lacy will miss with the groin injury, but whether he's out or not it's clear the Packers should be starting Starks until Lacy shows some improvement.