By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Oct 17, 2022 at 11:31 AM Photography: Evan Siegle / Packers.com

There's no denying it anymore: The Packers might be bad this season.

After getting embarrassed in London against the Giants, the Packers came home ... and somehow played even worse, looking like death in a 27-10 loss to the New York Jets that brought loud boo-birds out at Lambeau Field. It's only a fair response to a team that couldn't even score as many points against the Jets as the Dolphins did last week with a third-string starter at the helm.

Even if you want to explain away this loss subscribe to the theory that the Jets are vastly improved this season ... and even if you subscribe to the theory that the Giants are also legitimately good this year, that doesn't excuse the fact that the Packers have yet to play a good football game thus far this season. They barely beat the Patriots at home with a back-up quarterback playing his first NFL snaps, barely beat a struggling Buccaneers team that had no healthy receivers and almost coughed up a win against a bad Bears team. And those are their wins. Through six games thus far, the offense looks helpless, the defense becomes porous and the special teams rates somehow as a positive since it's merely meh as opposed to the hellish rage fire of recent memory. We've seen glimmers of the assumed Super Bowl contender but certainly not for four quarters at a time, and any argument that this team is still a title frontrunner has no on-field evidence to support it.

Hopefully Aaron Rodgers and company can begin the turn-around against the woeful Commanders next week – but in the meantime, let's take a final look back at a game that made us wish the Packers stayed on the other side of the ocean. And then let's throw the highlights and footage from this game into a jet turbine, never to be seen or spoken of again. 

1. Praying for a turn-around

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This is both a very cool photo and also an incredible live look at Green Bay fans asking for a comfortable victory each Sunday and apparently not being heard. 

2. A hard day at the office

Aaron Rodgers hasn't played like his usual self to start this season, and he didn't look terrific against the Jets, throwing for 246 yards and a touchdown but also missing touch on a few throws (possibly no thanks to his injured thumb). But then again, resurrected Johnny Unitas in his prime would've struggled to put up a decent performance with the time the Packers offensive line allowed on Sunday. During the first half, there didn't seem to be a single down where Rodgers wasn't rudely greeted in the backfield by a New York defender – typically Quinnen Williams, who finished with two of the team's four sacks on the day. I know the Jets are improved, especially on defense ... but they're not the '85 Bears, which is how they looked against Green Bay's sieve-like line. 

3. Jones-ing for more Aaron Jones

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The Packers have a lot of problems right now, but there seems to be at least one solution: more Aaron Jones. Whenever Green Bay's moving the ball well, Aaron Jones seems to be involved – and yet the running back can't seem to get the ball regularly. On Sunday, Jones received just nine rushes and four pass targets – while A.J. Dillon, who struggled mightily yesterday and coughing up a costly fumble, received one more carry and two more targets. Some of this was perhaps because Jones looked a little hobbled midway through the game – but if Jones can be on the field, he needs to be getting the ball.

We regularly heard during the preseason that this Packers offense was going to look different, that it was going to be more run-forward and utilize the running backs more often. Well, thus far, it definitely looks different – but not in a way that looks good or on purpose. 

4. A special special teams moment

Packers fans: I'd give anything for the Green Bay special teams unit to improve!

(*monkey paw curls*)

Indeed, one of the few positive – or merely non-coma-inducing – moments from the first half came from the special teams department, blocking a Jets punt. And if you thought the offense would take advantage of this exciting development, welp, you must be watching your first Packers game this season. Yep, nothing would come from this play as the Packers would go four whole quarters – between last week and this – in between touchdowns. 

5. Concerned for Cobb

In case Sunday couldn't get any worse, during the game, a teary-eyed Randall Cobb had to be carted off to the locker room – never a good sign. Thankfully news came in after the game that the veteran wide receiver didn't break his ankle as some were worried, but it still looks like a significant injury for a Green Bay pass-catching squad that was already dangerously lacking in legit receiving threats and for a Green Bay offense overall that was already struggling to connect as a unit. Now it's lost one of its most dependable pieces for who knows how long – but any time is too long considering how they look right now.

6. All the old hits

In case you found yourself trying to cheerfully say "who would've guessed special teams would be our best unit," the old Packers special teams woes showed up on Sunday too, resulting in a blocked field goal and a blocked punt that the Jets returned for a touchdown. So, for those keeping score, that's a listless offense that can't move the ball, a defense that can't stop either the run or pass, and a special teams department that can't get kicks off. But other than that, things are looking pretty good for the Pack. 

7. A touchdown!?

After going an entire four quarters without scoring a point courtesy of their offense (two points on a safety, three points from a field goal), the Packers finally put the ball in the endzone thanks to this strike from Rodgers to Allen Lazard. Amazingly, the play put Green Bay within a single score – but that small lead would be too much for the defense to hold and too far for the offense to climb. 

8. Like a Breece

Jets rookie running back Breece Hall appears to have a promising future – especially if he gets to play the Packers more often. As is becoming the Green Bay formula, after competently holding the Jets for most of the first half, the defense tired out and hemorrhaged yards and points in the back end, leading to a lop-sided 24-7 final two quarters complete with this touchdown run. The most troubling part? How easy this touchdown gallop looks for Hall, who gouged the defense for a new career-high of 116 yards on the ground. Very rarely do you see a dagger get applied with so little resistance. 

9. Cheesed off

To add one final insult to injury, Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner – who had a terrific game and was a blade of grass away from adding a pick-six to it in the first quarter – paraded around Lambeau Field wearing a cheesehead. And yet still the Packers' sleepy performance was still the most offensive and disrespectful thing to happen on that field on Sunday. 

10. Already running out of time

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The positive spin: The Packers are 3-3 with two-thirds of the season left to go. There's plenty of time to figure things out – and plenty of other teams (Rams, Bucs, Ravens) having similarly rough starts to the season.

And now for the negative spin ... Green Bay's arguably already running out of time to get their season back on track. Remember: This was supposed to be the EASY part of their schedule. After the Commanders next week, the Packers schedule gets difficult and stays difficult – and once you start going through the games, it's hard to find more than five games that you feel confident Green Bay can win. And five wins doesn't even get this team to .500, much less probably a playoff spot. The season feels so young – and yet it's arguably already at a breaking point with must-win games coming up fast. 

Hopefully this loss applies a much-needed shock to the system and the team gets right against a very beatable Washington team ... but then again, that's what we said after London too. 

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.