DENVER – Everything that's wrong with the Green Bay Packers' lackluster offense was wrapped into one telling play in Sunday night's loss to the Denver Broncos.
It happened midway through the fourth quarter after rookie cornerback Damarious Randall made the defensive play of the game -- and by that we mean the only defensive play the Packers made all game -- when he picked off Peyton Manning.
Aaron Rodgers dropped back to pass. The ball was in his hands for 4.7 seconds -- an eternity for an NFL quarterback -- before Von Miller dumped him for a 9-yard sack. It was a simple four-man rush, which meant the Broncos had plenty of defenders to cover.
And cover they did.
Bradley Roby jammed James Jones, who was lined up wide to the left. Aqib Talib blanketed Davante Adams, who was wide to the right. Safety David Bruton Jr. and linebacker Brandon Marshall doubled-teamed Randall Cobb in the slot.
No wonder Rodgers slammed the ball to the turf in apparent disgust after the play.
It was that way for most of the Packers' 29-10 loss at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
When asked how often he looked downfield and saw all of his receivers covered, Rodgers said: "A good amount."
"They were covering good," Rodgers added. "That's all you can point to there."
Yes, the Broncos have a great defense, maybe the NFL’s best, but no way should Rodgers ever be limited to just 77 yards passing – his lowest total in a game where he started and was not injured.
This is not a new problem. After the Week 5 win over the Rams, Rodgers noted his receivers need to run better routes and "have to be able to get open outside better." A week later after beating the Chargers, Rodgers' lamented the lack of plays "outside the numbers."
Jordy Nelson isn't walking back on the field, and the return of Adams from a three-game hiatus because of an ankle injury didn't help.
Coach Mike McCarthy, playcaller Tom Clements and offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett need to figure out how to get this offense back to at least some semblance of what it has usually been with Rodgers at the helm.
It won't get easier this week against a Carolina Panthers defense that gives up 18.3 points per game (which is only 2.3 points more than the league-leading Broncos, who replaced the Packers atop that stat).
Jones' impact has waned. The 31-year-old had one catch for 2 yards against the Broncos and hasn't had more than two catches in any of the last three games. Adams' lone catch went for only 8 yards, and he had a drop. Cobb caught a team-high six passes, but they went for only 27 yards, a 4.5-yard average. Tight end Richard Rodgers caught two passes for 16 yards but can't seem to break a tackle and hasn't helped in the run game with his inconsistent blocking.
Neither Jones nor Adams could explain why they couldn't get open.
"You know what?" Jones said. "I really don't have the answers for you guys right now until I watch the film. All I can tell you is, give them the credit. They played well. They came out and they beat us."
Said Adams: "They've got a good D, but it's more on what we had going on. Just got to make plays really. I'd have to see it on film to really know, but I can't really put my finger on it just yet."
McCarthy appropriately called it an ass-kicking but offered few, if any, answers for how to fix it.
Perhaps most shocking was that McCarthy, who had an 8-1 record coming off the bye before Sunday, unveiled little or nothing new with a week off to tweak the offense.
"I think it's schematically we've got to probably do some different things," Rodgers said. "And execution-wise we need to get open and complete passes."