Did Packers find a path forward in loss to Bills?: NFC North analysis

Well, the Packers didn't get blown out on Sunday Night Football in Buffalo against maybe the best team in the league. So, they got that going for them. Which is nice.

But taking moral victories has never consoled Packers fans, and why would it? Green Bay has been at the top of the NFC North for more than a decade and has had mass amounts of objective success during Aaron Rodgers' tenure — even more so in Matt LaFleur's.

That's why this three-game skid and 3-5 start is so stark for the Packers. They're somehow still reeling from the loss of one player on offense, a player who doesn't seem too happy in his new situation either. But Rodgers didn't just lose a receiver in Davante Adams, he lost his safety net. That's been the difference.

Couple that with the fact that his other safety net, longtime pal Randall Cobb, is on IR and Green Bay lost rookie receiver Christian Watson in the first quarter Sunday and the Packers are thin at the receiver position to put it mildly.

That's old news, though, even if Watson was supposed to be a significant part of Green Bay's game plan Sunday for the first time in weeks. There hasn't been much tangible improvement for the Packers over the course of this season and eight weeks in, there was finally some semblance of a step forward. 

Because of the early injury to Watson, Green Bay was forced to ramp up its ground game. That move should have happened sooner given that the Packers have one of the best running back tandems in the league with Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. It was a long overdue change, and against one of the most stout run defenses in the league, Green Bay gained 208 yards on the ground.

Perhaps to the perplexity of some, the Packers stuck with that run game, even when they were down by as many as 17 into the second half. It was the right approach, even if it was the wrong timing.

And run out of time the Packers did. Their lone non-garbage-time touchdown came on a drive that took eight-and-a-half minutes. It was almost a stroke of arrogance to keep running the ball, never mind it was working. But because Green Bay did eventually run out of time, it's fair to wonder if this was a permanent shift in the Packers' offensive approach or if it was just a way to try and mitigate the damage incurred by Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen.

It seems every week Green Bay finds something that works while another aspect of its game goes to hell. This time, in prime time, it was discipline. The Packers incurred eight penalties for 58 penalty yards. Discipline also cost them one of their defensive starters when rookie Quay Walker shoved a Bills staffer on the sideline who was trying to help him up after Walker went tumbling into the Buffalo bench. Later in the game, the Packers literally had points taken off the board when tight end Robert Tonyan, initially thinking he had scored in the third quarter, was called for offensive pass interference thereby nullifying the touchdown. Green Bay settled for a field goal on the drive.

Cornerback Rasul Douglas also gifted Buffalo with a fresh set of downs thanks to an illegal use-of-hands penalty on third-and-10. (He made up for it a few plays later with an interception of Allen.)

As for the second step back, it's one that has plagued the Packers all season: fourth downs. On the first series of the game, undoubtedly to try and establish a tone, Green Bay went for it on fourth down in plus territory at the Buffalo 38. The Packers didn't get it. They'd go for it on fourth down one more time in the game, and you won't be shocked to learn they didn't get that, either. Green Bay is two-for-11 on fourth down this season, which is the worst conversion rate in the league.

After the game, both LaFleur and Rodgers talked about those two steps back more than anything else. Rodgers said he felt he needed to "take a beat" before addressing the team. He said he'd have more words of wisdom Wednesday and that he'd have the conversations behind closed doors the need to be had.

"Let me contemplate it and feel into the energy of what needs to be said," he told reporters after the game.

For all the frustration, it is hard to imagine that the Packers can continue like this. They have started to figure things out. Rookie wide receiver Romeo Doubs had his best game as a Packer, catching (and holding onto) a 19-yard touchdown pass. Samori Toure, the young player out of Nebraska, hauled in the first touchdown of his career on a 37-yard bomb from Rodgers. The offense moved the ball behind runs from both Jones and Dillon and took the shots they needed to, which their young players responded to.

Now we wait to see if they continue that trend and if they can right the other missteps. Because if they do, they could just turn it around yet.

Related: NFC North-leading Vikings change narrative in close games

Justin Fields Finds Rhythm in Loss to Dallas

No, the Chicago Bears didn't come out of Dallas with a win over the Cowboys. In fact, they lost by a pretty hefty 49-29 margin, but there was encouragement for Chicago in the form of second-year quarterback Justin Fields.

Fields was decisive, efficient and ended with a perfectly respectable stat line of 17-of-23 for 151 yards and two touchdowns for a career-high 120.0 passer rating. He also rushed eight times for 60 yards and a rushing touchdown of his own.

Fields did get sacked four times, but against the best pass rush in the league, that was to be expected.

He set a few career firsts in the game, in fact. It was his first time scoring rushing touchdowns in consecutive games. Fields has four consecutive games with a passing touchdown for the first time, too. It was also the first time in his career he had three total touchdowns in a game.

Now sure, that's not a whole lot in the grand scheme of good quarterback play, but it's tangible improvement. That's all that can be expected for a young quarterback learning a new offensive system with shuffling pieces around him. Fields hasn't had continuity on his offensive line or in the form of his receivers but at least he has a running game to lean on.

The Bears are continuing to stick with that, knowing that it's their offensive strength until Fields really comes on. But the corner Fields needs to turn may be closer than we thought.

"I think everyone is getting more and more comfortable as we game plan and put plays together," Fields said after the game. "Luke [Getsy] and our offensive coaches have done a great job figuring out what we do good as an offense, what each player does individually well. We're figuring that out, and I think that's a credit to our success."

Who would have known it was just going to take a little bit of time?

Lions Drop Another Close One

I feel like I say it every week, but the poor Detroit Lions. They've played five one-score games and are 1-4 in such contests. It was the tale of yet another week against the Miami Dolphins at home Sunday. This time stung even more because at one point, Detroit had a 14-point lead. The Dolphins didn't score the go-ahead touchdown until the very end of the third quarter, leaving the Lions plenty of time to retake the lead, theoretically.

Only they didn't. The defense didn't give up another point, but the offense, once the highest scoring unit in the league, also didn't score another point and the Lions dropped a heartbreaker by a score of 31-27.

On Monday, the Lions fired their defensive backs coach, Aubrey Pleasant. Detroit is dead last in passing yards per play given up this season.

It's not likely to yield immediate results, but it was a move to signal that there is heat on head coach Dan Campbell and that for as much as his players, coaches and fans may love his overall demeanor, they also need results.

Carmen Vitali covers the NFC North for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.