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Last night's game between the Packers and Broncos was a quick one according to the stopwatch, clocking in under three hours, but it seemed like an eternity for Packers fans who were watching an anemic offense fail to move the ball and a defense which had no answer for Peyton Manning, Demaryius Thomas, and the Broncos' running game.
In today's cheese curds, we look back at the Packers' first loss of the year to try to make some sense of what happened and hopefully learn from it.
One of the few bright spots in the game was the special teams - both Tim Masthay and Mason Crosby did their jobs well in the thin Colorado air, with Masthay averaging over 46 yards per punt and Crosby keeping the Packers in contention with a 56-yard field goal early in the second half.
Here's a look back at last night.
Packers defense never found its footing | Packers.com
As we noted last week, the Packers' run defense hasn't played better on a per-play basis this year than in 2014, they just have seen far fewer attempts this year. Last night, the Broncos averaged 4.7 yards per carry, which was exactly the Packers' average coming into the game.
Broncos game plan smothers Rodgers and Packers offense | JSOnline.com
"Wade Phillips hit the Packers with a plan that they had seen before but had absolutely no answer for because either they were poorly prepared or just weren't good enough to counter." That pretty much sums up what happened last night.
Eddie Lacy gets the call after limited role in Packers' last game - ESPN
Lacy's first-half work should be the focus of his game, certainly not his lack of workload in the second half as the Packers were down multiple scores. All in all, he played pretty well considering that the rest of the offense couldn't get out of first gear.
Thomas shows what Packers miss without Nelson | Packersnews.com
Demaryius Thomas gave Casey Hayward fits all night long, and tormented some other Packers corners after Sam Shields and Quinten Rollins left the game with shoulder injuries.
GB-DEN Grades: Broncos defense stymies Packers in victory | Pro Football Focus
As usual, the important notes here relate to the advanced stats - Casey Hayward allowed 135 passing yards, while Aaron Rodgers attempted only four passes that traveled more than 10 yards down field.
Chips Report from Packers 29-10 loss at Denver | 247sports.com
Tim Masthay might have been left out of the Blue Chip category, as he and Mason Crosby had nice days. Unfortunately, just about everybody else fell in the "Cow Chip" level.