Cheese Curds, 10/24: Aaron Rodgers might be the only one not panicking right now

At least the New York Giants and New York Jets are surprising contenders in their respective divisions. The first two teams to beat the Green Bay Packers in their current three-game losing streak are 6-1 and 5-2, respectively. The Washington Commanders, on the other hand, are now just 3-4 and are objectively not a very good team. That’s one of the myriad reasons why Sunday’s loss in week seven feels worse than the last two.

Another is that it comes with a date against the Buffalo Bills next Sunday looming, which already sees the Bills as double-digit favorites. So unless the Packers find something brilliant and find it quickly, they’ll be looking down the barrel of a 3-5 start at the trade deadline, which should force general manager Brian Gutekunst to make some unpleasant decisions.

After the first quarter or so on Sunday, just about everything that could go wrong for the Packers did, and that’s why they lost 23-21. Is it time to hit the panic button? Plenty of Packers fans have already smashed it despite Aaron Rodgers’ comments. Let’s look at those and more from Sunday’s game.

Game recap: 5 takeaways from Packers’ loss to Commanders | Packers.com
The Packers' offense just keeps putting itself in bad spots with penalties and negative plays on first down. That was a big reason for the next statistic, a truly abysmal one:

Packers fail to convert a single third or fourth down during loss to Commanders | Packers Wire
It was the first time since 1999 that the Packers hadn't converted a single third down, and four of the seven 3rd/4th opportunities were passes dropped by receivers.

Aaron Rodgers believes Packers' season can be saved - 'I'm not worried' | ESPN
He might be the only person associated with the team who isn't worried, then. But quips like "Run the Table" and "R-E-L-A-X" don't save a season -- making plays does that, and neither he nor his receivers have made nearly enough of them.

David Bakhtiari's absence moved Zach Tom into Packers starting lineup | Packersnews.com
Perhaps the lone bright spot on offense was the play of the shuffled offensive line, which saw the 4th-round rookie get his first regular-season playing time in Bakhtiari's place. He looked solid and the line let Rodgers get hit only once as Washington chose not to blitz the QB, and next week will be another big test against a talented Bills front.

The Packers’ season has become a disaster, so what’s next in Green Bay? - The Athletic ($)
So now what? If this team does end up 3-5 after next week, it may indeed be time to start selling at the trade deadline, especially with the team up against some significant salary cap issues for 2023. Still, that doesn't seem to be in this team's nature.

Larry the Cat outlasts fourth U.K. prime minister | NPR
At this point, King Charles should just add PM duties to Larry’s current title of Chief Mouser.