The Green Bay Packers got demolished on Thursday night, dropping their home opener to the previously 0-2 Atlanta Falcons, 35-14. The Packers struggled to do everything, essentially, on both sides of the ball, and their fans took notice, raining boos down on the team throughout the game and especially the second half.
Packers tight end Tucker Kraft did not appreciate the serenades.
"That's pretty tough. Like everyone pictures Lambeau Field and not boos," Kraft said, via NBC26. "I don't picture boos when I picture my home stadium. That's tough. It's pretty disappointing, especially for a home opener. It's pretty disappointing. It's not going to help us win. Like, I don't know what people think that's going to rally us or something like that. But that's — we're grown men. We're mentally strong enough, capable enough to get back on the field and play ball. But it'd probably be much easier with the 70,000 people behind us rather than opposing us."
The thing about the boos in this situation is that they were well-earned.
The Packers were a disaster on Thursday night. They allowed the Falcons to pile up 498 yards and control the ball for 37:05 of game time. They repeatedly missed tackles and allowed Bijan Robinson and Drake London to run wild. The Packers also ran the ball for just 17 yards on nine carries, their fewest rush yards in a game since 1999. Jordan Love averaged 5.8 yards per pass attempt. There wasn't a single thing the Packers did well, and the fans let them know about it.
Packers wide receiver Christian Watson didn't necessarily appreciate the boos, either, but he acknowledged that they stemmed from the performance the Packers put out there.
"It's tough," Watson said, via ESPN. "But at the end of the day, it's an entertainment business, so we have to put a better product out on the field if we want to have the fans have our back. Obviously, we like to think that the fans will be there through the ups and downs, but we've got to put out a better performance than that."
The Packers are now 1-2 heading into their Week 4 game against the Buccaneers. They are decimated by injuries and have yet to truly play well on either side of the ball. They need to use this mini-bye to clean things up, or else the boos are going to be something they'll have to get used to this year.
