Green Bay Reporter

Despite lofty expectations coming into the year, the Green Bay Packers did not look the part of a Super Bowl contender in their season opener on Sept. 12, getting trounced 38-3 by the New Orleans Saints.

Star quarterback Aaron Rodgers turned in one of the worst performances of his career. Rodgers finished the game 15 of 28 while only recording 133 passing yards and two interceptions. 

During the fourth quarter, he was relegated to the bench. Backup quarterback Jordan Love did little to right the ship in his NFL debut; most significantly he made a costly fumble all the way in Saints territory. 

It was not just Rodgers and Love who had off days, as commentators noted that head coach Matt LeFluer's offense never really got going. Packers top receiver Davante Adams had a poor game as well, only catching five receptions for 56 yards, and the running game similarly failed to gain much traction. No. 1 running back Aaron Jones had just 14 yards on five carries.

The players themselves admitted that they felt embarrassed. Rodgers did not mince words when describing Green Bay’s performance. 

“We played bad,” he told ESPN. “I played bad. Offensively we didn't execute very well.”

The expectations for the Packers, a team that made the NFC Championship Game last season, were sky-high. 

Even Sen Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) expressed her excitement about the team before the game, tweeting, "It's gameday! #GoPackGo." All of the hype around a team that appeared to be so stacked on paper made their week one dud feel like a particular disappointment. 

After missing his team’s offseason program and not playing during the preseason due to ongoing disputes with the Packers organization, Rodger’s outing could be attributed to rust. He posted the worst completion percentage of his career on passes where he had at least 2.5 seconds to make a throw, a measly 27% rate.

Rodgers, LeFluer and the rest of the Packers will look to get the team back on track when they take on the Detroit Lions in a divisional showdown.