Richard from Greenwich, NY

Good morning, saw a stat that makes the tie in Dallas a bit more palatable: Home teams that score 40 points or more and have no turnovers, have a record of 300-0-1. The Pack is responsible for that sole tie. Enjoy the bye.

As I said to open our latest “Unscripted,” just when you think you’ve seen it all in this league, another game gets played.

John from Stevens Point, WI

You mentioned that the CBA gives players time off during the bye week, with some sticking around to rehab. What does II during the bye week? Do you need to rehab? Do you enjoy some midseason time off, too?

We might stop in the office here and there the rest of the week, but otherwise we’re working from home and getting whatever break we can.

Good morning. Mike, I know I missed a lot of Packer games while in the Army in Germany, but one crazy stat you mentioned must have been tough to watch. Seeing 32 first downs by Green Bay and only 14 points in an overtime tie at Tampa Bay in Oct. 1980 must have been painful.

I looked up that game to review the details. The Packers had 569 yards of total offense that day – third most in team history – and scored only 14 points. They punted three times from the Tampa 40-yard line, and two other times from midfield or better. Plus they had two turnovers (one a pick-six) and missed three field goals – from 47 yards early in the game, from 24 with a minute left in regulation, and from 36 on the final play of OT. Mercy.

A lot to not like, but I really don’t like the “LaFleur didn’t try to win” take. The first-down screen was a great look – two defenders over three receivers, just whiffed a block. The second-down play was a shot to the end zone, Love said, but the Cowboys dropped out so he had to check it down. Results weren’t there, doesn’t mean the intent wasn’t.

I agree. It was a highly consequential missed block on the perimeter, no different than a whiff up front that gets the QB sacked, loses yards and keeps the clock running (in this case, forcing the use of the final timeout). Equating outcome with intent is as obtuse as it gets to me.

David from Minneapolis, MN

Mike, I respectfully disagree with you about Jordan Love making the wise choice on the dump off. The correct decision is to turf it so you can regroup, take a breather, and not rush the best play. Best-case scenario on the dump off Emanuel Wilson gets to the 5 and then they still struggle to get a play off. At that point with no timeouts it should have been a ball to within a few yards of the end zone at minimum.

I understand that approach and LaFleur agreed when he went into more detail Tuesday. In the wee hours I needed to be more specific with my words, because saying Love “smartly took the checkdown” was really more about not forcing the ball into unfavorable coverage. I’m always leery of throwing the ball away from the pocket, though there are ways. I still wouldn’t call the checkdown a killer because there’s usually one guy to beat in open space, and if Wilson is able to make him miss, he could get inside the 10 and, even better, out of bounds. It didn’t work out that way, and maybe Love should’ve seen it wouldn’t. Regardless, what absolutely cannot occur is the lack of urgency to get the next snap off and take that shot at the win. That was inexcusable because, checkdown or not, they had plenty of time. It took 16 seconds from when Wilson was tackled to the ball being snapped. Way too long.

Mike, after you watch the all-22, can you tell us if Dontayvion Wicks was open on the last pass in the end zone? It seemed like he had inside position on his defender, but I don’t know if Love had a clear throwing lane to him. I’m not trying to Monday morning quarterback, just curious if my eyes were right.

There was an underneath defender at the 5-yard line in the throwing lane to Wicks, so it would’ve required a layered touch pass, not a bullet, which would’ve given the safety in the back of the end zone, who had eyes on Love the whole way, a chance to break toward Wicks for the INT. That’s how I saw it on film.