Packers Overcome Five-Hour Delay to Beat Cardinals

On Oct. 18 the Green Bay Packers' players-and-coaches charter was grounded on the tarmac for nearly five hours and a replacement plane from Detroit did not depart until after 7 p.m. CT, arriving in the Phoenix area around 9 p.m. MT — roughly 16 hours before Sunday’s game — while the support/staff plane left on time, compressing time for rest, practice and recovery and forcing an impromptu airport walk-through that left several defensive coaches unavailable for pregame preparation. Despite the travel chaos, Green Bay beat the Arizona Cardinals 27–23 to improve to 4-1-1. Coach Matt LaFleur called the club “a long, long way from the team we want to be,” even as he made bold in-game decisions that helped secure the win. Jordan Love was inconsistent but delivered key late plays, finishing 19-of-29 for 179 yards and one touchdown. Josh Jacobs — a game-time decision with a calf issue — rushed for the go-ahead touchdown, and Micah Parsons recorded the first three-sack game of his career (including two critical fourth-quarter sacks) as the Packers finished with six sacks and 12 QB hits; Arizona and QB Jacoby Brissett (two TDs, 110.8 rating) remained competitive with contributions from Budda Baker and Bam Knight.