PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Keisean Nixon fumbled the opening kickoff and the Green Bay Packers were never able to pick up the pieces.
Nixon's lost fumble was the first in a series of blunders in a 22-10 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round Sunday night, an injury-marred game that ended the Packers' season.
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Green Bay Packers center Josh Myers (71) gestures as he is carted off the field after an injury during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nolan Smith Jr. (3) reacts after sacking Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur talks during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs (87) reacts after missing a catch during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. Doubs was injured on the play. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs (87) walks off the field after an injury during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon (25) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (54) during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Green Bay lost two of its top three receivers, a couple of starting offensive linemen and a handful of defenders, and their replacements were among the key contributors to some of the mistakes that proved costly.
Coach Matt LaFleur singled out the fumble, the first of the Packers' four turnovers, as a bad tone-setter. It was the first time a team fumbled away the opening kick of an NFL playoff game since 2001.
“When you come into somebody else’s house against a really good football team, you can’t start the way we did,” LaFleur said. “To fumble the opening kick and them turn it into a touchdown and be down 7-0 from the jump, it was obviously too much to overcome.”
So were the injuries, which piled up throughout the game.
Left guard Elgton Jenkins was knocked out with a stinger in the first quarter right around the time defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt left with a lower leg injury. Jenkins' replacements, rookie Travis Glover and then Kadeem Telfort, were penalized multiple times, and even veteran Sean Rhyan was flagged late after moving from right tackle to center when Josh Myers injured his left leg.
“It was a real sudden shift early on in the game, and they stepped up,” Rhyan said of Glover and Telfort. "A couple calls here and there — it could’ve gone either way. But for how sudden it was, I think they did a fine job.”
In between the Packers losing linemen, Romeo Doubs' head bounced off the turf in the end zone and fellow receiver Jayden Reed injured a shoulder in the second half. Doubs was evaluated for a concussion, but LaFleur said the 24-year-old was doing better than he feared when assessing the situation on the field and did not want to use injuries as an excuse.
“It’s unfortunate, and I hate it for our guys that have to battle through that, but it’s football,” LaFleur said. “It’s a next-man-up mentality, and there’s a standard of performance that you have to go out there and we have to hold that standard no matter who’s in and you’ve got to find ways to adjust and it’s our job as coaches to try to make the necessary adjustments to put those guys in positions where you can still have success.
"We obviously didn’t do a good enough job of that.”
The attrition certainly played a role. When the Packers were mounting a comeback bid in the fourth quarter, Jordan Love's fourth-down pass was incomplete when Malik Heath — on the field only because Doubs and Reed were out — could not get both feet inbounds.
By that point, the Packers were trying to climb out of a deficit. Love — who insisted his sore throwing elbow had no effect on his play as he threw three interceptions — and LaFleur were critical of how the offense could not get enough going.
“That first half, man, we were flat, we were hurting ourselves, a lot of penalties, bad decisions,” said running back Josh Jacobs, who scored Green Bay's only touchdown and accounted for 121 of 302 yards of offense. “You can’t win games like that.”
Likewise with penalties — the Packers were penalized eight times for 85 yards, including a couple of personal fouls late: one by Nixon and another by T.J. Slaton on late hits. LaFleur lamented the lack of discipline and said his players needed to be better at keeping their emotions in check.
“Against big teams, against good teams, you can’t make as many mistakes — costly penalties, whatever, frustration, flags,” Jacobs said. “It just can’t happen.”
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Green Bay Packers center Josh Myers (71) gestures as he is carted off the field after an injury during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nolan Smith Jr. (3) reacts after sacking Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur talks during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs (87) reacts after missing a catch during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. Doubs was injured on the play. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs (87) walks off the field after an injury during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon (25) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (54) during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
OREBRO, Sweden (AP) — Swedish police said on Thursday that a shooter who killed 10 people in the country's worst mass shooting was connected to the adult education center where he opened fire with a rifle-like weapon.
Authorities said the gunman, who has not yet been officially identified, may have attended school there.
He was later found dead with a large amount of unused ammunition next to his body. They added that the shooter had licenses for 4 weapons, 3 of which were found next to his body
At least five people were seriously wounded in the violence at an adult education center west of Stockholm on Tuesday.
Officials said three women and two men underwent surgery at Orebro University Hospital after being admitted with life-threatening injuries. All were in serious but stable condition Wednesday. Another woman was treated for minor injuries and was stable. All of the victims are over age 18, officials said.
Police said there were no warnings beforehand, and they believe the perpetrator acted alone. Authorities said there were no suspected connections to terrorism at this point.
Mourners across the the Scandinavian nation, where gun violence at schools is very rare, struggled to process the thought of mass violence in their country.
“Not in this place," Malin Hilmberg, 37, told The Associated Press as she stood near a growing makeshift memorial near the scene. "I mean, we heard about it in different parts of the world, but of course it’s a shock. It’s your hometown and so many lives destroyed. It’s hard to find words.”
The school, Campus Risbergska, offers primary and secondary educational classes for adults age 20 and older, Swedish-language classes for immigrants, vocational training, and programs for people with intellectual disabilities. It is on the outskirts of Orebro, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Stockholm.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer called the shooting “an event that shakes our entire society to its core.” King Carl XVI Gustaf and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson ordered flags flown at half-staff at the Royal Palace and government buildings. Mourners gathered outside the school, comforting one another and dropping off candles and flowers to honor the victims.
“It’s very strange to be in the middle, where I live in Sweden, in Orebro, and this is all over the world," Emelia Fredriksson, 53, said. "They’re seeing us now and it’s a very strange feeling.”
The king and Queen Silvia visited Orebro on Wednesday and attended a memorial service along with Kristersson.
“We are here to show our grief to all the families who have their loved ones, who have people who have lost their lives," the monarch told reporters outside the makeshift memorial. "But also they should always remember that they are not alone. I think today the whole of Sweden will take part and are standing behind them.”
The shooting started Tuesday afternoon, after many students had gone home following a national exam. Survivors scrambled for cover as shots rang out, sheltering behind or under whatever they could find to escape the gunman and the gore. One woman with children feared she might never see them again, while another used her friend’s shawl to staunch the bleeding of a man who’d been shot in the shoulder.
“Those were the worst hours of my life. I did not know if I would get shot there and then, or in 10 minutes. You simply waited,” Hellen Werme, 35, told the Expressen newspaper.
Authorities were working to identify the deceased. Police said that officers discovered the gunman dead at the school when they arrived. It was unclear how he died.
Roberto Eid Forest, head of the local police, said that six officers were treated for smoke inhalation. There wasn't a fire, he said, and authorities didn't immediately know what had caused the smoke.
Police wouldn’t say whether the shooter had multiple guns, nor would they say what kind of firearm was used in the shooting. While gun violence at schools is very rare in Sweden, people were wounded or killed with other weapons such as knives or axes in several incidents in recent years.
In order to possess a firearm legally, applicants must obtain a weapon license and demonstrate that it will be used for an acceptable purpose, such as hunting or target shooting. Applicants must also submit previously obtained hunting or target shooting certificates. Hunting certificates require people to pass a training course, while target shooters must be certified as active and experienced members of clubs.
All weapons must be stored in secure cabinets approved by the police. Applications for fully automatic weapons or one-handed weapons are only granted for exceptional reasons, and such permits are generally time-limited.
Permits are revoked if the weapon is modified to be substantially different from its original function.
Dazio reported from Berlin. Mimmi Montgomery and Kwiyeon Ha in London, and John Leicester in Paris, contributed to this report.
Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia arrive to place flowers at a memorial near the scene of a shooting on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Police officers stand guard near the scene of a shooting at an adult education center on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Police officers stand guard near the scene of a shooting at an adult education center on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
A man lights a candle at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting at an adult education center on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
A man lights a candle at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting at an adult education center on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Candles and flowers are placed at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting at an adult education center on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Police officers stand guard near the scene of a shooting at an adult education center on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
A person lights a candle at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
A Swedish flag flies at half-mast at Rosenbad, Sweden's Government Offices in Stockholm, Wednesday Feb. 5, 2025, after a shooting at an adult education center on Tuesday. (Jonas Ekströmer/TT via AP)
Roberto Eid Forest, head of the Orebro local police area speaks at a press conference with Director of Health Jonas Claesson, left, and Lars Wirén, Chief of Police in Örebro, Sweden, Wednesday Feb. 5, 2025, after a shooting at an adult education center on Tuesday. (Anders Wiklund/TT via AP)
People light candles at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
People gather at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
People gather at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)