The positive thing about Green Bay always having so many injuries is that backup players get the opportunity to develop more rapidly than otherwise. A bunch of youngsters stepped up on Sunday; they not only held their own, they were responsible for most of the crucial plays that resulted in the Packers’ overtime win.
The Packers were unlikely to win without the 65-yard punt return by second-year man Trevor Davis.
The interception that led to the short-field drive in overtime was snared by rookie Josh Jones, who out-jumped and outfought a half-dozen players for the ball.
The opening touchdown was scored by rookie Jamaal Williams, on a 30-yard pass play, as was the fourth quarter TD that started the comeback. While Williams rushing average is unremarkable, he makes the most of his opportunities, and he does it all: run, block, and catch – he had seven catches in seven targets against the Browns.
Despite the defensive backfield being down to a next-man-up status for the second year in a row, youngsters Jermaine Whitehead and Josh Hawkins were on the field when the defense tightened up in the late going. Also, the successful fake punt will go down as a great call, but it was made possible by Whitehead’s winning his one-on-one battle against the defender. He put his upper body strength to full use with a textbook stiff arm.
The guy who scored the final two touchdowns for the Packers, Davante Adams, has established himself as the team’s go-to receiver in only his fourth year.
The top two tacklers for Green Bay were Blake and Jake — second-year man Martinez and third-year man Ryan. Blake got his nine takedowns in 54 snaps, while Ryan got his seven in only 44 snaps. They would have had more but Green Bay’s defense only took 58 snaps, versus 76 for the offensive unit.
Second-year player Kyler Fackrell had three tackles and, for the second straight game, a sack – and he did this while only being on the field about half the time. Also, rookie Vince Biegel got three tackles in only 15 snaps.
Dean Lowry, another unheralded draft pick of last year, followed up his NFC player of the week honor with four more tackles in only 27 snaps. Lowry is one of the year’s bigger surprises.
Twenty-three year old Jason Spriggs has now laid down back-to-back full-game credible performances at right tackle. This giant man is getting healthy and looking comfortable.
Geronimo Allison, in his second year as a backup, caught each of the four throws Brett Hundley sent his way.
Oh, then there’s the third-year backup quarterback. Hundley played error-free football, had a completion percentage of 76, and ran seven times for 31 yards – often in crucial situations. Yes, it was dink-and-dunk football, but it was what the Cleveland defense was giving the Packers, so the smart move was to take it.
Add in some young guys who played barely or not at all in the game – Kevin King (22), Kenny Clark (22), Aaron Jones (23), Kentrell Brice (23), Ty Montgomery (24), Kyle Murphy (24), Marwin Evans (24) – and the Packers appear to be well-stocked to be a top league contender for at least another five years.
EN 
ES 
DE
Excellent article by Sentinel shows futility of any chances for post season and 19 reasons to keep #12 on sideline…..
An excerpt:
“If the Packers lose to the Carolina Panthers, they will have no chance at catching the Minnesota Vikings for the division, nor can they catch the New Orleans Saints or Panthers (one of those teams could win the South division, and the other would be a Wild Card). The Atlanta Falcons would only need to win one of their final three games to slip past the Packers, as well. That would be Season Over. Not only that, the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks would still be in play for that final spot if the Falcons don’t take it. The eight-year streak of making the playoffs would be essentially over”
Carolina, Detroit and Minnie will certainly make it high priority to target Rodgers if he plays. Why would you risk long term injury a la Andrew Luck ? Best strategy, keep #7 behind center. Let them lose outright, go 7-9 and allow TT to screw up w higher draft picks….
Gonna be a long, cold winter not seeing GB in playoffs but allows me to reduce my Prilosec consumption and use the savings for better quality beer….
Here’s the link to the article….
https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/sports/2017/12/11/who-am-supposed-cheer-get-packers-into-playoffs/940211001/
It was good to see “Turnstile” Spriggs have a good game. Remaining 3 opponents will certainly test him more than Brownies did….
“… the Packers appear to be well-stocked to be a top league contender for at least another five years.”
For reals, Rob?
Rodgers is 59% of this team and he is about to turn 34.
If you asked each team to put together their Top 10 full-of-potential players in yr 1, 2, or 3 of their career and the compared the lists, where would the Packers rank? 29th? Or 31st?
Lol. It is too bad these performances aren’t producing good team performances
The Packers ought to recognize Rob with a Fan of the Year award.
God bless you Sir.
Rob…If you are available, i’d like to buy a seat for you next to me on the bus we all take to the Chili Dome to watch our Packers win Super Bowl LII.
I was going to have Howard sit next to me, but meh….. he’s got that sobriety thing going on right now.