The Packers will now go into their bye week at 8-2 and on top of the NFC North division. Certainly not a bad place to be right now. While the buzz over their defense has mostly died down, their offense continues to impress while remaining relatively healthy as they look towards the playoffs.
WR Davante Adams was finally back at the top of his game. The second half started with a sack on Rodgers and a penalty on OT David Bakhtiari that set the Packers up for a depressing 2nd and 26 but Rodger’s favorite receiver Adams was there to save the day(who, as Troy Aikmen enjoyed pointing out, was open the previous play but it would have been brought back anyway because of the Bakhtiari penalty).
WR Allen Lazard was robbed of two decent first-down catches because of officials. The first one did look like the ball might have hit the ground but the defensive pass interference call against him in the second quarter was a joke. This led to a punt but a fumble by Kyle Allen led to a fumble recovery by Montravius Adams so the Packers were able to continue their drive almost right away.
Also gotta mention that TE Jimmy Graham at least earned his salary for this game with a very important reception in the second quarter during a drive that eventually led to Graham getting a would-be TD reception but it was called back due to him not bringing both feet inbound. The drive ended up going scoreless as LaFleur decided to go for it with 2 seconds left in the first half. What’s interesting about that 89-yard 13-play drive prior to the final play was that #93 Gerald McCoy was called for a late hit on Rodgers at the beginning of the drive but he was able to redeem himself by stuffing the final run attempt by RB Jamaal Williams.
Surprising no one, RB Aaron Jones was the big star of the game with 3 TDs which places him and Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey tied at the top of the league with 14 TDs for the season each. RB Jamaal Williams was not able to make it into the end zone this game but he had 63 yards with a long of 16-yards.
Defensively, Preston Smith had two sacks in the game with a total of 10 for the season which places him tied at 3rd in the league. Veteran CB Tramon Williams claimed the only interception of the game with a pick in the 3rd quarter in the end zone after it was tipped by S Adrian Amos. Earlier in that same drive, S Ibraheim Campbell forced a fumble but it was recovered by the Panthers.
A Few Mistakes
CB Kevin King blew his coverage on Panthers WR DJ Moore in the first quarter during the second drive by the Panthers which led to a big gain.
S Darnell Savage missed a golden opportunity for a sack on Panthers QB Kyle Allen with a safety blitz that had him primed for contact but the tackle was missed and it led to a first-down run by Allen. In the next play, Allen then shook off another sack attempt by Za’Darius Smith.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Packers were called for 10 penalties while the Panthers only had 5.
Looking Ahead
The Vikings, carried by RB Dalvin Cook, squeaked by the Cowboys while the Detroit Lions, without QB Matt Stafford who has fractured bones in his back, fell to the Chicago Bears. The Packers are overall pretty healthy right now but this bye week is still much needed as they will return in Week 12 to play the 49ers in San Francisco.
Not related to the Packers, but technically related to the Panthers, the New Orleans Saints fell to the Atlanta Falcons. Who dat got their butts kicked by a low-tier team?
Snow, is good for the soul. The winter wonderland can’t get here soon enough
“Surprising no one, RB Aaron Jones was the big star of the game with 3 TDs which places him and Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey tied at the top of the league with 11 TDs for the season each.”
Should be 14.
Thanks
It’s nice to see we have caring people here who have each others back. It also warms my heart that people genuinely appreciate things like that with a simple “Thank you”. Class move.
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We all make mistakes, but always remember…You’re good enough..You’re smart enough…and gosh darn it…people like you.
Of course my cousin bitches about how the refs favor the Packers (he is a bears fan) on Facebook. People are so dumb
I saw a missed face mask penalty against I think it was Za’Darius. Overall, it didn’t seem the refs were favoring the Packers
I saw that missed facemask too…it happened during the blatant missed hold that occured against Smith on the very same play.
Being a ref isn’t an exact science. Asking a ref never to make a mistake, is like asking a player never to make a mistake in a game, or coming back from Chicago. Or asking a GM to never make a mistake in the draft or free agency. People just don’t understand that for some reason, and then get all paranoid and fly off the deep end…”The refs are against us!!!…waa waa”…STFU. Play better
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But…with the luxury of replays, NFL games have never been called more accurately in the history of the NFL as they are in todays game. But God damn it, in todays world we have to have victims….right?
Did anyone notice how many offensive plays Sternberger was on the field. For a guy that came out of college as not being a blocking TE Sternberger threw some good blocks in the run game and pass pro. In fact I think Sternberger only went out on a route on one of the 12-15 plays he was on the field.
To put Sternberger one on one in pass blocking against Bruce Irvin is dicey, but Sternberger did well against Irvin a couple of times.
I thought that was Jordy Nelson. 87…memories
Pathetic game. Packers one and done in playoffs. Guaranteed. Fire Gute!!
Do you cry yourself to sleep at night? Holy shit.
WOW…That was one of the most entertaining games i ever watched, a complete dogfight. Wilson didn’t have a great statistical game but he just gets it done somehow. Jimmy Garoppolo has a ways to go to be considered in the top tier. Outstanding defensiveness plays, such a fun game to watch.
*defensive…my bad
I watched the game as well. The 49ers are no joke. That defense has impact players across the board. Seattle’s offensive line is so bad, like you said Russell Wilson made it happen. Luckily he has legs and can run, if Tom Brady was behind that line he would have died. I couldn’t imagine voting for anyone else for MVP despite his one poor decision. Hope the Packers offensive line gets rested up, this bye couldn’t have happened at a better time.
The 49ers/Seahawks game was crazy, but as is typical, Wilson gets it done at the end. The 49ers have a tough schedule in the next few weeks, playing at the Ravens, at the Saints, at the Seahawks, This loss for the 49ers may be more significant to the Packer than we realized right now.
The Packers have a better pass defense than the Seahawks this year. I think the Packers will give Garoppolo a difficult time, if the 49ers choose to pass. Garappolo will gift them a few errant passes. But the 49ers might not need to pass much with their running game and the bad Packers rushing defense.
The Ravens present a bad matchup for the 49ers, and I could see them losing that game. A few things I noticed about the 49ers defense: they are a fast athletic front and are very aggressive. I noticed as a result, some of the guys running themselves out of plays, particularly Nick Bosa. Misdirection plays can be very effective against these defenses, as can running right at the defense, I see Jamaal Williams being the more effective runner in this game. Screens also can be effective in slowing these guys down and there could be big plays made here. I also think the defensive backs are very average, if given time the Packers could make a few plays in the passing game.
To be sure, this is not a good matchup for the Packers. A lot is going to have to go right for them. Their offensive line will have to play their best game of the year, particularly the interior of the line. The Packers are going to have to run the ball, and stick with it, because if the Packers get behind and abandon it, they are fucked. An early score or two would help immensely. Defensively, they can’t allow early, long drives. Get off the field on third down. San Francisco is going to try to dictate the flow of the game and slow it down. They don’t want to make it a track meet. Don’t let them do so
Hey Jason we liked Lazard even before you.. he was the killer player on our high school team… kids got major game..good attitude.. and never gave up. Glad Green Bay gave him a shot
Yeah, great attitude with great athleticism is a powerful combination. He’s very humble and that’s who responds to coaching the best.