Review: Packers 28; Bears 19~ the second half surge. With 6:09 left in the 2nd quarter, the Packers found themselves staring at a 16-3 deficit to the Chicago Bears. While making Justin Fields look like the Bears have found their QB of the future. However, after Rodgers scrambled and found rookie WR Christian Watson for a 14-yard TD with 0:17 left in the half, Green Bay relinquished just 3 points. There’s a direct correlation to the amount of points Chicago scores and Justin Fields’ rushing production. He had just 1 rush yard in the 2nd half and when forced to make throws, couldn’t stick the ball in the end zone. The same can be said for many other QBs in the league, but the constant holds, if you want to win in this league (Super Bowls), you’ll need a QB that can win with his arm.

Current Status~ as of today, Dec. 11, Green Bay holds the 11-seed. Meaning Seattle, Washington, Detroit, and Atlanta are all in between the Packers and the last seed of the playoffs. Those teams listed aren’t title contenders, hell all of them are going to have different starting QBs next season. With any luck, the same should hold true for Green Bay.

	Offense	Defense
Rush	12th	30th
Pass	16th	5th
Total	15th	18th
Points	23rd	20th
Take	15	T-12th
Give	17	T-22nd
Diff.	-2	T-21st

As I’ve brought up in year’s passed, one of the best rankings for true team strength is Point Differential. The Packers are currently -39 which ranks them 26th in the NFL, which feels about right. Based on just record, they’re 22nd. The top 6 teams are about right:

1. Dallas Cowboys +127
2. Buffalo Bills +124
3. Philadelphia Eagles +112
4. San Francisco 49ers +92
5. Kansas City Chiefs +80
6. Cincinnati Bengals +57

The team that’s missing from this list is why, I believe, it’s a true testament to team strength; Minnesota Vikings +10 (11th). They’re 10-2 and are almost break-even on their point differential. Many may say they had a bad game and lost by 37, however, the teams listed in the top 6 haven’t…again, going back to Super Bowl winners since the conception of Free Agency (1993) point differential is a better indicator than Offensive and/or Defensive point or yard rankings. The average ranking of Super Bowl champs is 4th. There have only been 3 teams that have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy having ranked outside the top-10 in point differential (2007 Giants, 2011 Giants, and 2012 Ravens).

Rooting Scenarios?~ the only path for the playoffs, being a 4% chance, (if that’s your thing) would be for Green Bay to win-out and get a boat load of help. Beginning with the following winners in BOLD:

1. Noon on FOX: Eagles @ Giants
2. Noon on FOX: Vikings @ Lions
3. 3:25pm on FOX: Buccaneers @ 49ers
4. 3:25pm on FOX: Panthers @ Seahawks

Season: 6-7
Overall: 86-49

What does Green Bay have to gain by playing the remainder of the season?

Review: Eagles 40; Packers 33~ Green Bay relinquished 500 total yards to Philadelphia with an astonishing 363 coming on the ground. Credit to the Eagles, sticking to the run game knowing the Packers couldn’t do anything to stop it. It mainly opened up from solid coverage and athletic Jalen Hurts taking off and accruing >100 yards in the 1st quarter. The wild thing is Green Bay actually was able to put points on the board vs. the 6th ranked scoring defense, so that was promising. In the end, Philadelphia showed why they’re 10-1 and the Packers are what they are, a Bad Team.

Current Status~ after Rodgers’ comments about how “We’re not dead,” you can safely chalk that phrase up with all the others that led to the inevitable demise of a team he quarterbacks. Whether it was R-E-L-A-X, after not attempting a single pass at Richard Sherman in the season opener in Seattle, where their season also ended. Or in 2016 when he mentioned they could “Run the table.” Which got them to the playoffs, then absolutely demolished by the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship game. In each instance, the Packers came up well short of expectation, yet when your fans love regular season “success,” it gives them reason to have fun. This is no different, the Packers were dead prior to the Dallas game considering they lost winnable games vs. the Giants (in London holding a 20-10 halftime lead), the upstart Jets (blocked a punt and gave up 80 yards in the 1st half but couldn’t score themselves), at Washington (where they held a late lead), and in Detroit where Rodgers threw 3 awful interceptions (2 at the goal line and another 2 plays after Alexander picked off Goff) — Green Bay is finding ways to lose, not only close games but, games to lesser opponents.

If you’re hoping for postseason play, Green Bay currently sits in the 11th seed, needing to get to the 7th seed. Meaning they already lost the head-to-head vs. Washington, who sits at 7-5 in the 7th seed. Seattle is 6-5, Atlanta who’s 5-7, and Detroit who’s 4-7 with a win over the Packers. Green Bay will need those teams to eventually get to 9 losses while Green Bay wins out. That’s just to earn the right to play a 7 v 2 matchup @ US Bank Stadium (as it sits currently) against the Vikings. As things are trending, it’s likely the Vikings may fall to the 3-seed and San Francisco grabs the 2nd seed by then. Best case scenario? Green Bay wins vs. Chicago for bragging rights, both because it’s the Bears, and 2nd because that would give the Packers the most wins in NFL history, over Chicago. Then, lose-out for draft capitol OR, play Jordan Love and get him as many live reps as possible and if Green Bay wins out, but still doesn’t make the playoffs, there’s something to build from for next season.

Matchup~ the huge matchup disparity will be Chicago’s #1 rushing attack vs. Green Bay’s 2nd-to-last rush defense. While Justin Fields can’t consistantly throw with accuracy, he is big, strong, and fast. He could have a Field-day (see what I did there?) breaking contain against the Packers. Also, keep in mind, while both of these teams suck, this is Chicago’s Super Bowl – their fans’ too – they’ll be motivated. If Rodgers does start, at least there’s one thing that holds true…he is awesome vs. Chicago and Dallas. It should be a fun game, and the optimist in me says, “If we win, we beat the Bears. If we lose we get better draft position.”

	GB D	(rank)	vs.	Chi O	(rank)
Rush	154.8	31		192.0	1
Pass	187.8	4		131.2	32
Total	342.6	16		323.2	24
Pts	23.6	22		20.9	19
	GB O			Chi D
Rush	121.3	14		143.9	27
Pass	223.4	14		206.1	12
Total	344.7	16		350.0	20
Pts	19.6	23		25.4	27
T/O
Takeaways	12	T-21st		15	T-10th
Giveaways	17	T-27th		15	T-20th
Diff.	(5)	28th		0	T-18th

If the defense has any life, they should be able to show it here. The Bears, in their last 6 games have averaged 26.3 points/game, and that’s with a 10-spot at the Jets last week with their backup QB. Again, this is an evenly matched game against 2 bad teams. I’m not sure how to pick it since both teams are great at finding ways to lose. Should I just be a homer, or continue with the trend?

Packers 27
Bears 30 (+4.5)

Season: 6-6
Overall: 86-48

Review: Titans 27, Packers 17~ The Packers are left with zero margin for error the remainder of the season. Rodgers now has a convenient excuse of a broken thumb for why he’s resembled his typical January self, all season. Green Bay never committed to the run, ‘nor had much success with it (56 yards on 29 attempts).

The Packers did win the turnover battle, but like all season, the offense did nothing with it. Once they fell down 27-17 (final score), the Packers’ last 4 drives went:

1. 3 plays, 3 yards (3 and out)
2. 3 plays, -2 yards (3 and out)
3. 4 plays, 7 yards (3 and out)
4. 10 plays, 37 yards (downs)

You score on each of those possessions, even field goals…

Tannehill ended up being too much, and our QB couldn’t come through, even thought the Titans have far less talent and many more injuries…weird, eh?

Matchup~

	GB D	(rank)	vs.	Phi O	(rank)
Rush	135.8	26		142.5	6
Pass	192.5	5		228.1	13
Total	328.3	14		370.6	5
Pts	22.1	16		26.3	3
	GB O			Phi D
Rush	122.6	14		122.2	18
Pass	222.3	18		178.4	2
Total	344.9	15		300.6	2
Pts	18.4	26		18.3	2
T/O
Takeaways	11	T-23rd		21	1st
Giveaways	15	T-22nd		9	T-2nd
Diff.	(4)	T-26th		12	1st

As this game is underway, Philly is arguably the best team in the NFL – while Green Bay must win out to have a chance at the postseason. The Eagles have an extreme advantage when the Packers’ offense is on the field. The turnover differential is incredible, look for that (as always) to be a key.

Other than that, let’s see if the highest paid QB in NFL history can resemble a starting caliber QB, let alone earn his paycheck by winning Super BowlSSSS

Packers 20
Eagles 34 (-6.5)

Season: 5-6
Overall: 86-48

Review: Packers 31; Cowboys 28 (OT)~ for some reason that game felt bigger than just a regular season game. Maybe because Green Bay really isn’t good and that may be their best performance for the entire season…OR — is it a defining moment that will get fans excited to think this team will actually win the Super Bowl? The answer is, obviously, both.

What’s not surprising is how Green Bay was able to get back into the game and outscore Dallas 14-0 in the 4th quarter, due to having stuck with the run all game. Much of it came from under center, which is the best way to run a balanced attack. Halfbacks Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon combined for 37 rushes totaling 203 yards and a touchdown. When you rush for 200+ yards, your chances of winning is going to be close to 100%, unless you turn the ball over immediately after your defense takes it away for you (see the Bills game).

Speaking of the defense, they began the game with consecutive 3 & outs, setting the tone for the game. While they gave up big plays and 28 points, they did force a turnover on downs in overtime. Plus the huge move of Darnell Savage to slot corner giving Rudy Ford playing time at safety paid off in a manner no one could’ve predicted.

Lastly, for what it’s worth, David Bakhtiari has now amassed enough snaps played to register on the Sacks & Pressures allowed stat line, and he’s given up *knocks on wood* none; all season. Playing into that, did anyone notice if all-world linebacker, Micah Parsons, played at Lambeau? Such an amazing thing what a commitment to running the ball will do, keep it up.

Current Standing~ the Packers currently sit as the 9th seed in the NFC, falling two spots out of the playoff hunt. They’re a game back of Washington (and lost the head to head matchup) and 1.5 games behind San Francisco (5-4) for the 7th seed. While tonight’s game isn’t a “must win,” Green Bay may have, at most, 2 losses left on the season if they’d like to get into the tournament. If that’s the case, those losses would likely have to come against AFC opponents (Titans tonight, Dolphins on Xmas) for tiebreaking scenarios. However, in reality, the Packers may be able to afford 1 or no losses for the remainder of the season, based on how teams ahead of them have been playing this campaign.

Matchup~

	Ten D	(rank)	vs.	GB O	(rank)
Rush	85.1	2		129.3	12
Pass	272.6	31		223.0	16
Total	357.7	25		253.3	13
Pts	18.7	8		18.5	25
	Ten O			GB D
Rush	133.4	9		140.6	26
Pass	148.2	31		179.7	3
Total	281.7	32		320.3	9
Pts	22.9	14		20.9	15
T/O
Takeaways	13	T-11th		10	T-20th
Giveaways	10	T-8th		15	T-27th
Diff.	3	T-8th		(5)	T-28th

Per usual, Green Bay needs to improve their turnovers…in each category. They’re bottom 3rd in taking the ball away, and damn near last at holding onto it, leading to the awful differential, which is unlike Aaron Rodgers-led teams…in the regular season.

The 2 areas to focus your attention will be:

1. Green Bay’s rushing attack going up against Tennessee’s great run D. Keep in mind, the Bills had the best run defense in the NFL before Green Bay rushed for 208 yards on only 31 attempts (6.7 yards/attempt). Stick to that pass:run ratio and the Pack should be able to pull this game out.
2. How the Packers guard against one of, if not, the most feared rushers in the NFL. The Packers are great against the pass while Tennessee ranks 31st in yards passing/game. It’s no secret what they’ll want to do…keep an eye on soft coverage (corners playing off the receiver- which I don’t like) and how much Green Bay decides to load the box.

To be an optimist, the last time these two teams played, the Packers held Henry in check — 23 carries for 98 yards. Green Bay won going away, by a final of 40-14. That was the coming out party for Door County resident A.J. Dillon, or at least for the fans that weren’t a huge fan of his in college. Should the Packers keep the same recipe, it should be a similar result. Both 1-seeds from last year are quite different this year.

Titans 27
Packers 24 (-3)

Season: 4-6
Overall: 85-48

Review: Lions 15; Packers 9~ in a must-win game, the Packers caught the ultimate break by seeing the 1-6 Lions. Those Lions also traded, arguably, their best player that week in T.J. Hockenson to the rival Minnesota Vikings. The Packers responded by scoring 9 points. There were fans, unsurprisingly most of them, upset Green Bay didn’t trade FOR a Wide Receiver or a player that could help now!

If the last 12 years has taught you nothing, maybe this last game showed that the Packers are just a QB away from winning…a Super Bowl. The defense is 2nd vs. the Pass, 6th in total yards, but 15th in points. That must mean they give up too much yardage on the ground…while not far off, their offense scores no points and gives the ball back quickly (both in time and momentum).

For example, in consecutive games, the defense intercepted the opponent and in Buffalo, Rodgers threw a pick on the very next plays. This past week, it took double that for Rodgers to give it right back. So you can say “things may be improving.” Also, I stopped counting at how many passes were thrown on RPO’s at 5. As in 5 for 5…the Lions stacked the box so Green Bay got away from the run altogether and their QB still couldn’t pull the trigger to wide open targets all game – yet another game resembling typical January.

There was an article written this week about how spoiled fans are in Green Bay because we’ve been blessed with 30+ years of Hall of Fame Quarterback play. The response to this is easy…it’s either 1 of 2 things, plus a complete misguided look at reality. If QB is so damn important to winning World Championships (which it is, due to it being the most important position in all of sports), maybe Favre and Rodgers just aren’t that good, OR….Quarterback isn’t important. Based on the amount of multiple title won by QBs with all the changing teammates around them, it’s the former. Lastly, it’s a weird way to claim “spoiled,” as the response should be, “Yes, winning 2 Super Bowls in the last 55 seasons is so spoiled that the Packers are one of 15 teams to have won 2 or more Super Bowls in that time span. So spoiled to be in the top 50% of all teams. Yes, how spoiled us fans are that are younger than 50.”

Preview: How’s Dallas?~ the Cowboys are one of the stronger teams in the NFL, currently holding the 5th seed in the NFC playoffs with a record of 6-2.

	Dal D	(rank)	vs.	GB O	(rank)
Rush	135.1	24		120.7	14
Pass	178.4	4		224.7	15
Total	313.5	10		345.3	14
Pts	16.6	3		17.1	27
	Dal O			GB D
Rush	131.5	11		138.6	26
Pass	190.6	25		170.6	2
Total	322.1	22		309.1	6
Pts	22.9	14		20.9	15
T/O
Takeaways	13	T-8th		8	T-24th
Giveaways	7	T-2nd		13	T-24th
Diff.	6	T-3rd		(5)	T-29th

Dallas is better in every matchup category other than their Passing Off v Green Bay’s Pass Def. It’s safe to say that the Cowboys would rank better if they had Dak all year, however they may not have gone 4-1 in those 5 games either because they ran the ball and played solid defense. It’s amazing how that tactic is effective…

The Cowboys have a lot of top tier talent, but the Packers have both top tier talent and solid depth. The Cowboys have two legit running backs, and use them — look for Tony Pollard (#20) and Ezekiel Elliott (#21) ‘Zeke to combine for, at least, their per game average of 25 carries for 126 yards. Green Bay is somewhat close to that with their dynamic duo, but because Rodgers has “no one to throw to,” decides to throw…the…ball. Makes sense.

Cowboys 27 (-4.5)
Packers 17

Season: 4-5
Overall: 85-47

Review: Bills 27, Packers 17~ if it weren’t clear for you that Buffalo was clearly a better team than Green Bay heading into the game, it should be crystal now…the odd part is it isn’t talent.  Green Bay seems just out of sync, and that can be directed at leadership – yes coaching and player.  More on that later.

The main things to take away was the commitment to the run game.  The Packers got away from it on the 2^nd possession, and they suffered greatly from doing so.  The other key takeaway was the defense in the 2^nd half. 

1. 2^nd half defense: gave up 28 plays; 126 yards; 3 points; 2 Interceptions; 1 punt. – extremely impressive vs. the best offense in the NFL, coming off a bye, at home on Sunday Night Football.
2. Run Game: Green Bay rushed 31 times for 208 yards and won the time of possession 33:48 to 26:12. 

They also won the turnover battle.  So Green Bay accomplished the goals I set out prior to the week, and still lost.  Something’s wrong, very wrong.

Current Status~ the Packers now have bloated salaries (even more bloated than need be) from going “All In” and 2 of those contracts (Rodgers and Bakhtiari) are killing this team – both on the field and in salary cap.  For those of you that wanted Green Bay to make a trade for THIS year, why?  This team went all in and is 3-5, with 3 very unimpressive wins. 

1. Chicago is straight trash, per usual.
2. Tampa is atrocious now.
3. New England got beat by Chicago. 

Now, the reason for hope that Green Bay can win the Super Bowl is because their defense is improving throughout the season and they have a solid OL (when healthy) and the obvious ability to commit to the run game, thus limiting the amount of big time throws Rodgers would need to make in January.  Now, getting to January, it starts with beating Detroit.

Matchup~

	GB O	(rank)	vs.	Det D	(rank)
Rush	120.5	15		154.9	30
Pass	217.4	22		266.4	27
Total	339.9	17		421.3	32
Pts	18.1	26		32.1	32
	GB D			Det O
Rush	141.3	29		136.6	10
Pass	174.8	2		258.3	17
Total	316.0	8		394.9	4
Pts	21.6	16		24.7	9
T/O
Takeaways	7	T-27th		6	T-30th
Giveaways	10	T-15th		11	T-20th
Diff.	(3)	T-23rd		(5)	T-29th

Neither team can defend the run, so if Green Bay continues to pound the rock, they should be able to move the ball at will on Detroit.  Regardless of competition, if you rack up over 200 yards on the ground, you will likely win. 

Also, after seeing the best offense in the NFL last week, Green Bay now gets to see the worst Defense.  A recipe for getting on track couldn’t be better than seeing the 1-6 Lions. 

Win the turnover battle, begin to chip away at that overall deficit on the season, rack up a boat load of yards on the ground, and find a way to win.

Packers 34 (-3.5)
Lions 24

Season: 4-4
Overall: 85-46

Review~ Commanders 23, Packers 21: The Packers continue to ignore the run game, they keep losing due to not having a rhythm and the defense getting put into bad positions with little rest – resulting in a loss. Does this sound about right?

Green Bay ran 47 plays (that’s way too low), and only had 12 rush attempts. The wild thing is that’s usually the balance of a team that fell down big, early, and had to pass to get back into the game. Nope…the Packers held the lead until 11:49 left in the 3rd quarter. Also, the Packers’ o-line can’t be held to blame as they allowed 0 sacks on 35 dropbacks, but Green Bay only held the ball for 22:53 out of 60 minutes. That simply won’t get it done. Not this team. This team needs to win the time of possession, the turnover battle, and need 1 to 3 clutch passes from their Hall of Fame QB to win. If that sounds like a lot, well, that’s what essentially EVERY team needs in order to win in the NFL.

With each passing week, especially during this 3-game losing streak, it seems as though while the Packers have an incredible amount of talent, they also seem to be learning how to play together and having to figure out how to win – which is typical of a young team – which is frustrating, because they’re not.

Hope? Sure, Green Bay could be fighting through some learning curves on offense with the shuffling of the offensive line, young/new receivers, however that’s all the more reason to stick to the run game…hell, even over commit to the run, would be a good problem The other item? This may be the most parody the NFL has seen in quite some time. While it seems there are a few teams that can hoist the Lombardi Trophy at this point, there still are quite a few teams that wouldn’t shock me should they “figure it out,” *cough cough* Tampa Bay *cough cough.*

Matchup ^yikes~

	GB D	(rank)	vs.	Buf O	(rank)
Rush	139.6	27		117.8	16
Pass	168.9	1		323.0	1
Total	308.4	8		440.8	1
Pts	20.9	14		29.3	2
	GB O			Buf D
Rush	110.3	18		76.2	1
Pass	221.3	17		205.3	11
Total	331.6	20		281.5	1
Pts	18.3	23		13.5	1
T/O
Takeaways	5	T-29th		13	T-3rd
Giveaways	9	T-16th		10	T-21st
Diff.	(4)	T-26th		3	T-6th

There’s only 1 Strength vs. Strength in this game, and that’s the Bill’s passing attack, led by QB Josh Allen (#17) which ranks 1st in the NFL entering Week 8, and the Packers’ pass defense, also ranking 1st entering Week 8. The issue will become – like it’s been all season – should the Packers not stick to the rushing attack, their defense will be on the field longer and have to defend the 16th ranked rushing offense. The main issue there is, Jared Allen is incredible running the football himself. He could drop back to pass and if everyone is covered, take off and convert 3rd and longs to firsts…

If Green Bay has any hope of winning this game, especially without Allen Lazard, they’ll need to stick to the run game, get quite a bit more pre-snap motion and playing off it, and win the turnover battle. At the end of the game, should the Packers have a higher time of possession, >50% rush v pass ratio, and have a positive turnover margin, they should win. Until they show they’re capable of doing that for 60 minutes, it’s insane to think they will

Packers 20
Bills 34 (-11)

Season: 3-4
Overall: 84-46

Review: Jets 27; Packers 10~ following up from last week’s article title “Run. The. Ball.” The Packers, well, they um…did not run the ball. In the 69 total plays run by Green Bay, Aaron Jones + A.J. Dillon combined for 26 touches (38%). That simply won’t get it done, evidenced by the loss to the Jets.

The defense did great, until it didn’t. On the first 8 possessions by New York, the Packers relinquished 3 points, over 76 yards, on 31 plays. That’s incredible. Unfortunately, Green Bay’s offense mustered the same production vs. the Jets’ defense, which ranked 19th in scoring defense coming in. The Jets found a way to break through and blocked their own punt and scored off it, Green Bay did nothing with theirs. Felt like a January game at Lambeau…The main issue is the offensive line couldn’t block Quinnen Williams and the Jets copied the Giants’ plan of double-teaming Kenny Clark and chipping Rashan Gary and won the line of scrimmage, which typically dictates the outcome of the game.

Preview: (3-3) Packers @ (2-4) Commanders~ Washington finds itself in the toughest division in the NFL, the NFC East. Not only are they in last place, but the 3 other teams are 6-0 Phi, 5-1 NYG, and 4-2 Dal. The Commanders are without their starting quarterback, Carson Wentz, whom had finger surgery and is out at least the next 4 games. The backup, Taylor Heinicke has quite a bit of experience and had a fairly good showing in his playoff start in the 2020 Playoffs vs. the eventual champion, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Including that postseason loss, Heinicke is 7-10 as a starter with a career QB rating of 83.6. Not terrible, considering Rodgers’ QB rating this season is 94.2, that’s a competitive player. He’s also an athlete that isn’t afraid to try to win the game, which puts additional pressure on the opposing team’s defense…and offense.

Matchup~

	GB D	(rank)	vs.	Was O	(rank)
Rush	135.2	27		95.5	24
Pass	164.0	1		224.8	17
Total	299.2	5		320.3	24
Pts	20.5	15		17.0	29th
	GB O			Was D
Rush	122.3	13		131.7	25
Pass	225.8	16		221.5	16
Total	348.2	15		352.2	18
Pts	17.8	24		22.5	18
T/O
Takeaways	4	T-28th		3	T-31st
Giveaways	8	T-14th		8	T-14th
Diff.	(4)	27th		(5)	T-28th

While the Packers are the best against the pass, they’re awful vs. the run, which may have to do with why teams don’t pass and still succeed vs. them after 60 minutes. Washington doesn’t run all that well, but they do have capable backs to produce. The 2 to watch are: Antonio Gibson (#24); Brian Robinson Jr. (#8). You’ll hear a lot about Robinson as he returned from being shot this summer, but he’s a good runner and one should fully expect him to get quite a bit of touches vs. this Packers’ defense. This could be a sloppy game too as both teams give the ball away, and struggle at taking it away from their opponents. This will likely be a tight matchup with the Commanders beating teams like the Jaguars and Bears, where the Packers have beaten the Bears, Buccaneers, and Patriots.

How can anyone pick the Packers to beat anybody as of right now. Green Bay should have to prove they can win before anyone thinks they can, at this point.

Packers 20 (-4.5)
Commanders 24

Season: 2-4
Overall: 83-46

Review: Packers 27; Patriots 24 (OT)~ when looking at the game stats, Green Bay dominated in almost every statistic, except turnovers. Looking back, aside from Rodgers’ rare gaffe before halftime. The Packers ran 71 total plays for 443 yards and won the time of possession 36:49 to New England’s 33:11. The dynamic duo of Jones & Dillon combined for 37 touches (52%) and 199 yards (45%) of production, and once again one of the 2 backs was producing far more per touch than the other, but the incorporation of both is paramount for the offense’s production/effectiveness.

For as bad as Rodgers was in the 1st half, he was just that good in the second half. He commanded the offense to 20 points in the 2nd half + overtime. In those 6 possessions (not counting the last play at the end of regulation), the Packers scored 2 touchdowns (should’ve been 3 if Doubs holds onto that one in the end zone), two field goals and two punts. All in all, pretty good vs. a solid defense, and having no momentum.

Speaking of good defense, the Packers gave up only 271 yards while playing a 3rd-string QB, did enough to make New England play “safe” and only gave up one big play – which should’ve never happened with the play clock expiring well before the snap. Rashan Gary came up huge, albeit nullified on the Rodgers’ pick-6 on the ensuing drive – Gary had a strip sack on a 1st & 10 from the GB 22 with 1:04 left, that saved at least 3 points, and possibly 7 and could’ve been a huge swing had Rodgers not thrown the interception.

On the biggest stand of the game, the defense was tasked with the forcing a 3 & out in overtime after the offense failed to get a first down on their possession of OT. Green Bay gave up 5 yards and kept New England out of field goal range, setting up Rodgers with a “Next score wins” situation, and the Packers produced their best drive of the season – in my opinion – and closed the game out.

While Packer fans should have high expectations, this team is constructed to win games in any manner, and this is a prime example of that. Just keep winning, keep games close with running the ball and playing good defense, then trust your quarterback will be able to make a big time throw, when needed.

Preview~ on paper, this is a huge matchup. Both teams are 3-1 with this having a high-potential of tiebreaking scenarios for playoff seeding. If the Giants are going to continue to be the surprise of the NFL, as there are always surprise teams in the NFL annually. The Packers lost to Minnesota in week 1 this year, so keeping pace is paramount for the divisional race, and the Giants are 1 game behind Philadelphia (the NFL’s last remaining unbeaten), so they want to keep pace too.

Matchup~ both teams can run the ball, neither can stop it. Expect a ton of ground game as each team is built around pounding the rock. Also, each team is solid vs. the pass, while that may be because their opponents don’t pass because of their effectiveness of running the ball. For example, the Giants have faced an average of the 28th passing offense and the Packers have faced the 20th.

	NYG Off	(rank)	vs.	GB Def.	(rank)
Rush	192.5	1		126.8	22
Pass	139.5	31		168.0	3
Total	332.0	22		294.8	5
Pts	19.0	19		17.3	7
	NYG Def.			GB Off.
Rush	141.0	28		145.0	7
Pass	191.3	8		232.5	16
Total	332.3	15		377.5	6
Pts	17.8	9		18.8	21
T/O
Takeaways	6	T-12th		4	T-22nd
Giveaways	5	T-10th		7	T-22nd
Diff.	1	T-8th		(3)	T-28th

As you can see, these are fairly evenly matched teams, at least based on statistics through 4 weeks of the season. However, the big difference has been competition. The Packers have faced far better foes than New York. The Giants are almost carbon copies of the Chicago Bears, and they just played each other, last week. There were 2 bad teams that New York was able to pull it out, then again, Daniel Jones outplaying Justin Fields isn’t a big ask.

Don’t be surprised if this is a similar game to last week’s overtime thriller. This game is likely to be close and will come down to turnovers and 1-2 big plays. If Green Bay can finally win the turnover battle (the Packers haven’t all season), they may actually blow a team out. However, that’s a huge part of the game and with all the inexperience the Packers put on the field, it’s part of the growing pains.

Giants 16
Packers 24 (-8.0)

Season: 2-2
Overall: 83-44

Review: Packers 14; Buccaneers 12 ~ this ended up being just a solid win. The first 2 drives were what you want to see from your veteran QB and offense, getting off to a perfect start. That being said…

Since the Aaron Jones fumble (above), the Packers had 8 drives (9 if you include the 1-play kneel down), totaling 32 plays amassing 90 total yards and obviously, 0 points. Seven of those 8 drives resulted in punts, and another was a bad interception. Rodgers needs to close a game like this, out, somehow.

The running back duo of Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon were held down. Combining for just 85 total yards on 29 combined touches (2.93 yards/touch). Dillon seemed to have some of the better runs, but still keep it up. With them being held down, enter rookie wideout, and training camp Hall of Famer, Romeo Doubs.

Romeo Doubs was open and often, garnering 8 targets, catching all of them for 73 yards and a score. There’s a chance he could produce for the entire season, especially if Lazard can get on the field, which should open up single coverage for Doubs whom seems to get open and has solid hands, thus far.

Kudos the the defense for stepping up, limiting Tampa Bay to just 12 points, and an absolute clutch defensive play on the game-tying 2-point conversion. They also held the Bucs to just 285 yards on 59 plays and forcing 2 turnovers, which is crucial when playing against the best QB of all time. All in all a great team win, but Green Bay must score more than 14 points should these teams face each other in January…but you knew that.

Preview~ The Packers come in fairly healthy, the only question marks are CB Jaire Alexander and LT Yosh Njiman. Jaire is nursing a groin, which is worrisome as he’s a quick-twitch athlete and the groin is an injury that can linger, forever. As for Njiman, he had an illness and seems like he should be ready to go – even if David Bakhtiari is ready to go, again, he struggled a little and still needs to get into game shape. Counting on him for an entire game may be too much to ask, and I’m also not sure if he’s nearly as good as he once was…either way, those seem to be the only 2 potential injuries and as of Sunday morning, they’re both listed as QUESTIONABLE.

As for the Patriots, most noticeably, they’re missing starting QB Mac Jones. Before you think it’s an auto-win, their backup QB is Brian Hoyer. He’s going to make his 40th career start, going 16-23 in his previous 39 starts. He’s a solid backup and is capable of running the Pats offense and winning some games.

Matchup~

	GB Def.	(rank)	vs.	NE Off.	(rank)
Rush	113.3	19th		115.7	13th
Pass	189.3	7th		249.0	12th
Total	302.7	6th		364.7	10th
Pts	15.0	6th		16.7	25th
	GB Off.			NE Def.
Rush	127.0	9th		114.7	20th
Pass	228.7	19th		200.0	8th
Total	355.7	13th		314.7	10th
Pts	16.0	27th		23.7	22nd
T/O
Takeaways	3	T-18th		4	T-12th
Giveaways	5	T-19th		8	31st
Diff.	(2)	T-24th		(4)	T-29th

These teams are virtually the same. Solid defenses, offenses built around their run game, and try to win a close one. The difference is who they’ve played so far. The Packers have played 2 solid teams and one bad/awful team, where the Pats have played 2 very good teams and 1 unkown team. This could be, yet another, measuring stick-type game for both squads. It’s setting up to be another defensive struggle and low-scoring affair. It may be tough for the Packers to cover the 9.5 points, but could if the defense shuts down New England for 60 minutes. Let’s see if Rodgers and LaFleur can get Jones and/or Dillon going again this afternoon, like they were able to in the week 2 matchup vs. Chicago.

Patriots 17 (+9.5)
Packers 21

Season: 1-2
Overall: 82-44