GREEN BAY Wis. Handing out grades following the Green Bay Packers' 26 21 win over the New England Patriots in Week 13 of the 2014 season
Passing Offense A minus
When the Packers took a 13 0 lead in the first quarter there was absolutely no way to predict they'd do so despite having their production distributed the way it was. At that stage in the game rookies Davante Adams and Richard Rodgers combined for 122 yards while the Pro Bowl bound duo of Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb had zero yards.
Adams was targeted early and often by Aaron Rodgers. That was a result of Darrelle Revis covering Cobb and Brandon Browner (with safety help over the top) defending Nelson. That meant someone else had to step up and Adams did so in a big way.
Nelson credited Adams' early game plays as the reason for New England adjusting its coverage. Beginning on Green Bay's fourth drive Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington began to follow Cobb and Revis switched over to Nelson. It wasn't until there was 30 seconds remaining before halftime that Nelson had his first catch an eight yard completion. Two plays later Nelson broke away from Revis on a slant route and as he's done so often this season outran everyone for a 45 yard touchdown.
Rodgers had uncommonly long to throw the ball on several plays. Though Rodgers ended up being sacked three times the protection was very good. Surprisingly Rodgers was unable to complete one particular pass despite having the ball in his hands for 11 seconds. Later when the Packers needed it most Rodgers again had forever to throw but that time he connected with Cobb for seven yards to get a first down and win the game.
Adams had the best game of his young career by leading the team with 121 receiving yards to go along with six catches on 11 targets. Even with all the positive plays he made it will likely be Adams' dropped pass near the goal line late in the fourth quarter a sure touchdown that would have put the game out of reach that he remembers.
Rodgers outdueled Tom Brady by completing 24 of 38 passes for 368 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions (112.6). Rodgers threw more passes behind receivers than usual but with the coverage as tight as it was he delivered the ball in the right spot far more often than not.
Rushing Offense A minus
Three plays into the game Eddie Lacy already had 49 total yards. Yes 12 of those yards came on a passing play but Lacy was obviously a big part of the game plan early and he delivered. Gaining 37 yards on his first two rushing attempts really helped set the tone.
This wasn't a basic approach in the backfield from play calling head coach Mike McCarthy. He had Cobb back there on several occasions gaining eight yards on two carries. McCarthy even had a two receiver look in the backfield with Jarrett Boykin lining up behind Cobb. Boykin wasn't handed the ball but he did catch a pass from that spot which was clearly designed for him.
Lacy left the game for two plays in the first half exiting briefly with a slight but noticeable limp. It didn't seem to slow him down much though as he powered through the game.
Lacy finished with 98 yards on 21 carries (4 yard average) and deserves a lot of credit for forcing New England's defense to worry about him. Rodgers added two scrambles for 26 yards.
This is filed under both the passing offense and running offense of course but the biggest issue was the lack of red zone success. In four trips inside the 20 Green Bay didn't convert one of them into a touchdown. As Rodgers stated after the game a team is quite fortunate to win when going 0 for 4 in the red zone.
Rushing Defense B
Hello Sam Barrington. Goodbye A.J. Hawk No player on the Packers' defense had played more snaps this season entering play Sunday than Hawk. Yet in an unexpected change Hawk played very little while Barrington got the start at inside linebacker next to Clay Matthews.
It didn't take long for Barrington to make an impact either. He had two run stuffs on the Patriots' first drive helping to force a punt.
As predicted New England was unpredictable in its ground attack. It was largely focused around power runner LeGarrette Blount but Brandon Bolden (who didn't have a single carry since Week 6) was involved while Week 11 superstar Jonas Gray touched the ball just once.
Blount had 58 yards on 10 carries and was able to beat up a couple Green Bay defensive players along the way. It was Bolden who scored the sole rushing touchdown as Julius Peppers missed a tackle near the goal line.
Given the Packers' struggles this season stopping the run it was surprising to see the Patriots run the ball 18 times and pass it 35 times.
Passing Defense B
Green Bay tried just about every possible candidate on Rob Gronkowski Matthews Tramon Williams Ha Ha Clinton Dix Morgan Burnett Davon House and Micah Hyde. When defensive coordinator Dom Capers said in the days leading up to the game that he planned to change up the looks on Gronkowski he wasn't kidding. Gronkowski had a productive game with seven catches for 98 yards but he could've done even more damage had he been able to haul in all 12 targets sent his way.
Williams gave a nine yard cushion when on Gronkowski resulting in an easily completed short pass. Burnett committed himself too much near the line of scrimmage on one play when lined up with Gronkowski and it resulted in a wide open catch in the middle of the field. It was the rookie Clinton Dix who had the most success on Gronkowski including knocking away what would have been a Patriots go ahead touchdown.
Gronkowski (or The Terminator as Mike Daniels refers to him) also showed that it takes great tackling technique to bring him down. On one play alone Gronkowski had three Packers bounce off of him including Clinton Dix who foolishly tried a hard shoulder tackle. It's the second week in a row Clinton Dix has attempted that type of takedown with no success. He's still a rookie and will learn his lesson with that sooner or later.
Brandon LaFell did a number on Williams for his first touchdown. Later House didn't turn around quickly enough as LaFell beat him for another touchdown catch.
Brady was his typical MVP caliber self with 245 yards two touchdowns no interceptions and a 102.7 passer rating. Green Bay got good pressure on him at times. Matthews rushed from right outside linebacker and hit the ball from behind Brady upon release. Daniels created pressure up the middle that led to Barrington tipping a pass intended for Gronkowski. Datone Jones beat Ryan Wendell to get pressure on Brady forcing an incomplete pass and a New England punt. But it wasn't until what became the Patriots' final offensive play that the Packers actually took him down for a sack. That sack courtesy of initial pressure by Neal with Daniels finishing it off was critically important. It turned a 38 yard field goal attempt into a 47 yard try that Stephen Gostkowski missed.
Special Teams B
Every time Green Bay's offense failed to score in the red zone Mason Crosby cleaned up by adding three points. Crosby connected on field goal attempts from distances of 35 33 28 and 32 yards. However Crosby missed a 40 yarder wide left in the third quarter when the Packers were trying to add to a nine point lead.
Crosby had a kickoff go out of bounds allowing New England to begin that drive at the 40 yard line. The Patriots' average drive began on the 27 yard line while the Packers' average was a starting position at the 25.
Overall A minus
There were plenty of smart football people who still had some doubts about Green Bay before Sunday. The argument for having that doubt wasn't that difficult to make considering the Packers lost badly to three NFC opponents (Seattle Detroit and New Orleans) and only had a notable victory over Philadelphia. Beating New England even if it was a game at Lambeau Field should have almost everyone convinced that Green Bay has a great chance to find itself Super Bowl bound in two months.
The Patriots had more matchups that favored them but it wasn't enough. The only evidence needed to prove the Packers are now very highly respected is the way Patriots coach Bill Belichick acted after the game. Not often one to go out of his way to congratulate an opposing team following a New England loss Belichick made sure to find both McCarthy and Rodgers. Those conversations weren't short either. Consider it the Belichick seal of approval that Green Bay is legit.
The question now is Will we be watching these two teams square off again in the Super Bowl on Feb. 1 in Arizona With as well as the Packers and Patriots played it would make for a great rematch.
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