Packers win on Rodger’s near perfect performance, Raider miscues

Aaron Rodgers became the first Packer quarterback in the Super Bowl era to finish a game with the maximum passer rating (158.3) in an offensive slugfest in which the Packers scored touchdowns on every opportunity, while the Raiders left 21 points on the field that could have made a game that ended in a 42-24 Packer victory a little more interesting. As it turned out, the Packers needed a “perfect” game from Rodgers given the defense once more allowing the opponent to move up and down the field at will. Rodgers finished the game 25 of 31 for 429 yards and 5 touchdowns, the kind of game that Brett Favre could only dream of. Rodgers got a huge assist from wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who caught only two passes but they went for Rodgers’ two longest pass plays of the season—59 and 74 yards—the latter a catch-and-run for a touchdown that finally ended all doubt about the outcome. 

The Packer defense entered the game 21^st in the NFL in yards allowed, and the 484 yards allowed to the Raiders will likely lower that position. But as in each of the Packers other victories this season, once again the opponent was obliging in keeping things from getting completely out of control with what I’m sure to their fans were hair-pulling mistakes. Raider quarterback Derek Carr fumbled the ball of out the end zone at the goal line to nullify one likely touchdown, and then the Raiders failed to punch it in on fourth-and-goal at the one, and finally Carr threw a late interception in the end zone. The Raiders only punted twice in the game; on every other possession (save for the first half kneel-down), they advanced deep into Packer territory, and were stopped only by the kind of play one would expect from Carr in crunch time. 

But this game belonged to Rodgers, who carved-up the Raider secondary as if this was a scrimmage against the practice squad. Does this mean that the offense is actually “jelling” under the Matt LaFleur “system”? Maybe. The Packers only managed 60 yards on the ground, although with Rodgers shredding the defense it didn’t matter much. If nothing else, this game at least provided some relief to Packer fans that Rodgers apparently hasn’t lost his “touch.”