After a stumble, the Packers proceed to blow out Titans

 

The Packers have had a tendency this season to start out of the gate fast, but then slow down to make a game “interesting” at the end. Against the Titans it appeared to be more of the same, scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions, and they were ready to do so on their fourth when after a missed field goal was nullified by a Titans defensive offside penalty, they allowed the opportunity to pass when Aaron Rodgers was sacked on the fourth down play instead of retrying the field goal. In the third quarter that missed opportunity started to loom large as the Titans sliced a 19-0  deficit to 19-14. But then the Packers did something they haven’t done since Week 2 against the Lions, which was put their foot down and dominate the rest of the way on both sides of the ball for their most lopsided win of the season, 40-14.

As happened last week, the Packer running game was effective against one of the lesser defenses in the league, this time the seventh worst in yards allowed. Rookie AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones combined for 218 yards on the ground, although 89 of those came on two long runs; frankly, the Titans couldn’t tackle worth a damn all game, which meant that despite the snow there was little the Titan defense could do to slow the Packer offense down, which averaged 7 yards per play. The pass defense wasn’t much better, which meant that Rodgers’ mostly short throws were caught and moved a few yards down the field unlike last week, and in the fourth quarter with the game too far distant for the Titans, he allowed himself to chance a few passes down the field.  Rodgers didn’t need to throw too many passes in the game, and when he did he seemed to target Davante Adams almost exclusively; Adams caught 11 passes for 142 yards, and three of Rodgers' four TD passes.

Coming into this game it appeared that the Packer defense would have a challenge on its hands, with Ryan Tannehill having his best season, Derrick Henry the most dominant running back in the league. But maybe the snow effected both players, save on a 45-yard TD run by Tannehill that caught the defense napping. Tannehill was generally ineffective for most of the game, throwing two interceptions and finishing with a 40.5 passer rating, while Henry had only 70 yards on 19 carries until he tacked on some 28 garbage yards late with the game long since over. Whether the snow was a factor or not, it was the best defensive showing for the Packers all season.

Next week it is against the Bears, with Mitchell Trubisky back in the saddle again with three wins in a row. The Packers need to beat the Bears to clinch the NFC number one seed, which they haven’t had since 2011.