In an extremely frustrating game
to watch, the Packers opened up an early 21-3 lead before limping to the finish
line with a 24-16 victory over the Panthers on Saturday night. The Packers
scored on their first three possessions, but despite the fact he threw one touchdown
pass and ran for another, Aaron Rodgers was clearly not playing particular
well, with just 66 yards on 9 of 12 passing; the rest of the game he was an
ineffective 11 of 17 for just 77 yards. After being sacked just 11 times coming
into the game, Rodgers seemed continuously under pressure, sacked five times
for 47 yards in losses. He rarely took a shot down the field, often just taking
one quick look and then dumping the ball short. According to the stats provided
to the NFL Network game announcers, his average throw was just over four yards
beyond the line of scrimmage.
Yet this was in stark contrast to the running game. Aaron Jones gained 145 yards on 20 carries, and overall the
Packers averaged 7.2 yards on 27 official running plays. Was it because the Panther
front was just better against the pass than the run? Was the Panther secondary “underrated”?
This was not borne out by the season statistics entering the game; the Panthers
were an “average” defense against the run, allowing 4.4 yards per running play,
and allowed a 67 percent pass completion rate with only five interceptions and just 19 sacks in 13 games—well below even the
Packers 35 for the season. But it did look like Rodgers wasn’t comfortable at
all in the pocket all game, which accounted for him breaking out more than a few times to run with the ball.
While the Packers were stalling
on offense after their third possession, the Packer defense was able to keep
the Panthers in check because although Teddy Bridgewater can put up a “respectable”
stat line, he is one of those quarterbacks who just plays better between the
twenties. The ball being poked out of his hands at the goal line while he was
holding it high trying to leap over a standing wall of defenders was just a
dumb play. When it was decided to kick a field goal on first down at the 15
yard line instead of trying to score a quick touchdown with just over 2 minutes
to play, it was only “understandable” if you have more confidence in the defense getting a quick three-and-out than in the offense scoring a touchdown given
the time and timeout situation—and at least giving the offense a “chance” to
score the tying touchdown. It turned out to be a not entirely senseless move,
given the Packers’ offensive stagnation, but Bridgewater was predictably not up
to the task when given that opportunity.
The Packers were fortunate to
escape with a subpar performance by Rodgers because the Packers were able to
run the ball early and the Panthers are just not a very efficient team on
offense. The Packers are favored next week against the Titans, but they will
face the NFL’ s leading rusher in Derrick Henry, and Ryan Tannehill is having a
“career” season.
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