In a game between two of the top teams in the NFC, which the underdog Packers—more so because of the absence of Davante Adams and Allen Lazard because of COVID protocols—survived to win because they only played only a little less messy than the Cardinals played, 24-21. Seemingly with victory “in the bag,” the game turned into a nail-biter. Aaron Rodgers resorted to mostly dump-off passes, completing just one pass of 20+ yards, and finished with just 184 yards on 37 pass attempts. The Packers were however able to run the ball between the twenties on a Cardinal rush defense that is in the bottom half of the league, and the Packers were able to control the ball for over 37 minutes with only one turnover—on downs, resulting in the near snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
The defense held Kyler Murray and the Cardinal offense to under 100 yards in the first half, but it was still just a 10-7 game. After the Cardinals first possession of second half was quickly terminated on an intercepted pass, the two teams exchanged touchdown drives until Packers failed to score after reaching the one-yard line with a first down late in the game, and then botched the opportunity for a game-clinching score. Just as he had on the previous two touchdown drives, Murray led the Cardinals downfield seemingly effortlessly for the likely game-winning touchdown in the closing seconds, but on a bizarre play in which AJ Green never turned to look for the ball despite the fact he was likely the first option (game analyst Troy Aikman was at loss to explain it), Murray’s pass went unnoticed by him, but not by the Packers’ Rasul Douglas, whose interception stole victory from the jaws of defeat.
In a road game like this when the Packers are not favored to win, you have to take advantage of your opportunities, usually all of them. After a muffed punt was recovered at the Cardinals’ three-yard line, Rodgers misfired on three consecutive passes; of course that all would have been moot had Ty Summers run it in for a touchdown instead of just falling on the ball. Was it a “mistake” for Matt LaFleur not to have gone for it on fourth down instead of kicking a field goal? That is what the “analytics” was saying, but Rodgers seemed be throwing the ball in closed windows the closer he got to the goal line, and the way it ended up, those three points were the difference in the game.
Then late in the fourth quarter, the Packers had a first down at the one-yard line and failed to score; a touchdown would have iced the game; instead, the defense collapsed for the third straight possession, this time allowing the Cardinals to advance from their own one-yard line all the way to the Packer five-yard line with 15 seconds to play before all that effort was saved by Murray’s second interception, and the Cardinals third turnover of the game.
While Packers overturned the expectations of most “experts,” they didn’t “dominate,” and this game probably said more about where the Cardinals and Murray are; their most impressive win this year was against division rival Rams, and the Packers were the first team they have played this year that was a division leader. Still, a win on the road against an unbeaten team can’t help but at least give a moment’s pause to the naysayers, like ESPN’s Ryan Clark.
Next up is another road contest, this time against the Chiefs, who seem to be having a down year after two consecutive Super Bowl appearances; though tonight’s game was an important test, it wasn’t convincing enough to suggest that this next game promises a similar result. Frankly, it seems a bit unfair that the Packers—whose AFC opponents this season are supposed to be from the AFC North—must play as their “extra” game this season on the road against a team the Chiefs, but you have to suck it up and be who you pretend to be.
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