The Green Bay Packers coasted into the bye week with a comfortable victory over the visiting Atlanta Falcons at Lambeau Field, using four touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers and three sacks from Za’Darius Smith to get to 4-0 to start the 2020 season.
Here are the studs and duds from the Packers’ 30-16 win over the Falcons on Monday night:
Studs
QB Aaron Rodgers: This is a talented and experienced quarterback who is perfectly in-sync with the playcaller and the plan every week. Even without Davante Adams and Allen Lazard, Matt LaFleur cooked up easy throws to running backs and tight ends for Rodgers, who was once again decisive and accurate on his way to completing 81.8 percent of his passes and averaging almost 10 yards per attempt. He’s throwing the ball downfield and attacking the middle of the field without coming close to a turnover. The Falcons had no answers to LaFleur’s man coverage beaters, so Rodgers just picked them apart. This scheme doesn’t need Rodgers to be a superhero, but he’s still playing like one.
TE Robert Tonyan: Three scores for Big Bob Touchdown Tonyan. His first touchdown was a layup after the linebacker assigned to him in coverage got picked by his own teammate. He made the catch and powered through a crowd and into the end zone. On the second touchdown, Tonyan simply outran athletic linebacker Deion Jones across the middle of the field and gave Rodgers a big enough window to make the throw. There’s no doubt Tonyan can really run. His third score featured a terrific release off the line of scrimmage from a bunched formation, which forced the defender to grab him as he was blowing past him. Tonyan somersaulted, righted himself and then was wide open for the touchdown. He has 11 catches and four touchdowns in his last two games.
CB Jaire Alexander: He didn’t allow a catch to Calvin Ridley, who ended the contest without a reception. Alexander was sticky in coverage and an active tackler in space. On one play, the Falcons attempted to trick him on a concept that has gotten the Packers in the past, but Alexander kept depth in his coverage, took away the deep shot and then came up to stop Julio Jones in the flat for little gain. Later, he came off his own coverage and upended Matt Ryan short of the sticks on third down. Quarterbacks really aren’t even challenging him. Alexander is playing at a very high level.
OLB Za’Darius Smith: He was disruptive against the run in the first half and disruptive as a rusher in the second. He’s so good at winning inside and blowing up runs. It gets him in trouble sometimes, but it also creates tackles for losses. Smith will be kicking himself for missing Todd Gurley on a potentially big loss in the first half. He ended the first half with a sack when he got a running start and bowled over the right guard on his way to Matt Ryan. Teams keep trying to use tight ends to block him and it usually ends the same way, with Smith in the quarterback’s lap. On his strip sack, Smith whooped the left guard with quickness and swatted the ball out. He beat the left guard again for his final sack. Give him one-on-ones against a guard and you’re asking for trouble.
RB Jamaal Williams: Forget his eight rushes for 10 yards. Williams did his best work in the passing game, essentially serving as a fill-in wide receiver for the Packers offense. He caught eight passes for 95 yards, including a 29-yard catch against Cover-2 in the first half. An energetic and powerful runner with more wiggle this year, Williams forced a handful of missed tackles and gained over 60 yards after the catch.
DL Tyler Lancaster: He helped set the tone early when he shed the block of Alex Mack and stuffed Todd Gurley for no gain on the second play from scrimmage. Lancaster unleashed an identical rip move on Mack in the third quarter and created another stuff. For much of the night, he had his way with Mack, a veteran center. Lancaster is much more effective playing nose tackle. The Falcons didn’t get much done running inside.
S Adrian Amos: He nearly had an interception in the first half on an overthrow from Matt Ryan, and he all but ended the game with a huge pass breakup in the end zone on fourth down in the fourth quarter. The Packers didn’t allow any explosive passing plays, and Amos was a big reason why. He also didn’t miss a tackle on a night where missing tackles became contagious.
Duds
CB Josh Jackson: He came off the bench when injuries hit the cornerback position and played 28 forgettable snaps. Not only was he penalized for a holding penalty after getting grabby with a receiver downfield on fourth down, but he missed three tackles, including one a third-down run from Todd Gurley and another in the hole on Gurley’s first touchdown run, and gave up a first-down converting catch on third down. While Jaire Alexander is a star, Jackson is looking more and more like a bust.
RG Lucas Patrick: He had a vital block on a third-down blitz, allowing Aaron Rodgers time to find a chain-moving completion. The rest of the night didn’t go as well. Patrick was flagged for holding and struggled in the run game. He also got run over by a blitzer on a third-down throw in the second half.
LG Elgton Jenkins: Arguably the worst game of the young offensive lineman’s career. Jenkins appeared to miss one-on-one blocks on at least three different runs. He also got dinged for a questionable holding penalty and was saved from allowing a sack by a terrific improvisational move from Aaron Rodgers.
[vertical-gallery id=51538]