Aaron Rodgers wanted Randall Cobb in Green Bay, and he wanted more snaps for Cobb after a quiet start.
The Green Bay Packers slot receiver made his quarterback look smart on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Cobb, playing more in place of injured receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, caught five passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns from Rodgers during the Packers’ 27-17 win over the Steelers at Lambeau Field.
The offense needed him early. Down 7-0 in the second quarter, Cobb provided a pair of third-down conversions – one on 3rd-and-6, and another on 3rd-and-4 – to spark to life a game-tying touchdown drive.
A drive later, his 23-yard touchdown catch – again, on 3rd-and-10 – put the Packers up for good.
The first scoring play was vintage Cobb. From the slot, he crossed the face of the coverage defender with quickness, made the catch over the middle from Rodgers in stride and then lowered his head to power through a defender and into the end zone.
The entire play was an encouraging one for the 31-year-old receiver. He looked quick, even on grass and a wet field. Late in his first stint with the Packers, lower-body injuries sapped his explosiveness. The version of Cobb on the field on Sunday looked much more like the dominant slot receiver from early in his career in Green Bay.
Later, Cobb caught a second touchdown pass on an extended play from Rodgers, essentially putting the game away.
The Packers won their third straight game and improved to 3-1. The Week 1 disaster is Jacksonville is but a speck in the rear-view mirror.
The offense has scored 57 points against the Steelers and San Francisco 49ers during the last two games despite not having David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins, two of the NFL’s best offensive linemen. Two dominant defensive fronts were unable to take advantage of the absences.
An injury to cornerback Jaire Alexander looms large, especially considering the Packers are already without All-Pro edge rusher Za’Darius Smith. Joe Barry’s group can’t afford to lose many more difference-makers. The team announced Alexander’s injury as a shoulder injury. Any kind of long-term injury would be a devastating one coming out of this win.
Until more is known, the Packers can celebrate Sunday’s welcome home party for Cobb and reflect on how well the reconfigured offensive line has played to start the season. The Packers are 3-1 and in first place in the NFC North after four weeks.
More importantly, it must be noted that winning games without a team’s best players requires championship mettle. More and more, the Packers look like they have the right stuff.
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