The Green Bay Packers suffered their third defeat of the 2020 season when Matt LaFleur’s team coughed up a 14-point lead and then fell in overtime following a turnover.
Here are all my notes and observations from rewatching the game on Monday:
– First play of the game was a slot fade to Davante Adams. There aren’t many cornerbacks (if any) who can cover Adams man-to-man from the slot on that route. The timing between 12 and 17 on the play is just about perfect, too. In rhythm, in stride. Adams’ release off the line makes the play.
– Aaron Rodgers took a big shot from Darius Leonard while attempting to recover the botched snap. He wasn’t injured, but you can bet he’s a little sore from that jolt on Monday.
– What a perfect “Peanut Punch” by Raven Greene on the Colts’ first drive. Former Bears cornerback Charles Tillman used to punch the ball out of people’s hands like that all the time. So did Charles Woodson. Greene’s execution was perfect. Closed fist, right on the ball.
– The Packers had some early success with boot action plays to the tight ends. Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis and Jace Sternberger all had easy catches on this elementary but useful play design in the first half.
– The play design on the first touchdown was sublime. Run action to freeze the linebackers, with Tonyan and Sternberger running a scissors concept down the field to the right of the formation. The linebackers shifted up, and the safety to the offense’s right in the two-deep shell went with Sternberger to the corner, leaving Tonyan wide open on the post.
– The run defense, especially on the edges, was strong in the first half. Rashan Gary is this team’s best edge setter. By far.
– The Packers had a ton of issues on shallow crossers.
– Rodgers just missed Marquez Valdes-Scantling to start the third drive. Needed a better throw, but MVS also lacks the body control to make that kind of twisting catch.
– Raven Greene enjoyed a terrific start to this game.
– Odd sequence. A rare holding penalty on David Bakhtiari, followed by a rare interception thrown by Rodgers. On the pick, it looked like Rodgers wasn’t expecting Rock Ya-Sin to get as much depth as quickly as he did from that coverage look. Nice play from the Colts cornerback.
– Receivers did a great job blocking on the perimeter. Well, until the second play of overtime. Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard were particularly good.
– The Colts made a concerted effort to make Darrius Shepherd return kickoffs. It was a brilliant strategy. Kick it high and short, and let the coverage units converge on a slow returner lacking dynamic skills. The Packers consistently started drives short of the 25-yard line.
– It’s one thing to get beat during your best thing. But Preston Smith covering a tight end up the seam one-on-one? Mike Pettine was asking to get beat. Trey Burton and the Colts obliged.
– With two hands available, Valdes-Scantling likely catches the long touchdown before the half. Ya-Sin held his right arm the whole way. Easy call.
– Kenny Clark beat Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly for his third-quarter sack.
– The Colts defense did a great job substituting players on and off the field, especially before third downs. Players were sprinting off the field to avoid Rodgers catching them with 12 men on the field.
– Safety Darnell Savage showed impressive recovery speed on several plays. On one play in the third quarter, he broke on the ball and broke up the pass after recovering to the boundary. He nearly intercepted a Rivers throw under pressure soon after.
– Nyheim Hines gave the Packers problems out of the backfield. The Packers tried to counter him with Raven Greene, but the matchup was advantage Colts.
– The Packers were offsides four times.
– Colts defensive back Kenny Moore really flashed. He’s a nice player in that secondary. Instinctive. And he covered up Adams in the slot on the final attempt before the Packers kicked a game-tying field goal.
– JK Scott had a miserable day kicking the ball despite perfect indoor conditions. Two punts out of three that were well under 40 yards.
– Adrian Amos was really active playing in the box against the run.
– Rivers chewed up the Packers in the middle of the field. He doesn’t have a strong arm anymore but he really sliced up some zone defenses with strikes between the numbers. He’s smart and unafraid.
– The special teams advantage for the Colts was massive. Just massive.
– The adversity defense was good. Only six points allowed off of four turnovers. The final scoreline could have looked much different had the defense not stood up in four difficult situations.
– The Packers were milliseconds away from two other takeaways. The first came when Jaire Alexander ripped the ball out of Burton’s hands on third down. It was close to a fumble. Officials ruled it incomplete. Later, replays overturned Za’Darius Smith’s strip of Rivers.
– Rodgers was upset with his throw to Tonyan on 3rd-and-8 on the second to last drive of regulation. It brought Tonyan too far outside, forcing him out of bounds short of the sticks and setting up the 4th-and-1. A better-placed throw and he likely moves the chains on third down.
– The Colts did a great job covering up Adams on the fourth down. Jamaal Williams wasn’t the primary read. The Colts had Adams bracketed down the field. But why not sneak it on 4th-and-inches?
– The Colts were called for nine – yes, nine – offensive holding penalties, including five – yes, five – on the final drive of regulation. An incredible debacle there.
– Rodgers might have had a game-winning touchdown to Valdes-Scantling on the bomb. He admitted he underthrew it slightly. Still, what a throw in that moment. Third down, backed up in your end zone, needing three points to tie the game. Big time.
– The Packers will regret the times they clocked the ball. They needed the downs more than the time, especially once they were in field goal range. The second spike was especially foolish. Sure looked like a mismanaged late-game scenario. Rodgers should have had at least 1-2 more shots at the end zone.
– Credit the Colts on the last few plays. They took away Adams on 2nd-and-10, essentially triple-teaming him. A play later, Moore did a fantastic job covering his route from the slot. The last play was Davante or bust. Tonyan flashed open late to the right, but Adams got single coverage from the slot. Rodgers had to take that matchup.
– Tough break for MVS on the fumble. Julian Blackmon made an incredible play to beat the block of Lazard and Tonyan and strip the ball. A better block there and MVS might have broken a big one.
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