The Green Bay Packers escaped a valiant upset bid from the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at Lambeau Field, getting a late touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams and a defensive stop to clinch the 24-20 victory.
Here are some quick takes:
– The Packers, a 14-point favorite, were very fortunate to win. They were the vastly more talented team but they weren’t the best team on the field for most of Sunday. The Jaguars played hard and were far more physical.
– The Packers came out flat and never really got on track. For the second straight home game, Matt LaFleur’s team didn’t appear to handle the elements all that well. Somehow, this team has to find a way to generate their own energy at home, especially in the cold.
– Davante Adams dropped two passes and lost a fumble, but credit the Packers receiver for fighting through an ankle injury and catching what ended up being the game-winning touchdown pass after the Jaguars took a 20-17 lead.
– Adams and Aaron Rodgers both had uncharacteristic turnovers.
– Marquez Valdes-Scantling probably played the best game of his career. He caught the 78-yard touchdown pass to get the Packers going, and he added two other catches over 20 yards. He finished with four catches for 149 yards and a touchdown.
– The pass-rush really turned up the heat on the final few plays of the final drive. Mike Pettine’s defense was caving, but Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary made it happen on the final four plays.
– James Robinson rushed for 109 yards and broke a half-dozen tackles or more, but rookie quarterback Jake Luton wasn’t good enough for the Jaguars to pull off the upset. He threw 35 passes but produced just 169 passing yards.
– The Packers averaged just 3.2 yards per rush, with 20 of their 80 rushing yards coming on one Aaron Jones carry in the fourth quarter.
– The Packers HAVE to stop running on 2nd-and-10. It’s a bad tendency for Matt LaFleur.
– The Packers’ special teams had a terrible first half. Tyler Ervin had issues fielding punts in the wind, and the Packers allowed the punt return for a touchdown with terrible coverage.
– The officiating in this game matched the quality of the football.
– The Packers are 7-2 and will head to Indianapolis to play another physical football team next week. Hey, at least it’ll be played indoors. LaFleur’s group doesn’t look like a cold weather team.