Ravens had special defensive package designed for Packers WR Davante Adams

The Ravens deployed “17 Bulldog” to try and stop Davante Adams. The Packers WR still caught 6 passes and a touchdown.

With a devastated secondary and the NFL’s top receiver in town, the Baltimore Ravens needed to pull out all the stops to keep Davante Adams from running wild on Sunday.

The package was named “17 Bulldog,” as noted above by NFL Films, and it involved relentless double teams on No. 17, the Packers’ All-Pro receiver.

Adams still managed to catch six passes for 44 yards and a touchdown. On the score, Adams beat a double team from a cornerback and safety with a wicked move in the red zone.

On several snaps in the second half, the Ravens hardly tried to disguise the coverage. The double teams on Adams were obvious.

“That’s the biggest respect you could possibly imagine,” Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers told Adams on the way back to the locker room.

Here’s just one example (of many) of the Ravens lining up a cornerback and safety over Adams pre-snap:

The Ravens did an admirable job overall considering the missing players in the secondary and the players tasked with playing most of the snaps at cornerback on Sunday. Adams averaged only 7.3 yards per catch and 6.3 yards per target, and his 44 receiving yards represented his second-lowest total of the season (and his lowest total with Rodgers at quarterback).

But the strategy was a bust overall. The Packers still scored 31 points, and the passing game was productive and efficient.

With attention focused on Adams, Rodgers completed five passes for 98 yards and a touchdown to Marquez Valdes-Scantling and three passes for 40 yards to Marcedes Lewis, plus a touchdown pass to Aaron Jones. He had only eight incompletions, averaged 8.6 yards per attempt and threw three touchdown passes. His passer rating was 132.2.

After 12 games, Adams now has 96 catches for 1,248 yards and eight touchdowns.

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