She shared the sweetest of birthday messages for Rodgers on Monday, with this snap of the two of them smiling on a beach at sunset.
“Happy birthday to my best friend and favorite person in the world!!!!!” she wrote. “You are the one I want to tell my best and worst days to first. I am so grateful the universe made you!!! The star dust started it all, but you have done nothing but make it better every year of your life. Thank you for being the loving, generous, thoughtful, patient, fun, funny, spontaneous, talented, smart, and uber attractive man, that I get to walk through life with. This journey we are on…. it’s a really really good one. I love you. Happiest of birthdays yet!!!!!!”
Watch Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers offer New York Giants QB Daniel Jones some sage advice following their Week 13 game.
New York Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones did not have a performance worthy of remembering on Sunday, tossing three crucial interceptions in a 31-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers, while adding another fumble to his record for good measure.
That’s not to say it was all bad, however.
While there are some out there crushing Jones for struggling in the snow, there were quite a few positives to take away from the game. The rookies had several impressive highlight reel-like throws, he tossed a touchdown for the 10th consecutive game and he proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s tough as nails.
Still, it’s difficult for anyone to overlook three interceptions in a loss, so that will be what defines Jones this week. And having experienced that himself over the years, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers offered up some blunt advice when the two met at mid-field after the game.
That’s really all Jones can do with this one — learn from it.
“I feel like I’m making progress. Obviously, there’s still a lot to work on, and I understand that. But I feel like I’m improving. The challenge is to continue to do that, but do it faster and play more consistently,” Jones told reporters after the game.
Despite what some may try to feed you, there’s a lot to like about Jones and the future is clearly bright for him.
Green Bay Packers tight end Marcedes Lewis became the 38th player to catch a touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers.
Lewis, the 14-year pro, hauled in a 1-yard score from Rodgers during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 31-13 win over the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.
Rodgers, who raced to Lewis in the end zone to celebrate the touchdown, called the first-ever scoring connection between the two veteran players a “special” one.
“I couldn’t have thrown a touchdown to a better guy,” Rodgers said Sunday.
Rodgers wiggled away from a sack and found Lewis on the run for the short touchdown. The score put the Packers up by 18 points in the fourth quarter.
Two weeks ago, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic challenged Rodgers to remember the 37 players he had previously thrown a touchdown pass to in the NFL. He eventually got all 37.
Lewis, who signed with the Packers ahead of the 2018 season, became the 38th. And that’s just fine with Rodgers.
“Just the kind of guy he is, the kind of player he is,” Rodgers said. “What he’s meant for our team from a leadership standpoint. He’s a pro’s pro. He hasn’t been a huge factor in the passing game but he’s been a rock in the run game, opening up holes for us. Doing his job. Never complaining. Leading by example.”
Packers Wire ran a poll last month asking who would be the 38th player to catch a touchdown pass from Rodgers. Lewis got roughly 21 percent of the vote. Fullback Danny Vitale (38.8 percent) and Jace Sternberger (34.9) led the way.
The New York Giants fell to the Packers in Week 13, which officially eliminated them from the playoffs and extended their losing streak.
The New York Giants predictably fell to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, extending their losing streak to eight games — the second-longest such streak in team history — and watching as any lingering NFC playoff hopes went out the window.
The game was a mess from the onset with freezing rain coating the field just prior to kickoff and then snow taking over for the duration.
While the Giants started off cold, going three-and-out on their first offensive series, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers were anything but.
Green Bay kicked things off with a seven-play, 72-yard drive that culminated with an eight-yard pass from Rodgers to wide receiver Davante Adams, but that was just the tip of the proverbial (or literal based on the weather) iceberg.
The Packers would score on three of their four offensive series in the first half. After the initial Adams touchdown, they drove 66 yards on five plays on their second possession, punching the ball into the endzone with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to wide receiver Allen Lazard.
Their third series would result in a 47-yard field goal courtesy of Mason Crosby, but they would come up blank on their fourth possession late in the second half, being forced to punt for the first time all day.
On the other side of the ball, the Giants found some footing on their second offensive series, driving 71 yards on 11 plays and capping things off with an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Daniel Jones to wide receiver Sterling Shepard.
Big Blue would also add a later field goal off the leg of Aldrick Rosas, which was a positive he and the team desperately needed, but that was sandwiched in between a Jones interception — his first in 111 pass attempts.
At halftime, the Giants trailed the Packers 17-10.
The second half did not start off as electric as the first half with the Giants and Packers exchanging punts to open things up. It wasn’t until midway through the third quarter that more points were put on the board, once again courtesy of Aldrick Rosas, who trimmed Green Bay’s lead to 17-13 with a 45-yard field goal to cap off a 10-play, 52-yard drive.
But the Packers were quick to answer right back, driving 75 yards on 14 plays culminating with Rodgers’ third touchdown pass of the game, once again to Adams. The drive featured a slew of penalties and a fourth-down conversion for Green Bay.
The Giants had a chance to cut back into that Green Bay lead, but Jones tossed his second interception of the game and the Packers took complete advantage, essentially putting the game on ice with a one-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to tight end Mercedes Lewis, pushing the score to 31-13 with just over 7:00 remaining.
Two plays later, Jones would make another error in judgement, throwing a ball into coverage and having it picked off for the third time on the day.
Good night, ladies and gentlemen.
The two teams went back-and-forth a bit after that, but there would not be another score or moment of substance.
With the loss, the Giants fall to 2-10 on the season and and head into a Monday night game against the Eagles in Philadelphia in Week 14.
The New York Giants and Green Bay Packers square off in Week 13, and here are five reasons Big Blue could come away with the win.
The New York Giants are coming off their seventh straight loss and have now gone winless in the months of October and November for the first time in franchise history.
They face a tough task this week against the 8-3 Green Bay Packers, who will be seeking revenge after the San Francisco 49ers crushed them by 29 points on Sunday night.
Although unlikely, let’s look at five reasons why the Giants can pull off the upset of the Packers.
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Offensive rhythm
The Giants struggled to find any rhythm on their offense last week against the Chicago Bears, scoring only seven points until the final 10 minutes of the game. They also had minus-two total yards in the second half up until the fourth quarter when they switched to a fast tempo offense. After this change was made, Daniel Jones and the Giants offense racked up 131 yards and a 23-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate, which cut the deficit to five points.
The Giants had several opportunities to win this game and despite giving up 335 total yards, the defense did their job holding the Bears to only 19 points. It’s time for the stagnant, unbalanced and inconsistently designed offense to step up. Instead of waiting until their final two possessions this week, Pat Shurmur must make the necessary adjustments to break out of the frequent offensive slump Big Blue endures each week.
With a Week 13 matchup between the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers on tap, we go behind enemy lines for a chat with Packers Wire.
The New York Giants (2-9) and Green Bay Packers (8-3) will square off on Sunday in Week 13.
The Giants opened the week as 6.5-point home underdogs, and the spread hasn’t changed as of Saturday morning.
With this matchup on tap, Giants Wire took the opportunity to hold a Q&A with Packers Wire managing editor Zach Kruse.
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Giants Wire: The Packers appeared to have rounded out some early season struggles entering Week 12, but then came a meltdown against the 49ers. What did San Francisco do to frustrate Aaron Rodgers & Co. and what should the Giants have learned from that game?
Zach Kruse: The 49ers were a bad matchup for the Packers on paper and it played out exactly that way on the field. The 49ers dominated the line of scrimmage, contained Aaron Jones as a runner and receiver, got consistent pressure with only four rushers and smothered any and all underneath-to-intermediate options in the passing game. The Chargers established the blueprint in Week 9, and the 49ers executed it perfectly.
The key to frustrating the Packers is taking away the running backs (especially Jones), pressuring Rodgers without blitzing and playing coverage with seven. Force the Packers to beat you through the air with their receivers and tight ends. They haven’t proved capable of doing it consistently.
Here are four things the New York Giants can do to ensure a victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday and get their third win this season
The New York Giants host the Green Bay Packers at MetLife Stadium on Sunday in a tale of two very different seasons.
The Packers are 8-3 and currently sit in third place in the NFC, also leading their division. The Giants are 2-9, sitting second-to-last in the NFC and at the bottom of their division.
The Giants’ wildcard hopes are out the window and their divisional hopes are hanging on by a thread, but that doesn’t mean they can’t curb the Packers dreams. The Minnesota Vikings are hot on the Packers’ tail, and the Giants would do them a big favor with a win.
Here are this week’s keys to victory:
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Pressure Aaron Rodgers
Much like the photo above, Markus Golden & Co. need to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is notorious for holding onto the ball too long, and for making poor decisions under pressure. The Packers’ big plays don’t come when Rodgers has a defender in his face, and they have 40 big plays on record this season.
If James Bettcher can get his defense to plow through the Packers’ offensive line and put some serious pressure on Rodgers, the Giants’ chances of winning go up dramatically.
“The gap is execution, it’s not ability, it’s not talent, it’s execution,” Aaron Rodgers said Wednesday.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers doesn’t think the 29-point gap between his team and the San Francisco 49ers is based only on talent.
The Packers fell behind 23-0 at halftime and lost 37-8 on Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium, but Rodgers credited the difference on the scoreboard to individual execution.
“The gap is execution, it’s not ability, it’s not talent, it’s execution,” Rodgers said Wednesday. “On paper and lining up we feel really good about our squad against anybody. But execution is the main divider between teams that put that performance on the board like they did and the way we played. I think things would be a little different the next time, as far as the way we execute.”
Despite coming off the bye, the Packers struggled early and never really got into the game in San Francisco.
Rodgers lost a fumble on third down on the first series, setting up a one-play touchdown drive for the 49ers to start the game.
Another stagnant and uninspiring start on offense led to a big early deficit, and the Packers didn’t get on the scoreboard until the 49ers led 23-0 in the third quarter.
Rodgers attempted 33 passes and produced only 104 passing yards, and neither Aaron Jones nor Davante Adams – the team’s two best offensive playmakers – had a difference-making impact.
“Look at the game, we didn’t get the ball to 33 in space, we didn’t run the ball very well, we didn’t get the ball to Davante down the field. We didn’t really do any of what has been helping us win,” Rodgers said.
For the second time in three games, the Packers failed to avoid early-down mistakes and consistently faced difficult down and distances, which fed right into the way the 49ers wanted to play defense against Rodgers and the passing game.
Rodgers said better execution on first and second down, especially in the run game, would be important if the Packers get another chance to face the 49ers in the postseason.
Confidence doesn’t appear to be fading. Rodgers knows the Packers have go-to players in Adams and Jones, and he’s still confident others at the receiver position, such as Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Geronimo Allison, Allen Lazard and Jake Kumerow, can get open and make plays, even as their production has flatlined over the last month.
Rodgers thinks a faster start and better execution on third down will solve most of the Packers’ problems.
“If you look at the two losses, we gave up a number of sacks, we had a lot of penalties, we started terribly in each game,” Rodgers said. “That just changes the whole dynamic of the football game.”
There comes a time in every season when a fantasy owner says, “I’ve seen enough” and makes the difficult decision to either bench or cut a player in hopes of finding something better. If a marginal roster player does nothing for a couple of weeks, he ends up on the waiver wire. But, what happens when it’s a guy you expected to be a key regular starter?
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There comes a time in every season when a fantasy owner says, “I’ve seen enough” and makes the difficult decision to either bench or cut a player in hopes of finding something better. If a marginal roster player does nothing for a couple of weeks, he ends up on the waiver wire. But, what happens when it’s a guy you expected to be a key regular starter?
It’s one thing for a fringe guy to give off a stank most foul and be quickly jettisoned from your vicinity, but it’s another to have a guy you invested significantly in and have been counting on that just isn’t providing the return for the investment.
Injuries happen. Players go down. The NFL is a violent game. Some players leave rosters for those reasons. I thought 2019 Cam Newton was going to be poisonous and avoided him completely. I didn’t see Andrew Luck’s retirement coming. Those who felt Antonio Brown’s talents could travel were sadly disappointed. Those who invested in A.J. Green when the Bengals said they weren’t going to put him on the P.U.P. list because he was expected back by late September are all fully aware that he still hasn’t played.
Guys like that effectively became dead roster spots. They were cut and replaced. But, what about the players who have been on the field every week and just aren’t getting it done? Do you bench Tom Brady? In his last six games, he has thrown just five TD passes. Do you bench Carson Wentz? In his last five games, he has just five touchdown passes and has averaged just 214 yards a game.
If they had names like Tannehill or any of the three Allens who have become starting quarterbacks, owners wouldn’t have hesitated to pull the plug on them as their primary starter. But this is The GOAT and Carson Wentz – two QBs with pretty solid pedigrees.
The same goes for the other fantasy positions.
Saquon Barkley hasn’t been the same player since returning from his high ankle sprain. While his reception volume keeps him relevant, Alvin Kamara owners have seen him rush for less than 70 yards in seven of his last eight games, post 50 or fewer receiving yards in seven of his last eight games and score just two touchdowns after scoring 18 times in 2018. Joe Mixon has shown signs of life recently but has been shut down too often to ignore for a player drafted to be a starter. Le’Veon Bell hasn’t rushed for more than 70 yards in any game this season, Todd Gurley’s weekly numbers have been underwhelming, David Johnson has fallen off the face of the earth and highly-touted rookies Mike Sanders and David Montgomery have been fantasy disappointments when compared to their preseason expectations.
The same goes for receivers. Do you bench Odell Beckham because he has averaged just 70 yards a game and has scored just two touchdowns? Do you give up on JuJu Smith-Schuster because he had three or fewer receptions and 44 or fewer receiving yards in four of his last five games? Do you bury Alshon Jeffery for averaging just 44 yards a game in the eight games he has played? Do you have personal issues with Robert Woods for not scoring a touchdown all season and having more than five receptions just three times? Do you retire Larry Fitzgerald because his weekly numbers aren’t worthy of being a fantasy flex player? Do simply get rid of tight ends like O.J. Howard, Eric Ebron, Vance McDonald and Delanie Walker because they routinely disappear from the game plan?
As we approach the fantasy playoffs, these are some of the tough questions fantasy owners have to ask themselves (and answer). Just because you invested heavily in a player like Wentz or Brady or Beckham or Bell, if they’re not producing and you have other options, you’re at the point where you have to make the tough decisions that are best for your team. Some will go down with the ship out of fear the one week you bench one of your underachieving star players is the week they’re going to go off with the type of game you’ve expected all year long. There isn’t much loyalty in the real world of football. The same should apply to fantasy football.
Here is the Week 13 Fantasy Market Report:
RISERS
Jonathan Williams – In the first nine games of the season, this Colts backup running back was inactive for seven of them and had two carries for one yard in the other two games. When Marlon Mack broke his hand in Week 11, Williams got an opportunity…and has run with it. In a game-and-a-half, he has rushed 39 times for 220 yards and a touchdown. It will be Mack’s job when he returns, but, until he’s back, Williams can continue to make his case for his long-term future – whether with the Colts or someone else.
D.J. Moore – The only frustration anyone had with Moore was that prior to the two-TD game he posted Sunday at New Orleans, he had only scored one touchdown. But, it has become clear that he is on the verge of becoming an elite receiver. He has only two games with less than five receptions and, over his last four games, he has come on strong – catching 30 passes for 442 yards and two touchdowns. Not many receivers have caught seven or more passes in six games or had more than 70 receiving yards in eight games. Moore doesn’t get mentioned among the game’s top receivers, but that won’t last much longer.
Derrick Henry – He never gets the respect he deserves for being an elite fantasy running back because he doesn’t catch many passes – although two of his 14 receptions have gone for touchdowns. He has scored 12 touchdowns, has four games with two TDs (including each of the last three) and, in the last two games – which Tennessee needed to win to stay in contention for a division title or wild card berth – he has rushed 42 times for 347 yards and four touchdowns. He’s becoming PPR-proof and the numbers show it.
Bo Scarbrough – When November started, he was unemployed. In the post-Kerryon Johnson era of the Lions 2019 season, they needed someone – anyone – to come in and provide a spark to its ugly run offense that was trying to take the heat off a backup quarterback. In two games, he has rushed 32 times for 153 yards and a touchdown – 14 carries for 55 yards and a TD in one game and 18 carries for 98 yards in the other. For those who have a dire running back situation, Detroit is giving him a long look at being someone they may envision in a dual-RB scenario.
Julian Edelman – There aren’t many players who are the clear-cut primary receiver for an offense week-in and week-out. Edelman’s value is clearly much better in PPR formats because he can go weeks at a time without scoring a touchdown. But, aside from Edelman, only three players have been targeted 10 or more times in a game this season – James White, Josh Gordon and Mohamed Sanu once each. Edelman has been targeted 10 or more times in eight games, with single-game targets of nine and seven in two of the three games he didn’t hit double digits. You don’t score fantasy points if you aren’t targeted and few players are targeted as often and as consistently as Edelman.
FALLERS
Saquon Barkley – In the two full games he played prior to a high ankle sprain that forced him to miss three-and-a-half games, Barkley rushed 29 times for 227 yards and a touchdown. In his last four games since his return, he has rushed 63 times for 152 yards and no rushing TDs. His fantasy impact has been more as a check-down receiver. Nobody who invested in Barkley is going to bench him (see above), but he’s getting to the point of having owners considering the possibility – even if they don’t have the guts to pull the trigger on it.
Aaron Rodgers – In his first eight games, Rodgers was what you would expect him to be. He threw 18 touchdowns, ran in one and had 235 or more passing yards in six straight – including three games with more than 300 yards and two with more than 400. In the last three games, he has two TD passes and yardage totals of 161, 233 and 104 yards. This may simply be the payback for having five of six games at home from Sept. 15 to Oct. 20, but Rodgers’ numbers are at their lowest level in a long time, whether by force or design. A-Rog owners aren’t going to put him out to pasture, but if they were counting on him the last three weeks, they’ve been disappointed every time.
Tampa Bay tight ends – There aren’t many teams that have two tight ends on fantasy rosters of any league, but the Bucs were one of them with O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate. Howard is capable of great things and, for those who didn’t prioritize tight end, Brate’s red-zone acumen kept him in lineups and on rosters. But, things have changed this season. In the nine games he’s played, Howard has caught just 18 passes for 233 yards and one touchdown. In 11 games, Brate has caught just 25 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns – 10 catches in one game and 15 in the other 10 combined. Despite having a prolific pass offense embraced by Bruce Arians, Tampa’s tight ends have been rendered moot in the fantasy world.
Mike Sanders – There was a feeling that Sanders was going to be an explosive rookie to watch when he joined the Eagles. He had more carries than Jordan Howard in each of the first three games of his career but didn’t take the job over. In the next six games, Sanders never had more than 11 carries and Howard never had less than 11. When Howard went down with injury two weeks ago, it was a second chance for Sanders to take over the lead dog role. The results in the last two games as the lone featured back? 23 carries for 101 yards, five receptions for 32 yards and no touchdowns. He had a chance early. He’s had a chance the last two games. He hasn’t taken advantage.
Darren Waller – It’s hard to put him on this list because so many of us fell in love with him as our own discovery during the preseason. What got him noticed by everyone else was his fast start. In his first six games, he caught 44 passes for 485 yards and two touchdowns – a pace that would have him finish the season with 117 receptions for 1,293 yards and five touchdowns. But, once everyone had taken notice, the production has dropped. In his last five games, he has caught just 15 passes for 222 yards and one TD. He’s still a dangerous threat capable of big things, but the Waller Train has slowed considerably.
No quarterback has ever thrown for fewer yards on 20 or more attempts than Aaron Rodgers.
Since 1950, only six quarterbacks have completed at least 20 passes and produced fewer than 125 passing yards in a single game.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers not only joined that list on Sunday night in San Francisco, but he set a new record for fewest passing yards by a quarterback with at least 20 completions in a game.
Rodgers finished the Packers’ 37-8 loss to the 49ers with 104 passing yards on 20 completions and 33 attempts. The previous low was 110 yards, set by Bubby Brister in 1995.
The 104 passing yards was Rodgers’ second-lowest in a single game of his career, trailing only the 77 yards he produced in a 29-10 loss to the Denver Broncos in 2015. He also averaged 3.15 yards per attempt, the lowest in a game he started.
Since Week 9, Rodgers ranks 36th out of 36 quarterbacks with at least 20 total attempts in yards per passing attempt (5.13).
On Sunday night, Rodgers averaged 5.2 yards per completion and left the game with only 66 net passing yards, thanks to taking five sacks that lost 38 yards. Rodgers didn’t have a completion that traveled more than 10 yards in the air and had just three completions of 10 or more yards overall. Of his 20 completions, nine gained three or fewer yards.
Overall, only four quarterbacks have attempted at least 30 passes and averaged fewer than 4.0 yards per attempt this season. Rodgers joins Tom Brady, Sam Darnold and Ryan Finley.
After 11 games, Rodgers ranks 16th in the NFL in yards per attempt and 12th in passer rating.
