Defense Rules on this Afternoon as the Packers Shred the Bills!
The Green Bay Packers posted their first shutout win since 2010 as they blanked the Buffalo Bills 22-0 at Lambeau Field.
The Bills, who shocked the NFL the week before by dominating the Vikings 27-6 as a 17-point underdog at Minnesota, were unable to get any drives going early and produced only 145 net yards of offense while turning the ball over 3 times in a huge setback for the team and for QB Josh Allen.
Thoughts about the game:
Ty Montgomery got things going with a 43-yard completion down the sidelines, leading to Jimmy Graham’s first touchdown (and official Lambeau Leap) in a Green Bay uniform.
Aaron Jones, in only his second game of the season, looked good as he rushed the ball only 11 times but for 65 yards and a score.
Josh Allen was harassed all afternoon, getting sacked 7 times for 64 yards. That is an average of just over 9 yards lost per sack. During the rare times when they were moving the ball, he turned it over. That first interception was all on him as he made the ultimate mistake. As he was pressured, he ran to the sidelines and threw back across the middle into the endzone, which led to Jaire Alexander’s first career interception. I would not be surprised if he turns out to be one of the best quarterbacks in the league in 5 years or so, but he is still a rookie and has a lot to learn. That is one lesson for starters.
There were some notable injuries for both teams. Bills’ safety (and former Packer) Micah Hyde had to leave the game early. Kelvin Benjamin joined the concussion protocol after a violent collision with HaHa Clinton-Dix, a play that ended with Clinton-Dix intercepting the ball. Geronimo Allison also joined the concussion protocol later in the game. He had some big catches but also missed on a few, including a sideline attempt that he couldn’t haul in.
Despite the win, it wasn’t a great performance by the offense. Aaron Rodgers had an interception on a tipped pass and also lost a fumble after he was sacked. The defense was able to bail them out both times though, holding the Bills to a three-and-out both times following turnovers by the offense.
Despite the offense sputtering at times, Rodgers looked mobile out there, the best he had looked since suffering that knee injury in Week 1. He even ran the ball 5 times for 31 yards.
It’s not like the Bills didn’t have their chances. Josh Allen’s first interception cost them a chance for a field goal. With a 19-0 lead, Rodgers went for it on 4th down, but the Bills’ DB dropped an interception that probably would have went the distance.
It’s nice to be on the winning side of a shutout for a change. It’s the Packers’ first shutout win since 2010, when they blanked the Jets on the road 9-0. It’s not even the first time the Packers shut out the Bills. They posted a 10-0 win in 2002. Some notable stats from that game included a 5-sack performance by Vonnie Holliday. The opposing quarterback in that game was Drew Bledsoe. He has had some rough times vs Green Bay during his career, including that Super Bowl XXXI loss of course.
There is still some room for improvement as Rodgers said they were terrible on offense. He takes a page from Vince Lombardi, who didn’t shower the team with a lot of praise after huge blowout victories as he didn’t want the team to become complacent. Overall though, a shutout win is nothing to sneeze at. No matter who the opponent is, it is hard to shut out an opponent in the NFL. This is the kind of defensive performance many of us were waiting for years to see out of this team. Hopefully this is the start of a trend.
This is a good win for the Packers, and hopefully they are just getting started. A quarter of the regular season is now complete, and the Packers don’t have a great record, but they have something to build on. Looking ahead to next week, the Packers hit the road to face the 1-3 Detroit Lions. Enjoy the rest of the week and the shutout win Packer fans!
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #GregGoshaw @gg901
