Solid game for Packers leaves Dolphins grounded!
In what was arguably their best performance of the season, the Packers defeated the Miami Dolphins 31-12 at Lambeau Field.
Aaron Jones had a career day with 145 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns and added 27 receiving yards, Davante Adams had 2 touchdowns, and the defense had 6 sacks and kept Miami out of the endzone.
It looked as if Miami was going to get on the board first as they were marching down the field. The graphic during the broadcast showed that Miami’s opening possessions this year ended in 8 punts and 1 turnover. Right on cue, a bad snap created a turnover. Brock Osweiler overran the ball and Reggie Gilbert fell on it.
The Packers wasted no time as Aaron Rodgers got Jones involved early and often, and ended the drive with a 7-yard TD pass to Adams.
On their next offensive possession, Adams broke free for a 67-yard run and then added a pair of 2-yard runs, the second one resulting in a touchdown.
The Packers’ defense was good but not great, although they did hold Miami under 300 yards of total offense. They did bend but did not break as they held the Dolphins to just 4 field goals and even got a turnover on an interception by Bashaud Breeland, his first as a Packer. They sacked Osweiler 3 times on Miami’s final drive, including 2 straight to end Miami’s final possession of the afternoon.
Not everything went well for the Packers though. Tramon Williams lost a fumble while returning a punt, giving Miami possession at midfield. They drove down for their first points of the game, making the score 7-3 Packers.
In an interesting call, the Packers were up 14-6 and faced a 4th and 2 at Miami’s 49-yard line, and Mike McCarthy decided to go for it. Aaron Rodgers got sacked and Miami converted the turnover on downs into another field goal.
Green Bay got the ball to start the second half, and a promising drive was wiped out on a personal foul by Equanimeous St. Brown, erasing a 21-yard catch by Adams. They were forced to punt, and rookie punter J. K. Scott had it partially blocked, giving Miami great field position and a chance to take the lead as they only trailed 14-9. The Packers held them to a field goal and had a slim 14-12 lead.
Trailing 28-12 in the third quarter, Miami decided to punt on 4th and 1 at their own 29, but they faked it with a direct snap to Leonte Carroo, who took off for 14 yards. They converted on another 4th down later in the drive, but a sack by Raven Greene forced Miami to punt it away.
The Packers pulled out their own bag of tricks as they faked a punt of their own while facing a 4th and 3 at Miami’s 49-yard line. Greene, who got the sack that ended Miami’s threat, took the snap and ran for 26 yards. Green Bay ended up kicking a field goal for a 31-12 lead and the final points of the game.
Overall, I was pleased with the balanced attack. Rodgers only threw for 199 yards, but when you get 145 rushing yards from Jones and 195 yards on the ground as a team, that is nothing to sneeze at.
Except for 3 straight possessions that ended in 2 punts and a turnover on downs, the Packers scored on every possession but the final one when they ran out the clock.
McCarthy has been heavily criticized lately, but despite that decision to go for it on fourth down in the second quarter, I think he called a pretty good game. Whether or not that will continue remains to be seen.
I realize that Miami is not a very good team despite coming into the game at 5-4, but the Packers did have 6 sacks and did not allow a touchdown. They deserve some credit for that. By the way, both AFC teams came into Lambeau Field this year and left without reaching the endzone as Buffalo was blanked 22-0 back in September.
So the Packers are 4-4-1 and now hit the road for the next 2 games. This win has settled things down for just a little bit, but they have a short time to prepare for their Thursday night game in Seattle. Let’s enjoy this win for a day or two and be ready to cheer the team on to victory this Thursday.
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #GregGoshaw @gg901
