Packers finally break out on offense
The Green Bay Packers are now 6-1 after defeating the Oakland Raiders 42-24 at Lambeau Field on Sunday afternoon.
Both teams came out firing on offense. It was a tight game for most of the first half, and the Raiders threatened to take the lead with just under 2 minutes remaining in the half before Derek Carr fumbled the ball out of the endzone. The Packers would score a touchdown before the half ended and scored on their first possession of the second half, pulling away on the scoreboard, maintaining a two-possession or more lead throughout the second half of the game on their way to a decisive win.
Thoughts about this game:
To say that Aaron Rodgers was on fire in this game is an understatement. He has had many great games throughout the years, but this is his first career game that he posted a perfect 158.3 QB rating. His overall numbers were 25/31 for 429 yards, 5 TD passes, and 1 rushing TD. After 7 games, we finally got the breakout game on offense that we were waiting for. Rodgers reached 350 career TD passes faster than any other quarterback in NFL history.
I mentioned the fumble by Derek Carr. Trailing 14-10 with 1:55 left in the first half, the Raiders threatened to take the lead once again. Carr rolled out to his right and lost control of the ball before it reached the pylon and sailed out of bounds, giving GB a touchback. Carr did the same thing two years ago in a home game vs the Dallas Cowboys. In that instance, it was late in the game and cost the Raiders a victory.
TE Darren Waller had a huge receiving day for the Raiders. It seemed like no kind of defense could slow him down. Will Redmond did make a touchdown-saving tackle late in the first half. Two plays later, Carr had that fumble. It’s not the first time this season that a touchdown-saving tackle eventually resulted in a stop, turnover, or a field goal. It just shows that you never give up on a play.
The defense once again gave up a lot of yards, but they got some critical stops and turnovers. With the Raiders desperately needing a score in the fourth quarter, the Packers turned away Josh Jacobs at the goal-line on fourth down, and on the next Raider possession, Kevin King intercepted Derek Carr’s pass in the endzone. Ironically, it was an unforced turnover that really changed the dynamic of this game. I’m talking of course about Carr’s fumble out of the endzone.
With the win, the Packers are 9-5 overall vs the Raiders and have won 8 straight meetings. Up until 1990, the only Packer victory in the series was in Super Bowl II, the first time these two teams met. The last time the Raiders celebrated a victory in the series was in 1987, when they were known as the Los Angeles Raiders. Forrest Gregg was the Packers’ head coach at the time. The next time these two teams meet, the Raiders will likely be playing their home games in Las Vegas.
With this win, the Packers matched their victory total from last season. They are winning and having fun once again. They have won their last three games without Davante Adams in the lineup because other players are contributing. They had this kind of performance after coming off a short week because of their Monday night game and played a team coming off a bye week. This is a resilient group.
After a heavy dose of home games to start the season, they now play six of nine on the road. They play next Sunday night on the road vs the Kansas City Chiefs. For now, let’s enjoy this win. Have a great week Packer fans!
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #GregGoshaw @gg901
