Packers wake up in time to get past the upset-minded Jaguars
The Packers had a tough time against the 1-7 (now 1-8) Jacksonville Jaguars at Lambeau Field. They made enough plays to win 24-20 and improve to 7-2 on the season.
For the first time all season, the Packers came away with no points on their opening drive. The Jaguars drove down for a field goal to take an early lead. The Packers answered with a touchdown before Jacksonville ran a punt back for a touchdown to regain the lead. Aaron Rodgers scrambled into the endzone and the Packers later added a field goal to take a 17-10 halftime lead. Some turnovers led to 10 Jacksonville points and a 20-17 lead for the visitors. Rodgers later found Davante Adams for a touchdown and a 24-20 lead. The Packers were able to get stops on defense to preserve the win and avoid the upset.
Some thoughts about this game:
The Packers were favored by 13 ½ points, but Jacksonville didn’t come in to Green Bay to just roll over and collect a paycheck. These teams who are desperate for a win are scary. They had some close losses in previous weeks and they see a Packer team who if you play a physical game against them, you can have success.
Jacksonville did a lot of things to put them in position to get an upset win. They got a punt return for a touchdown, did what they could to keep Davante Adams in check, and when Adams did get what appeared to be a huge gain, they forced a fumble. They also got an interception off Aaron Rodgers. They had a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Packers ultimately made one more play on both offense and defense to get the win.
The Packers got some nice contributions from players returning from injury. Christian Kirksey was their leading tackler. David Bakhtiari is back on the offensive line and also got a record extension for an OL, a 4-year, $103.5M deal with an extra $2M in incentives.
Rashan Gary had a huge sack and both Smiths had a sack in this game. Adrian Amos had an interception before halftime that the Packers converted into a field goal.
With a lot of attention on Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling made some catches for huge gains, including a 78-yard catch and run into the endzone to put the Packers on the board for the first time in the game. He finished with 4 receptions for 149 yards and a touchdown. Let’s get this guy going the rest of the year.
For some of you, this may not feel much like a win. I know the feeling since they were in such a tight game vs a team with only a single win all season. It certainly won’t silence the critics who don’t take Green Bay seriously. The Packers just need to learn from this and make improvements. It’s much easier to do it after you win. Right now, they are 7-2 and that’s not too bad.
They did enough to win this game but they will have to play much better next week as they travel to Indy to face the Colts. Let’s tighten things up Green Bay. At least they got a win and that’s so much better than the alternative.
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #GregGoshaw @gg901
