Another nail-biter as the Packers escape with a win
The Packers defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-16 at Lambeau Field on Saturday night to improve to 11-3 on the season.
The Packers forced a three-and-out on defense to start the game. They scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to take a 21-3 halftime lead. Carolina would play better on both sides of the ball in the second half though. They got stops on defense and started getting the ball moving on offense, cutting the deficit to 21-13. The Packers would get some huge first downs, setting up a 51-yard field goal by Mason Crosby to give them a cushion. Carolina would not go away quietly. They quickly drove into field-goal range and nailed a 33-yard FG of their own. After a stop, the Packers pinned Carolina deep and the defense took over from there.
Some thoughts about this game:
Aaron Rodgers continues to set records. His TD pass to Robert Tonyan gave him 40 TD passes for the third time in his career, an NFL record. Tonyan reached a nice milestone as well. His TD catch was the tenth of the season for him.
Aaron Jones had a great game on the ground, rushing for 145 yards on 20 carries and scoring a TD.
The Packers came up with a huge play on defense. Carolina was down 14-3 and was at the 1-yard line. Teddy Bridgewater tried to extend the ball over the goal-line, but Krys Barnes knocked the ball out of his hands and Kevin King scooped up the fumble and ran it all the way to the Carolina 47-yard line. The Packers would score on their possession, extending the lead to 21-3. It looked like the rout was on.
Carolina would not go away. After stopping the Packers twice before halftime, they came out and stopped them three more times after the half, making it five straight offensive possessions in which the Packers had to punt the ball away.
The Packers looked awesome on their first three offensive drives, but they then hit a brick wall and couldn’t do much of anything. Rodgers got sacked five times in the game and at the most inopportune times. Still, they moved the ball after Carolina cut it to 21-13. They took five minutes off the clock and got another clutch FG by Mason Crosby, this time from 51 yards away. By the way, the FG attempt came after another sack of Rodgers.
After the Packers got the ball back leading 24-16 and were unable to move the ball, JK Scott had a booming 53-yard punt that was almost blocked. Rodgers was sacked again before that punt by the way. A penalty by Carolina moved it back to their own 20-yard line. What a huge change of field position that was, especially considering the fact that it was very close to being blocked. Carolina was unable to do much with the ball and the Packers took over from there, running down the final seconds of the game.
I really like Aaron Jones and he had a great game, but I didn’t like him high-stepping into the endzone like that. Just run it in and hand the ball to the referee. That showboating almost came back to bite them as Carolina mounted a comeback. Had the Packers lost, Jones would have been on many memes and not in a good light.
Amazingly, the Packers defeated the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field for the second year in a row, both by a final score of 24-16. The Packers looked great at times in the first half, but they were unable to put a full 60 minutes of good football together. They need to correct that if they are going to compete for a championship.
I even have to remind myself that the Packers actually won this game. It doesn’t feel like a win in some ways but they count just the same. Next up for the Packers is a home game with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday night, December 27th. This figures to be a tough test for the Packers. They need to be ready to play and put a full game together.
Right now, the Packers are winners again and still hold on to that #1 seed for the moment. Everyone be safe as we celebrate this wonderful time of the year.
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #NFCNorthChampions #GregGoshaw @gg901
