Packers shock everyone but themselves as they end Arizona’s perfect season
Another road game for the Packers in prime time, another dramatic finish! The Packers defied the odds and walked out of Arizona with a 24-21 victory over the previously undefeated Cardinals.
Arizona struck first, taking a 7-0 lead early, but that was the only time they would lead in the game. The Packers would answer back in the second quarter and add on a field goal before halftime, going into the locker room with a 10-7 lead. The teams traded touchdowns the rest of the way. Arizona had a chance to tie or take the lead in the final moments of the game, but CB Rasul Douglas intercepted the ball in the endzone with 12 seconds left to give the ball back to #12, who knelt down to seal the victory.
Thoughts about this win and there are many:
The Packers played well on defense for the most part. One of the few bad plays was when Eric Stokes got turned around and DeAndre Hopkins caught the ball for a huge gain. He was called for a facemask penalty, otherwise, he would have scored a touchdown. They ended up getting a touchdown anyway for their only lead of the game.
The Packers got a huge turnover in the second quarter when Rondale Moore let a punt slip off his hands and the Packers downed it at the 3-yard line. Matt LaFleur challenged the play and the Packers got the ball at the 3. Unfortunately, they were unable to get the ball into the endzone. Marcedes Lewis made a spectacular catch with one hand but was unable to get his second foot in bounds. On third down, it looked like Randall Cobb was a victim of pass interference, but no flag was thrown, and the Packers had to settle for a field goal.
On Arizona’s first possession of the third quarter, they were backed up near their own endzone, when Kyler Murray threw an off-target pass that bounced off Moore (the same player who muffed the punt) and into the hands of Henry Black. Aaron Rodgers would complete a fourth-down pass to Equanimeous St. Brown, setting up a touchdown throw to Randall Cobb and a 17-7 lead.
One thing in the game that probably won’t get talked about by most of the mainstream media is the field position game. The best starting field position Arizona had the entire game was at their own 37-yard line. In order, their drives started at their own 13, 37, 25, 15, 15, 19, 25, and 1-yard lines.
Arguably the most controversial moment of the game happened at the Arizona 1-yard line. With under 5 minutes left in the game, Aaron Jones ran in for a touchdown to give them a two-score lead, but the referees reviewed the tape and reversed it. It was mind-boggling. Even Mike Pereira, the rules analyst for Fox Sports, disagreed with overturning the call on the field. Jones ran again for no gain. After a delay of game, Rodgers scrambled and ended up short of the endzone. On fourth down, his pass to Randall Cobb was batted down and they still led 24-21 with Arizona taking over at their own 1-yard line.
Arizona converted on third down to keep their drive alive. They drove down into field-goal range and then into the red zone. It looked like they would at least tie the game and perhaps win it with a touchdown. Kyler Murray tried a pass to A.J. Green in the endzone, but he never turned around to look at the ball and Rasul Douglas had a juggling interception to seal the game.
Douglas has bounced around the league a bit. In his rookie year with the Eagles, he received a Super Bowl Ring as his team won SB LII over the Patriots. During this last offseason, he has been with the Raiders, Texans, and Cardinals. The Cardinals placed him on their practice squad on September 3rd and the Packers signed him on October 6th. A little more than three weeks later, he makes the biggest play of the game vs his former team. You can probably write this script into a movie and you’d get rejected. Life is like a box of chocolates, but so is the NFL. You never know what you’re gonna get.
Time will tell whether this is a “team of destiny.” This definitely has to get all of us fired up though. The Packers were without their top three receivers and still found a way to win. It was a long time ago when the Packers suffered through that disaster of a game in Week 1. They have now won seven in a row and took down the last undefeated team in the process. Speaking of which, the 1972 Miami Dolphins are celebrating this weekend. The Packers are currently the #1 seed in the NFC. From Week 2 on, they may not have looked great at times, but they have passed every test. This is a team going through a lot of injury problems right now too. Imagine how good this team can be once these players return.
Speaking of injuries, Robert Tonyan suffered what might be a major injury to his knee. We will find out the extent of it over the weekend, but it would obviously be a huge loss. We still have Marcedes Lewis and Josiah Deguara made a couple of catches and looked good during his time on the field. This could be an opportunity to see what he brings to the table.
The bottom line is it’s a win for Green Bay and we have some extra time to celebrate as the team gets a “mini-bye” after this victory to celebrate and rest up. Next up for them is a trip to Kansas City to play the Chiefs. KC isn’t doing too well right now, so it might be the right time to catch them. Then again, a desperate team is often a dangerous team. They still have a ton of talent, bad record or not. The way the Packers are playing, however, they likely have the confidence that they will beat any team anywhere they play.
The way I see it right now, there is no reason for us to fear any team. It’s time for other teams to start fearing us. You can sleep on this team if you want to, but as long as Aaron Rodgers is still suiting up for the Green and Gold, they appear to be on a mission. Whatever you are doing this weekend and however you will be celebrating, just appreciate the journey we are on right now. We don’t know how it will end but we also couldn’t predict that awful Week 1 loss would end up being our only defeat heading into November. Take care and have fun Packer fans! We still have a long way to go but we are in a very good position right now!
Go Pack Go!
@DieHardPackrFan #DHPF #GregGoshaw @gg901
