Week 17 Report Card Packers Rout Vikings
GREEN BAY, Wis. The Green Bay Packers did whatever they wanted against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night, their 37-10 romp their most thorough performance of the season.Heres our weekly report card.Pa sing OffenseAaron Rodgers was 29-of-38 pa sing
Curtis Martin Jersey for 288 yards and two touchdowns. It was his sixth consecutive game with two-plus touchdowns and zero interceptions. Rodgers gets it. His offensive line isnt great so he throws it quickly. Theres not many extending of plays. Hes just so good at making big plays the 30-yard pa s to Davante Adams on third-and-3 on the first scoring drive but avoiding big mistakes. He wasnt even close to a turnover. The back-shoulder throws to Adams are impo sible to stop. Adams caught 11 pa ses for 136 yards and one touchdown in a performance so routine that its easy to take his greatne s for granted. Allen Lazard had a big-time game, catching all six targets for 72 yards and a leaping 20-yard touchdown.There were some mi sed opportunities, such as a dropped pa s in the end zone by tight end Josiah Deguara that led to the first red-zone failure, a ball thrown too far outside to Adams on fourth-and-goal for the second red-zone failure and a fourth-quarter swing pa s in which
Chuma Edoga Jersey Aaron Jones was open by 20 yards but had to make a shoelaces catch and stumbled twice. Thats mostly nitpicking, though, given the January cold. The offensive line was tremendous Pro Football Focus charged left tackle Yosh Nijman with three of the eight pre sures allowed and Deguara had the only drop by our reckoning. Grade: A-minus.Rushing OffenseAJ Dillon carried 14 times for 63 yards and two touchdowns, and runs of 28 and 27 yards highlighted Aaron Jones eight carries for 76 yards.Its clich to say that nobody wants to tackle a 240-some-pound running back on a cold night but, as the game wore on, the Vikings didnt have much interest in tackling a 240-some-pound running back on a cold night. Dillon only broke a couple tackles, by our count, but he routinely pushed the pile for additional yards. For a big man, he has a remarkable ability to get small and find a creva se, such as on his 4-yard touchdown run. Jones is just so explosive but he needs the bye perhaps more than anyone. The Packers are fortunate to have right tackle Dennis Kelly and center Lucas Patrick, and there arent many quality runs that dont have an impact block from receiver Allen Lazard and/or tight end Marcedes Lewis. Its news when theyre stuffed on third-and-1, like what happened to Dillon at the end of the first quarter when the Vikings fooled them with a stunt and Patrick was forced to block two guys. Green Bay remains the best third-and-1 team in the league with a conversion rate of 89 percent.Grade: A-minusPa sing DefenseIn a matchup against a haple s backup quarterback Sean Mannion entered the game with zero touchdowns in seven seasons its hard to judge anything based on production. Justin Jefferson caught 6-of-11 pa ses for 48 yards and tight end Tyler Conklin caught 5-of-9 for 47 yards. Until garbage time, when K.J. Osborn had a 30-yard catch against Isaac Yiadom, Minnesotas only pa s play of 20-plus yards came on a reception by center Garrett Bradbury. PFF
Zach Wilson T Shirts charged that to safety Adrian Amos, for what its worth. At least Jefferson wasnt running wide open like he did in the November game at U.S. Bank Stadium. That performance wasnt all on Eric Stokes but it was a rare poor game by the first-round pick. He probably gave up more yards in that game than the last five combined. Imagine a secondary with Stokes, Rasul Douglas and a healthy Jaire Alexander.Scroll to ContinueRashan Gary had one of his best games with two sacks and four quarterback hits (official count) and eight pre sures (PFF). Preston Smith also had a sack. Grade: A.Rushing DefenseThe Packers got an F last week after Nick Chubb ran circles around the defense. In the previous three games, Green Bay had allowed 1.5 yards per carry more than any other team. It was truly awful. Not having to worry about Kirk Cousins and Adam Thielen, the Packers dominated their matchup against Minnesotas elite running back, Dalvin Cook, and its quality offensive line. To be sure, life was easier with defensive coordinator Joe Barry getting to line up to stop the run rather than trying to thread the needle to deal with Cook, Jefferson and Thielen. At times, including the first play of the game, he lined up with a goal-line look with four defensive linemen. Three-time Pro Bowler Cook was limited to 13 yards on nine carries the second-lowest output of his career by yards and average. Of that, 14 yards came
Shaq Lawson Jersey after contact by our count. Preston Smith mi sed the only tackle of the game, resulting in a back-breaking gain of 3. Smith and Gary were excellent on the edge to keep Cook contained. Grade: A-plus.Special TeamsIt was a mixed bag in this phase.Punter Corey Bojorquez dropped the snap on Mason Crosbys first field goal. He also shanked a punt. Minnesotas Kene Nwangwu, who had two kickoff-return touchdowns on the season, had returns to the 34, 35 and 19.On the plus side, Crosby made all seven kicks and David Moore had a 21-yard punt return in his debut the teams longest since 2018. Moore looked smooth and natural fielding the ball. He should be back deep for every kick the rest of the season and, quite po sibly, until the end of time.Grade: C-plus.CoachingThere were three points of emphasis. One, dont look past the Vikings just because they didnt have Cousins. Two, stop Cook and improve the tackling. Three, show some
Sheldon Rankins Jersey killer instinct after hanging on by the hair of their chinny-chin-chins the previous two games. Check, check and check as the Packers crushed a team that hadnt lost by more than one score all season. If there was any doubt about whether this was a team good enough to win a Super Bowl, .Grade: A.