The Green Bay Packers were inches away from being blown out Sunday against the lowly New York Jets. Poor defense, poor calls by the coaching staff and no rhythm on offense lead to an 18-point deficit at one point. With the Jets trying to take advantage of a stupid onside kick call the Packers dug deep and turned things around.
When Tramon Williams picked off a Geno Smith pass at the three-yard line with 1:44 left in the half, for the first time this season the Packers got some positive mojo going. Aaron Rodgers was masterful on the ensuing 97-yard touchdown drive the Jets never had a chance after that. The Packers took the lead in the third quarter and the Jets lost their composure along with the game.
A one-play 80-yard drive was the backbreaker. Jordy Nelson was on the receiving end of that bomb and cemented his status as an elite receiver in this league. The guy is a fantasy players dream. Speaking of which, if you want to play fantasy football with some legendary Packers check out Fantasy Exchange. It’s where the pros play.
Anyway, Rodgers now looks like the pre-injury Rodgers and that could be bad news for the rest of the division. The Packers will play the Lions, Bears and Vikings the next three weeks and a sweep would give them a stronghold on a fourth straight division crown.
The key to these three games will be the Packers’ defense. Especially against the Lions and Bears, who have extremely explosive offenses. The Vikings may or may not have Adrian Peterson when they meet but that game is in Lambeau so it shouldn’t be a problem either way.
I would like to see the running game step it up a bit but the Seahawks and Jets are two of the best run defenses in the league. Against the Jets the Packers didn’t even try to run it. I would expect that to start evening out as we get deeper in the schedule.
Both sides of the ball now have a little momentum to build off of. Time to start stacking successes.