The NFL season is a long one even though there are only 16 games. You can’t look too far ahead or you are doomed to failure. However, football players are still human, and humans have memories, and while you can’t erase bad memories, you can create good ones. And that is exactly what the Packers did last night in Lambeau Field.
There is simply no way the Packers weren’t looking ahead to this game, which is why I was so worried about last week’s game in Chicago. The thing is, this Packers’ team is extremely tough mentally, they simply don’t let negative plays or games bother them. They just show up the next play or game determined to get better. And amazingly, it doesn’t seem to matter who is out there. The Packers played without three starters last night and didn’t seem to miss a beat, in fact, their replacements thrived.
The Packers 27-17 win over Seattle was a heavyweight bout reminiscent of Ali-Frasier. Blows were thrown, blows were received and there was non-stop action throughout. The Packers seemed in complete control at halftime, leading 13-3 and holding the Seahawks under 100 yards of offense. You had the feeling they should have been leading by more however, and those fears were justified early in the second half.
The Seahawks scored two touchdowns in the first eight minutes of the third quarter to take the lead and it looked like they had come out of their season opening slumber. On the flip side the Packers’ defense looked like the porous unit they were for the first eight games of last year. But this time they bent but did not break and came up with two huge turnovers that won the game for the Packers.
Against a lesser defense, the Packers would probably have scored 40 last night, especially when given a couple of turnovers. This is really all the Packers need out of their defense. If they can just be consistent from week to week and keep Aaron Rodgers and Co. within striking distance, the Packers will win a lot of games. And as they proved in wins over New England last year and Seattle last night, the Packers can beat the best. Now they just have to become the best.
To get there they will have to clean a few things up, however. Rodgers was under duress most of the night and I can’t image head coach Mike McCarthy or play caller Tom Clements likes to see the oft-injured Rodgers running around like has the first two games of the year. Left tackle David Bakhtiari has struggled more than usual this year and at right tackle Don Barclay started for Bryan Bulaga. The Packers will need improvement there to help keep Rodgers on the field.
On defense the Packers did a great job of stopping Marshawn Lynch, but in doing so they let Russell Wilson gash them with long runs on called bootlegs. With quarterbacks like Colin Kaepernick and Cam Newton coming up, that could be an area of concern. And I think Casey Hayward maybe losing his grip on a starting position. I have to believe Demarious Randall will be out there full time in the near future.
All in all it was a great win and a great night to be at Lambeau. The Packers, and myself, can use the extra day to come down to earth before taking on the Chiefs next Monday night. The Packers can’t afford a letdown after a big win. They need to be 3-0 before heading to San Francisco for what I think will a very hard game. They need to stay mentally tough.