To say it was an eventful first quarter of the season for the Green Bay Packers would be an understatement. The Packers sit at 2-1-1 and in second place in the NFC North behind Chicago and there were plenty of fireworks. There was the Aaron Rodgers injury and miraculous comeback against the Bears, the defensive melt down against the Vikings and a thrashing in Washington.
Then yesterday they beat the Buffalo Bills 22-0 and all Rodgers could do was complain about the game plan put in by offensive coordinator Joe Philbin and head coach Mike McCarthy. It was shocking and for the second week in a row Rodgers said he was going to have a “couple scotches” when he gets home. What? Has he been hanging around with Brett Kavanaugh or something? Dude might have a problem.
GREEN BAY, WI – SEPTEMBER 30: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills is sacked by the Green Bay Packers during the second quarter of a game at Lambeau Field on September 30, 2018 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
And Rodgers wasn’t exactly perfect himself. He missed a lot of throws he normally hits, only completed 55% of his passes and if you ask me looks like he’s afraid to pull the trigger again. Maybe the loss of Jordy Nelson is bigger than we thought. It’s probably a wash, really. Jordy has 16 catches in four games, Allison has 19.
I think part of it is teams are playing Rodgers as a pocket quarterback and Rodgers doesn’t like it, and the Packers haven’t adjusted well enough to his lack of mobility. Rodgers did run for 31 yards Sunday but damn, I get scared to death anytime he gets out of the pocket.
I wished the Packers would give the ball to running back Aaron Jones more, but after reading Eric Baranczyk and Pete Dougherty’s take on Jones, I changed my mind. Jones is injury prone to a degree and limiting his touches early could very well pay off late.
On the other side of the ball the Packers’ defense played by far it’s best game of the year. Wasn’t exactly a powerhouse offense they were facing, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good game by the unit. When you face an offense like this you need to shut them down and that is what they did. Maybe the Bills scoring 27 on the Vikings’ vaunted defense last week had their attention a little more than it might have.
Losing Jaire Alexander to a groin injury could be a big blow, but maybe the emergence of Kyler Fackrell will help overcome that. Tongue firmly in cheek, there, but Fackrell did have three sacks against the Bills. He looks bigger than last year and sometimes it takes a couple of years to figure it out. Sure would be nice if this was a breakout game for him.
Overall it was a rather boring game that the Packers won easily. I would have took 3-1 at the first turn, but at least the tie came against the Vikings. It is what it is. But trouble is brewing. I’ll take 2-2 the next four in a heartbeat. The home party is over.