I don’t even know how Green Bay is still in the hunt for the playoffs. The Green Bay Packers overcame the injury-riddled, pathetic defending champions, Los Angeles Rams, 24-12 at Lambeau Field to keep their slim chances of sneaking into the playoffs alive.
I thought the Packers were out of the playoff race two weeks ago.
Is the NFC Wild Card race really that bad in which a team that lost 7/8 games in a single stretch is still alive (albeit barley) for the 7th and final Wild Card spot? How have teams like the Giants, Commanders, and Seahawks allowed that to happen?
Okay, I do have to admit that the chances Green Bay makes the playoffs this season are about as likely as a drove of pigs sprouting wings and flying to Mars. In order for the Packers to make the playoffs, they would have to win out their remaining three games against the Dolphins, Vikings, and Lions, the Giants to lose out and/or the Commanders to lose two of their last three, the Lions to lose two of their last three, and they would need to finish with a better record than the Seahawks.
Remember, that’s just to make it in as the 7th seed.
But the Packers still gave their all for what is almost certainly a lost cause…even though this game was the best possible matchup for the Cheeseheads. Coming into this game, everyone knew the winner would come down to one all-important factor: the running game.
The Packers rushing defense and the Rams rushing attack was a battle of a moveable wall and a stoppable force. The Packers 4th worst rushing defense and the Rams 3rd worst rushing offense were a match made in hell for everyone watching as the Rams offense never took off.
All of that Mayfield magic from a week ago was sorely lacking in this game as the former Browns and Panthers QB went 12/21 for 111 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT, while Cam Akers again proved his status as a bust as he only rushed for 65 yards on 12 carries, even though he was up against the Packers defense.
You know you have one of the very worst rushing attacks in the NFL when you can’t even breach the 80-yard team threshold against a defense that has notoriously allowed app. 150 rushing yard/game this season. The Los Angeles Rams are the worst defending Super Bowl team in living memory and don’t deserve another minute of national spotlight.
But, if there is one positive the Rams can take out of this game, it’s the fact that they finally broke their streak of not having a tight end catch a TD pass with the Tyler Higbee (4 REC, 27 yards, 1 TD) reception in the 3rd Quarter. At least they accomplished something this season.
Oh, and I also feel bad for Baker. He was getting absolutely destroyed out there with Preston Smith (3 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 4 QB hits), Justin Hollins (2 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 1 QB hit), Quay Walker (5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 2 PD, 1 QB hit), Devonte Wyatt (2 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 1 QB hit), and co. coming after him as they racked up 5 sacks and 9 QB hits. What could he really have done out there against a defense that was hitting him on nearly every other play?
As for the Packers, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers rushing game did just enough to win this one.
It was definitely not a vintage Rodgers performance in the Wisconsin cold as he completed 22/30 passes for just 229 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. Seeing as that pick was his 10th on the year (his most since the 2010 season, which was coincidentally the last time Green Bay won the Super Bowl), I think it’s safe to say that Rodgers won’t be a three-time MVP after this year.
Now a lot of the issues that have plagued the Packers and himself this season (ex: injuries, poor drafting, poor free agent recruiting, bad defense, etc.) haven’t been his fault, but he does have to own up to the fact that his passing has regressed this season. I know he has rib and thumb injuries, but he has also refused to sit a game to properly recover from them.
So, his poor play really is on him.
Nonetheless, the other Aaron, the running back Aaron Jones, had a much better performance than his quarterback as he dominated an Aaron Donald-less Rams defense by rushing for 90 yards on 17 carries. Along with A.J. Dillion’s 33 yards and 2 TDs, the Packers rushing attack was the sole reason why this game was as lopsided as it turned out to be as the Rams defensive frontline simply could not close off the rushing gaps.
Sure, Leonard Floyd (5 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 3 QB hits) had a good game with 2 sacks and Bobby Wagner (7 tackles, 1 TFL) had a few good tackles here and there, but neither of these players can make up for the utter domination that Aaron Donald brings to the field.
Without Donald’s generational ability to disrupt the passing game and destroy running schemes, the Rams defense is worse than awful. And they proved it once again yesterday as Los Angeles (3-9) are now six games below .500 and are officially eliminated from the playoffs. Moreover, to make matters worse, the Rams Top-5 pick in this year’s upcoming draft belongs to the Detroit Lions…who are fighting for the playoff spot the Rams desperately wanted.
Hey, at least they got a Super Bowl out of the Matt Stafford trade, which is something the Lions can’t say.
Reversely, the Packers (6-8) are now just two games below .500 and have an almost impossible task of having to win against the 8-6 Dolphins, the 11-3 Vikings, and the 7-7 Lions in order to just have a chance of making it to the playoffs.
We’ll see if Aaron Rodgers can pull off one more Hail Mary and get Green Bay playing meaningful January football.
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