Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers: Green Bay Grades, Notes and Quotes
The Green Bay Packers continued their perfect start to the 2015 season, with a 17-3 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
It wasn't pretty for the visiting Packers (4-0), but they outplayed the 49ers (1-3) throughout the entirety of the game to come out ahead in the rivalry for the first time in the teams' last five match-ups.
Aaron Rodgers' lone touchdown pass came after he marched the offense down the field in its first drive of the game to put Green Bay up 7-0 early. While San Francisco managed just three points on the day, a modest performance from Rodgers was all his teammates really needed to go home victorious.
The Niners' dangerous run game never took flight—Colin Kaepernick and Carlos Hyde gained a combined 77 yards—while the Packers used their ground game to complement Rodgers through the air.
Eddie Lacy put up a season-high in rushing yards, and Clay Matthews threw in two sacks. Tight end Richard Rodgers caught a touchdown Sunday.
The Packers play at home next, as they take on the St. Louis Rams in Week 5 at Lambeau Field.
But before we turn our attention to next week's game, let's first take a look at how each Green Bay position group graded out—including some key takeaways and quotes—from Sunday afternoon's victory.
Position Grades for Packers
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| Position | Grade |
| QB | A- |
| RB | A |
| WR | B |
| TE | A+ |
| OL | B- |
| DL | B+ |
| LB | A+ |
| DB | A- |
| Special Teams | C+ |
| Coaching | A |
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers didn't throw for five touchdowns or 300 yards this week—and neither did he ever get into a rhythm through the air Sunday—but the Green Bay signal-caller did what any good quarterback does: give his team a chance to win.
Rodgers tossed his lone score on the first drive of the game and was then held in check the rest of the way. He did have a few big runs out of the pocket, though, including a 17-yard scramble in the third quarter to set up a one-yard John Kuhn touchdown.
Running Back
Eddie Lacy rushed for a season-high 90 yards, providing the backbone to a balanced Green Bay offense that struggled through the air for much of the game. His backup, James Starks, averaged just 3.1 yards per carry, though, on nine rushes. When you throw in fullback John Kuhn's one-yard touchdown run, the backs had a pretty good day on the ground.
Wide Receiver
Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay's receivers didn't seem to be on the same page at all in Week 4. Yet again, Jones saw the most targets in the receiving corps, as he led the Packers in receiving yards. The only thing missing this time around was a touchdown catch—the first game all year the veteran failed to find the end zone. It's clear Rodgers is missing Davante Adams as a secondary option to Randall Cobb and Jones.
Tight End
In Andrew Quarless' absence, Richard Rodgers had one of his best games to date. His five receptions were tied for the team lead Sunday as the Rodgers-to-Rodgers connection clearly has grown stronger. He also caught the lone touchdown pass of the day and held his own as a run-blocker for Lacy.
Offensive Line
Once again, tackles David Bakhtiari and Don Barclay struggled with opposing edge-rushers. The offensive line, as a unit, allowed three sacks in the game—including two crucial ones on third downs—and routinely forced Rodgers to throw under pressure, as the passing game failed to consistently move the ball. At least the big men up front created enough holes for Lacy to run through as the Packers' starting tailback had his best game on the ground this season.
Defensive Line
The unit anchored a defense that shut down any chance of Kaepernick and Co. doing damage. The potentially dangerous duo of Kaepernick and Hyde couldn't run the ball between the tackles—and if they did, it usually meant negative or no yardage.
Linebackers
The defensive coordinator clearly put an emphasis on blitzing his linebackers to pressure Kaepernick and force him to make plays with his arm rather than his legs. All six of the defense's sacks came at the hands of the linebacking corps Sunday—led by Clay Matthews up the middle.
Defensive Backs
With the front seven causing so much trouble up front, there's wasn't much work to be done in the secondary. But when it came down to making plays on Kapernick's passes—despite a couple of harmful 40-yard gains—Green Bay's defensive backs shut down the opposing receiving corps.
Special Teams
The usually reliant Mason Crosby missed a 44-yard field goal at the end of the first half. The kick would've put Green Bay up 10 heading into halftime, but Crosby pulled it wide left. The Packers also had penalties on two of their first three punts—evidence to the fact that no position group was safe from errors on the road in Week 4.
Coaching
Defensive coordinator Dom Capers had the perfect game plan to shut down the two-headed San Francisco rushing attack. Tailback Carlos Hyde ran for just 20 yards, while Colin Kaepernick noticeably struggled with accuracy with constant pressure on passing plays. The offense also used Cobb and Ty Montgomery out of the backfield—a nice change-up to what defenses have come to expect from a Lacy-led running game.
Packers Win Ground Battle
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Coming into this Week 4 matchup, both teams knew a victory would hinge on how successful each could be running the ball. As Rodgers and Kaepernick both struggled to do damage through the air, it was clear the better rushing squad would be victorious.
Lacy led the Packers attack with a season-high 90 yards on the ground, while his 49ers counterpart, Hyde, could only muster 20 yards on eight carries.
Ironically, Rodgers finished as the team's second-leading rusher with 33 yards on three scrambles, including a 17-yard scamper that set up a John Kuhn touchdown in the third quarter.
San Francisco's defense—one of the conference's best against the rush entering Sunday's contest—allowed the Packers to run for 162 combined yards while limiting them through the air.
In games when an All-Pro quarterback struggles to find his groove, the Packers will benefit from a run game that has the ability to dominate in the trenches—from the offensive line all the way down to the fullback.
When John Kuhn and Richard Rodgers are the players scoring touchdowns, it would be a nightmare for any team but the Packers—their offense can beat you in a variety of ways as evidenced on Sunday.
Green Bay Defense Dominates
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In the past, Kaepernick torched Green Bay's defense in almost every meeting between the two foes. He would run wild all game long with a few timely, punishing airstrikes. This time around was a completely different story, though.
Kaepernick's passer rating was a disastrous 55.4 as the Niners quarterback never got going in the air or on the ground. The 49ers were held under 200 total yards of offense Sunday (119 passing, 77 rushing) and to only eight first downs throughout the contest.
The Packers' D—benefitting from yet another early lead—harassed Kaepernick all day, racking up six sacks and forcing a pick.
To put the unit's effort in perspective, let's consider some statistical trends. After halftime, the Niners gained just 72 yards in the remaining two quarters—47 of which came on one Kaepernick-to-Torrey Smith pass late.
That's dominance to the fullest extent.
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Clay Matthews on Trolling Kaepernick
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There were two instances Sunday when it was clear Clay Matthews isn't too fond of 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
After the Packers' linebacker sacked Kaepernick in the third quarter—just one of six on the day for the Green Bay defense—Matthews struck the pose above and mockingly kissed his bicep. It's Kaepernick's signature touchdown dance, and there's no doubt Matthews knew that coming in. The NFL noted Matthews imitated Kaepernick following the sack:
"Clay Matthews sacks Colin Kaepernick Clay Matthews does the Kap bicep kiss dance. #GBvsSF http://t.co/QvRDBgAXFu
— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2015"
After the game, Matthews was asked about his sack celebration.
"Nah, it's not planned," he said, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky. "I was going to hit him with the predator, and then I had a light bulb go off in my head. It's just having fun. We're a bunch of kids out there running around and having fun at each other's expense."
Then in the fourth quarter, Matthews had some more fun at Kaepernick's expense as he let the Niners quarterback—and the entire TV audience—in on a little secret, which SB Nation noted:
"Clay Matthews is correct. Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson are not the same person. http://t.co/xRdgCWex50 https://t.co/0WUxDuVrVo
— SB Nation (@SBNation) October 5, 2015"
If you can't make it out, that's Matthews yelling, "You ain't Russell Wilson, bro," at Kaepernick after a failed rush attempt.
Kaepernick finished with 57 rushing yards on 10 carries in the Packers win. No update yet on if, in fact, he is Russell Wilson, bro.
T.J. Lang on Impressive Defense
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Usually we don't hear an offensive lineman's opinion on how good his team was on the other side of the ball. Yet even T.J. Lang can't ignore the dominant defensive performance he witnessed Sunday.
Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin provided a quote from the Packers' right guard after his team's win; T. J. Lang said:
"Sometimes the defense is going to have to carry the offense like they did today, and then there’ll be days where we get in a shootout and have to put up 42, 45 points to win. That’s why it’s a team game. They play that well, we’re going to win some games.
We’re not always going to score 45 every game. There’s going to be some close ones where we have to find a way to win. And our defense just really, really allowed us to win that game today. They were just outstanding.
"
On days where Lang and the offense struggle to get going, the Packers will need to rely on a strong defense to keep them in the game.
Lang recognizes that, and it's about time the rest of the league starts to pay attention as well.
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