Packers vs. Falcons: Full Report Card Grades for Green Bay
We were expecting the matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday to be a shootout, and those expectations were met in spectacular fashion.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw for 246 yards and four touchdowns on Sunday, all without two of his top wideouts in Randall Cobb and Ty Montgomery.
Meanwhile, Atlanta's Matt Ryan threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns in the Falcons' nail-biter of a 33-32 win.
The day's most shocking development was definitely the fact that of those 288 yards, Ryan and top target Julio Jones connected for just 29 yards. Jones did not find the end zone.
Let's break down the performances by each position group in this game that, while ultimately adding an "L" to the Packers' record, displayed some of the best play we've seen all year by this group.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Against Atlanta, we finally saw Aaron Rodgers return to form as the dominant quarterback he is.
Rodgers completed a season-high 74 percent of his passes on Sunday, amassing 246 passing yards and four touchdowns. He did so without the help of Randall Cobb or Ty Montgomery, both of whom were out.
Because the Packers are down for the count when it comes to running backs, Rodgers went ahead and carried the load there, too, as the team's leading rusher on the day with six attempts for 60 yards. He also rushed for a successful two-point conversion. That was a career high in rushing for the passer.
The loss was hard to stomach, especially because the Packers led for so much of the game. But you have to be encouraged by what you saw from Rodgers in Atlanta. He fit the ball into impossibly small windows. He went deep successfully, finding Jordy Nelson for a 58-yard completion. He protected the football.
Let's see more of this Rodgers for the rest of the season, please.
Grade: A
Running Back
2 of 10
To keep these grades accurate, we're going to remove Aaron Rodgers' rushing performance from the equation.
With Rodgers' six carries for 60 yards, the Packers had 108 rushing yards on the day. That's respectable.
Without them, the Packers as a team rushed for 48 yards. That's...not.
The Packers still don't seem to know what to do with new weapon Knile Davis, who carried the rock just three times for four yards. Don Jackson didn't do much else, with four carries for 10 yards.
Fullback Aaron Ripkowski had a big day...for a fullback. He had a breakaway of 12 yards and added 34 yards total on the ground, helping the Packers move the pile and looking like a wrecking ball doing it.
Still, as encouraging as Ripkowski's performance was, the Packers have to figure out how to get what halfbacks they do have left involved in the offense.
Grade: F+
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
Life handed Aaron Rodgers lemons on Sunday, and he made some deliciously sweet lemonade from them.
The Packers headed into Atlanta missing wide receivers Randall Cobb and Ty Montgomery and tight end Jared Cook.
But it was next man up for young Packers wideouts Trevor Davis and Geronimo Allison, both of whom had their first career touchdowns against Atlanta on Sunday. In fact, Allison's first career reception was a touchdown.
Jordy Nelson and Jeff Janis, the latter of whom has been much maligned recently, also found the end zone for Green Bay.
As for the tight ends...what tight ends? Neither Richard Rodgers nor Justin Perillo caught any passes against Atlanta. On a day when the Packers were down three of their receiving targets, that seems questionable at best and foolish at worst.
The lack of tight end action is troubling, but Green Bay's fifth-, sixth- and seventh-string receivers performed so much better than expected that this grade is still high.
Grade: B+
Offensive Line
4 of 10
The Packers have one of the league's best offensive lines this season, and while the unit struggled on Sunday against Atlanta, that fact remains true.
There were some penalties and certainly some uncalled holds. Aaron Rodgers was sacked three times, twice by Adrian Clayborn. The most troubling aspect about those sacks was when they came on only three-man rushes.
Lane Taylor, in particular, was vulnerable to the Falcons' defensive front.
The line attempted to give Rodgers time to do his scrambling thing, extend plays and find open receivers. It did well for the most part in run blocking, especially T.J. Lang with fullback Aaron Ripkowski. The offensive line helped the fullback shine, and he delivered 34 yards on six rushes for the Packers.
Hopefully this was just an off day for Green Bay's O-line and not a sign of things to come.
Grade: C
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Mike Daniels was all over the place for the Packers on Sunday, ending his day with a sack and a tackle for loss. The veteran interior lineman ran over Falcons left guard Andy Levitre on the sack and won his matchups against center Alex Mack.
Letroy Guion also had a nice day against Mack, throwing him to the ground twice.
The Falcons were missing running back Tevin Coleman on Sunday, but the defensive line wasn't quite able to contain his replacement, Terron Ward, and starter Devonta Freeman. The two combined for 81 yards, and Freeman found the end zone as a rusher once (and again as a receiver).
The Falcons' no-huddle offense definitely gassed the Packers' defensive line, and ultimately Green Bay wasn't able to generate enough pressure on Matt Ryan to swing the game in its favor.
Grade: C-
Linebackers
6 of 10
Outside linebackers Nick Perry and Julius Peppers continued to step it up in Clay Matthews' absence.
Peppers was all over the place, with a sack on Matt Ryan and a tackle for loss. Perry's performance didn't look as impressive on the stat sheet, as he was left without a sack, but he did get his hand on a Ryan pass at the line of scrimmage for his third pass defensed of the year.
Ultimately, however, two sacks aren't enough to get the job done against Ryan and the Falcons offense.
Perry was less successful against the run, however, giving up the edge to Devonta Freeman at one point for a 17-yard gain.
Inside 'backer Jake Ryan was putting together a nice game, but he whiffed on the Falcons' game-winning touchdown pass to Mohamed Sanu. Ryan seemed to be expecting to get safety help from Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, but he was busy with Julio Jones.
His partner on the inside, Blake Martinez, also struggled to contain Jones in the open field, allowing him to break out of a tackle, and proved to be a liability in play action.
The young inside 'backers have shown promise this season, but their inexperience was evident against Atlanta.
Grade: C-
Secondary
7 of 10
The front seven didn't look great against Atlanta, but all was not lost for the Packers defense.
In the secondary, LaDarius Gunter continued to surprise and impress, proving he can hang with the best of them. Case in point: Atlanta's Julio Jones finished his day with three receptions for 29 yards.
Sure, tight end Jacob Tamme left the game with an injury, so the Packers were able to get more coverage on Jones. As a result, Matt Ryan only targeted him five times. Still, it was one of his lowest-volume days on the year.
Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was also called upon to help Gunter with Jones in press coverage. But because of those duties, there appeared to be some sort of miscommunication when it came to covering Mohamed Sanu on Atlanta's game-winning touchdown.
Kentrell Brice had a nice play to stonewall Terron Ward and save a touchdown, but the Falcons would score on the ensuing play anyway. Still, it was good to see that effort.
Overall, this was a solid performance from a group of backups.
Grade: B
Special Teams
8 of 10
The highlight of the day for special teams was definitely Trevor Davis' 55-yard punt return, which set up a drive he himself capped off with a touchdown.
Davis was drafted largely for his blazing speed, and he got to show it off in a big way on Sunday.
Punter Jacob Schum quietly put together a nice performance after a season marked with criticism. He averaged 54.3 yards on three punts, including a long of 58.
Kicker Mason Crosby was perfect on the day and would have had the opportunity to win the whole thing for the Packers had the offense been able to get a few more yards down the field in the final seconds of the game.
Grade: B
Coaching
9 of 10
Mike McCarthy got creative with the resources he had available to him on Sunday. Down Randall Cobb and Ty Montgomery, his two receivers to use out of the backfield, McCarthy used Davante Adams there with success.
The Packers also sent their receivers into motion more in Week 8 and utilized crossing routes, things McCarthy has failed to take advantage of in the past.
The coach was also vindicated when he challenged that the Falcons had 12 men on the field and won. Most thought he was challenging forward progress on an obviously short Jordy Nelson reception.
However, the Packers are still struggling to figure out how to incorporate running backs Don Jackson and Knile Davis. Aaron Rodgers should not be the team's leading rusher.
On defense, Dom Capers played a role in the Packers' loss, failing to dial up the blitz on Matt Ryan (likely because the Packers are decimated in the secondary) or generate much pressure on him, and neglecting to give the corners safety help at key moments.
Grade: B-
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Quarterback | A |
| Running Back | F+ |
| Wide Receiver and Tight End | B+ |
| Offensive Line | C |
| Defensive Line | C- |
| Linebackers | C- |
| Secondary | B |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | B- |
| Final Grade | B- |
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