Philadelphia Eagles vs. Green Bay Packers: Full Report Card Grades for Green Bay
Are the Packers this good? Or are we just this good at home?
No matter.
According to ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky, the Packers are 128-9 in their last four first halves at Lambeau Field, throttling their opponents at an embarrassing rate.
Aaron Rodgers had himself another stellar game, tossing three touchdown passes and giving way to Matt Flynn before all was said and done.
The Green Bay Packers (7-3) defeated the Philadelphia Eagles (7-3) 53-20, and it wasn’t even that close.
Quarterback
1 of 10
I said it once during Sunday’s game—Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback in football, and he’s playing his best football.
We’re lucky enough to watch him in action.
If need be, Rodgers would have played through the fourth quarter and possibly thrown his fourth and fifth touchdowns.
But the game was in hand, and Matt Flynn had his number called once again to play the rest out in garbage time. But before that, Rodgers was spot on, converting a number of third downs and doing exactly what’s expected of the best player in the NFL.
Rodgers was also amazing on the ground, rushing for two first downs on third downs. He’s too good.
This is yet another notch in the belt of the best player in the league.
Grade: A+
Running Back
2 of 10
The Packers had the ball, 3rd-and-10 at the Eagles 31-yard line. It was 39-13 Packers, the final result of the game well in hand. But at the beginning of the fourth quarter, there’s still plenty of game to be played.
So, Rodgers checks down to Eddie Lacy, who first comes into contact with an Eagles defender at the 16-yard line.
No matter.
Lacy shucks off three Philadelphia defenders and powers himself into the end zone, an embodiment of the whooping laid down on the Eagles. An unfair fight. Too many men.
James Starks came in and was not that great. He had nine yards on eight carries in addition to two receptions on two targets.
Grade: A
Wide Receiver and Tight Ends
3 of 10
At times I wonder how much of the Packers' offensive success is Aaron Rodgers and how much is the wide receivers. And then I watch the team play, and I realize it’s equal parts of both.
When both parties play up to par, it’s poetry in motion, and Sunday was one of those days.
Green Bay settled for three on its first touchdown drive after three incomplete passes from the 9-yard line. It’s OK. There were plenty of chances to come.
Cue the next drive.
It was 1st-and-10 from the 6-yard line. Head coach Mike McCarthy split rookie Davante Adams wide right, and the Eagles countered with man coverage without a safety on top. Quick slant, Rodgers fires, touchdown.
Easy.
After a special teams touchdown, Rodgers drops a dime in the bucket of Jordy Nelson, who hauls in his ninth touchdown of the season. Nelson only had four catches on 10 targets, though.
Randall Cobb was his usual stellar self, hauling in 10 catches on 13 targets for 129 yards.
Jarrett Boykin has forgotten how to play wide receiver.
Grade: A-
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Let’s get to the bad stuff first—rookie center Corey Linsley snapped a ball high, and Aaron Rodgers wasn’t able to handle it. The play went for a 14-yard loss.
That’s about it.
There were zero quarterback hits. The only sack was an errant one. The Packers threw 30-plus times in the first half and did so with ease.
Not enough can be said for the gutty efforts from guards T.J. Lang and Josh Sitton, who each played (and played well) while battling foot injuries. Keeping Rodgers clean is imperative to a win, and the line did so.
Grade: B+
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Watching Letroy Guion, he is impressive as hell.
On the Eagles’ first possession, he dominated Philadelphia’s right guard and sacked Mark Sanchez for a huge loss.
On the Eagles’ second offensive possession, he shed the center and tackled LeSean "Shady" McCoy for a two-yard gain.
Later in the game I watched him tackle Darren Sproles downfield after a seven-yard gain. Most tackles seven yards downfield aren’t impressive, but when it’s a defensive tackle on a 5'6" running back speeding downfield, that’s damn impressive.
Mike Neal had a huge sack, and Datone Jones totaled two tackles for loss.
Grade: A+
Linebackers
6 of 10
For the second straight game, Clay Matthews played the bulk of his snaps at inside linebacker.
And for the second straight game, Clay Matthews was an offensive nuisance.
Matthews filled up the stat sheet with five tackles (four solo), one sack, a tackle for loss, one pass defensed and two quarterback hits, playing most of his snaps from the inside but dabbling at outside 'backer on obvious pass-rushing situations.
But the highlight of the night came from Julius Peppers, who recorded his second defensive touchdown of the season when Mark Sanchez tossed an ill-advised pass in the veteran’s direction. From there it was sheer power and will from Peppers, who rumbled and stumbled 52 yards for the score.
Grade: A
Secondary
7 of 10
Did Mark Sanchez even test the Packers secondary?
He did but very sparingly. Morgan Burnett and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix were the Packers’ leading tacklers with 10 and eight tackles respectively, though neither played a particularly clean game.
Micah Hyde got suckered on a play-action fake early in the game but made up for it afterward. He was hit-and-miss on coverage with Jordan Matthews.
Clinton-Dix flashed with a nice tackle on Shady McCoy in the open field. That’s why Green Bay drafted him.
Grade: B+
Special Teams
8 of 10
It was a really weird game from special teams.
Look in the game book, and you’ll see a point after touchdown aborted and a PAT blocked. Usually point afters are an afterthought, scoring at a 99.5 percent rate.
But so what? The Packers won by 33 points, so no big whoop, right?
And you can add to that the Micah Hyde 75-yard punt return for touchdown, when he made the first man miss and zoomed down the right sideline, electrifying 78,000-plus Packers fans and giving Green Bay a 17-0 lead.
But, in a close game, those gimmie PATs could come back to haunt the Packers. So let’s get that cleaned up, shall we boys?
Grade: B+
Coaching
9 of 10
Once again, it was an absolutely phenomenal job by Mike McCarthy and Co. Chip Kelly’s bunch must have marched into Lambeau Field pretty high and mighty after the 45-21 win over the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football. But Philadelphia got booted back down to earth quickly.
After scoring touchdowns on opening possessions the past four games, Green Bay had to settle for three vs. the Eagles. But the Pack made up for it with touchdowns on the next two drives—one on special teams—putting the game effectively out of reach before the first 15 minutes had elapsed.
The Packers scored three non-offensive touchdowns, and that’s a recipe for victory with Trent Dilfer or Alex Smith, let alone Aaron Rodgers.
Grade: A+
Overall Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade | |
| Quarterback | A+ | |
| Running Back | A | |
| Wide Receiver and Tight End | A- | |
| Offensive Line | B+ | |
| Defensive Line | A+ | |
| Linebacker | A | |
| Secondary | B+ | |
| Special Teams | B+ | |
| Coaching | A+ | |
| Cumulative Grade | A+ |
Much was made of this Eagles-Packers matchup.
Philadelphia came in with a 7-2 record and looked at Green Bay as a measuring stick.
Philadelphia failed.
Meanwhile, the Packers showed they're a team not to be messed with, a team that can go toe-to-toe with any team in the National Football League.
Next week, Green Bay travels to Minnesota to face the Vikings, who are fresh off a 21-13 loss to the hapless Chicago Bears.
I've heard that Aaron Rodgers likes playing Minnesota. Supposedly he does well there.
Follow me on Twitter @PeterSowards.
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