Green Bay Packers vs. Buffalo Bills: Full Report Card Grades for Green Bay
All good things must come to an end.
The Green Bay Packers (10-4) had their five-game winning streak snapped Sunday by the Buffalo Bills (8-6) at Ralph Wilson Stadium, with Buffalo prevailing 21-13.
As bad as the Packers played all game long, they still had a chance to win. Mason Crosby’s 34-yard field goal with 4:51 remaining made it a one-score game, and the defense forced a stop to give the offense one more try from the Green Bay 10-yard line.
Unfortunately, Rodgers was strip-sacked on the first play of the drive. Eddie Lacy recovered the ball in the end zone, and according to an asinine NFL rule, the play is ruled dead at the spot of the recovery if the ball is recovered by the non-fumbling player.
Safety, game over.
From Dean Blandino, the NFL VP of Officiating:
"In #GBvsBUF inside two minutes the ball is dead when recovered by non-fumbling player. It's a safety. Rule goes back to Holy Roller play.
— Dean Blandino (@DeanBlandino) December 14, 2014"
It was a fitting end to an ugly, ugly game.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Frame that Aaron Rodgers stat line if you’re not a Packers fan, because you’ll never see it again, courtesy of radio host Mike Clemens and ESPN Stats & Info:
"#PACKERS Aaron Rodgers 17/42 for 185 yards, 2 INT. QB rating 34.3. Will today's performance cost Rodgers the MVP award?
— Mike Clemens (@MikeClemensNFL) December 14, 2014"
"Summarizing Aaron Rodgers' day - 1st career game with 0 TD/multiple INT - career-worst 40.5% completion pct - career-high 28 incompletions
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 14, 2014"
Only one of the interceptions was Rodgers’ fault, but he’s lucky Stephon Gilmore didn’t have a pick-six after Gilmore jumped a pass intended for Jordy Nelson. Nelson made his best play of the day, reaching in to break the pass up.
Rodgers and his receivers were reading different pages of the same book all game long. I counted at least four back-shoulder throws that were nowhere close to the receiver. Rodgers' passer rating reflected his apparent miscommunication with his teammates, as it was the lowest in his career, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk:
"Aaron Rodgers' passer rating of 34.3 today was his lowest in any game in his career.
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) December 14, 2014"
It appears Aaron Rodgers is human after all.
Grade: D
Running Back
2 of 10
Eddie Lacy had a good day against a very good Bills defense. Unfortunately, he just didn’t get the ball enough.
After 71 yards on seven carries in the first quarter, Lacy toted the rock just eight times in the final three quarters. He added two catches for 11 yards to his 97 yards rushing, going over 100 total yards for the seventh straight game.
The hip pointer that limited him in practice leading up to the game was obviously not a factor.
James Starks had a bad drop in his return to Buffalo and rushed for 19 yards on four carries. He caught one of three targets for 10 yards.
Grade: A
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
If there’s a day when Rodgers needed his weapons to step up, it was Sunday. Unfortunately, the receivers and tight ends responded with their worst game of the season, as pointed out by ESPN Stats & Info and ESPN's Rob Demovsky:
"Packers: 1st team with at least 7 dropped passes in a game since Buccaneers, 8 in 2008
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 14, 2014"
"Eddie Lacy was the only #Packers player with a target who didn’t drop a pass.
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) December 14, 2014"
Two drops stand out among the rest, and they came on the same drive.
Down 16-10 with 1:03 left to play in the third quarter, the Packers had the ball at their own 2-yard line. Lacy runs up the gut for four yards. Next play, Jordy Nelson runs a slant-and-go, and his defender bites on the slant. Rodgers pumps the slant, bombs it deep for Nelson and it’s a perfect pass into Nelson’s outstretched arms.
Except he drops what would have been a 94-yard touchdown—another unfortunate event in a tough day for the Packers, as noted by ESPN Wisconsin's Jason Wilde:
"Been that kind of day for #Packers. pic.twitter.com/5iIraHZ7NS
— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) December 14, 2014"
Fast-forward seven plays—Green Bay has 3rd-and-4 at Buffalo’s 34-yard line. Jarrett Boykin runs a slant from the right side of the formation, Rodgers hits him, but Boykin can’t come up with it. The ball is tipped in the air, and Bacarri Rambo comes down with it, his second interception of the day.
To be fair, the receiving corps did make a few plays on their second-to-last possession, which eventually resulted in a field goal, making it a one-score game. But the damage had already been done.
Grade: F
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
What a performance by this group.
Facing arguably the best defensive line in football, this group did an absurdly good job opening up running lanes for Lacy and giving Rodgers time to throw and room to step up. It went 58 minutes without allowing a sack.
Unfortunately, there was one negative play that will overshadow them all.
JC Tretter, playing in relief of the injured Bryan Bulaga—blindsided after Bacarri Rambo’s second interception—allowed Mario Williams to run right by him on Green Bay’s final offensive snap. Mario’s left hand poked the ball out of Rodgers’ right hand, and you know the rest of the story. Green Bay confirmed Bulaga was "diagnosed with a concussion":
"Bryan Bulaga diagnosed with a concussion. #Packers #GBvsBUF
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 14, 2014"
Obviously this was a poor call from Mike McCarthy to leave a backup center playing right tackle singled up on one of the best pass-rushers in football, but it’s still a lack of execution.
But, aside from that play, the line played great. It won the battle up front. The offensive line was a positive sign for the struggling Packers, as noted by SB Nation's Jason B. Hirschhorn:
"If you’re looking for positives, the Packers offensive line has done a tremendous job keeping rushers off Rodgers today.
— Jason B. Hirschhorn (@jbhirschhorn) December 14, 2014"
Grade: A
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Give credit to these guys for playing well Sunday. It wasn’t a great game by any stretch, but they played well enough.
Letroy Guion and Josh Boyd took turns collapsing the pocket in the first half but were quiet in quarters three and four. Guion had a sack and now has 3.5 on the season. Based on how he's playing, ESPN's Rob Demovsky feels Guion was a good investment:
"Safe to safe the #Packers have gotten their money's worth this season out of Letroy Guion. One year, $985k deal
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) December 14, 2014"
Mike Daniels didn’t make much noise, though he was credited with one tackle for loss.
The tackling suffered mightily in the second half. Bills running backs were stifled in the backfield on multiple occasions, only to break though arm tackles and turn three-yard losses into eight-yard gains.
Grade: B
Linebacker
6 of 10
Sam Barrington will be one of the two starters at inside linebacker next season. I can guarantee that.
He was flagged twice for bonehead plays, but you love the aggression he plays with and his attacking style of play. He’s not one to be caught on his heels often. SB Nation's Jason B. Hirschhorn noted Barrington's ability to hit is obvious:
"Well we know Sam Barrington can hit.
— Jason B. Hirschhorn (@jbhirschhorn) December 14, 2014"
Clay Matthews was a wrecking ball with two sacks and two tackles for loss, both team highs. His first sack came on the Buffalo possession that ensued after Rodgers’ first interception.
The team ran more of its 3-4 base personnel on defense Sunday, so that meant more A.J. Hawk on the field. He racked up six tackles (two solo) and one tackle for loss that was a result of defensive line penetration.
Brad Jones played well in his dime linebacker role, as Bleacher Report's Zach Kruse remarked:
"So...Brad Jones has played well today. This game remains unexplainable.
— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) December 14, 2014"
Julius Peppers didn’t do much for the second straight game.
Grade: B+
Secondary
7 of 10
The defensive backfield should get some credit for the way they handled Sammy Watkins Sunday—just one reception on six targets for 28 yards. But a lot of that had to do with Kyle Orton.
Tramon Williams made the play of the day from the secondary, intercepting Orton’s pass intended for Watkins late in the second quarter. Unfortunately, the offense was unable to capitalize.
The tackling wasn’t great. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix too often drops his head when he goes after the target, resulting in a missed tackle. He did total 13 tackles (six solo), but the ones you’ll remember are the ones he missed. SB Nation's Jason B. Hirschhorn feels the key to Clinton-Dix to maximizing his potential is "learning to wrap up":
"When Ha Ha Clinton-Dix learns to wrap up, he’ll be something…
— Jason B. Hirschhorn (@jbhirschhorn) December 14, 2014"
Morgan Burnett was Green Bay’s second-leading tackler (12).
Grade: B
Special Teams
8 of 10
Is there a grade worse than F?
What a disaster. Let’s start with Marcus Thigpen’s 75-yard punt-return touchdown. That’s the difference in the game. Safety Sean Richardson had a chance but was juked out of his cleats.
Mason Crosby had another field goal blocked, the sixth of the season, per Demovsky:
"That's the sixth time the #Packers have had a kicked blocked this season. (Two FGs, two PATs, two punts).
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) December 14, 2014"
Tim Masthay punted three times in a row. On try No. 1, Richardson was called for a hold. On try No. 2, Brandon Bostick was flagged for illegal formation.
Special teams coach Shawn Slocum should have to walk back to Green Bay after that performance.
Grade: F-
Coaching
9 of 10
You can call the greatest plays in the world, but if your team doesn’t execute, it doesn’t matter one bit.
But McCarthy didn’t help out much by calling 40-plus pass plays when his team was having such a hard time moving the ball through the air, especially when the run game was clicking with Lacy.
You like to see a coach have faith in his struggling quarterback, especially when that struggling quarterback’s name is Aaron Rodgers, but at some point you have to stick with what’s working, and that was the running game. I’d be interested to see how this game plays out if Rodgers throws it 30 times and Starks/Lacy combine for 30 carries.
Also, what is McCarthy thinking leaving Tretter without any help against Mario Williams on the first snap of the Packers’ final possession? That’s just crazy. And the result of that play was exactly what we deserved. McCarthy owned up to it postgame (via Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette):
"McCarthy on fumble: "That last call was my fault. I had another play in mind, and I shoulda went with it. The result woulda been different."
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) December 14, 2014"
The defense played great, and I commend Dom Capers for that. Yeah, the tackling wasn’t great, but that’s more on the players. Buffalo’s offense went just 4-of-16 on third downs, totaled 253 yards and did not score a touchdown. You should win games like that.
Grade: D+
Overall Grades
10 of 10
| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| Quarterback | D |
| Running Back | A |
| Wide Receiver and Tight End | F |
| Offensive Line | A |
| Defensive Line | B |
| Linebacker | B+ |
| Secondary | B |
| Special Teams | F- |
| Coaching | D+ |
| Cumulative Grade | D- |
This stat shows you what kind of day it was for the Packers (via ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter):
"Packers had 7 drops Sunday by 7 different receivers after entering the game with just 13 drops this season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 14, 2014"
It also shows you that games like this don’t happen very often. Hopefully this is just a blip—an outlier that the team can learn and grow from.
Next week the Packers go on the road again, this time to Tampa Bay to take on the 2-12 Buccaneers. If Green Bay doesn’t come away victorious, then you can start worrying.
But this was a good Bills team, at home, and the Packers had to play horrifically to come away with a one-score defeat. I’m not hanging my head.
Follow me on Twitter @PeterSowards.
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