San Diego Chargers vs. Green Bay Packers: Green Bay Grades, Notes and Quotes

The Green Bay Packers won a nail-biter on Sunday and continued their perfect start to the season with a 27-20 victory over the San Diego Chargers at Lambeau Field. 

The Packers (6-0) lost a 14-point, first-half lead but stopped Philip Rivers and the Chargers (2-4) when it counted on a 4th-and-goal at the end of the game. 

An ugly showing by defensive coordinator Dom Capers' unit—which allowed a career day from Rivers—was bailed out by a diving pass breakup at the goal line by rookie cornerback Damarious Randall to preserve the Green Bay win. 

James Starks got the surprise start at running back and responded with two scores and a 112-yard rushing day. Aaron Rodgers wasn't at his best, but he led two crucial scoring drives in the second half that would ultimately be enough.

The Packers will head into their bye week with a commanding division lead as one of only two undefeated NFC teams. They play next on Nov. 1 when they visit the 6-0 Denver Broncos in Week 8. 

First, though, let's hand out some position grades for Green Bay and review the important notes and quotes from its Week 6 victory over San Diego. 

Position Grades for Packers

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Position	Grade
Quarterback	B
Running Back	A-
Wide Receiver	B
Tight End	B-
Offensive Line	C
Defensive Line	C+
Linebacker	B+
Defensive Back	C+
Special Teams	A
Coaching	B-

Quarterback

Aaron Rodgers began Sunday's game on fire—going 5-for-5 with a touchdown on the opening drive and leading the Packers to scores on their first three possessions—but struggled to get the offense into a rhythm in the second-half. Although he tossed for 255 yards and a pair of touchdowns, he completed just over 50 percent of his passes. 

Running Back

Curiously, James Starks started and saw more playing time over Eddie Lacy on Sunday—and it paid off. Starks scored twice in the first quarter, including a 65-yard rushing touchdown, and finished with 112 yards on the ground. On the other hand, a supposedly healthy Lacy managed just three yards on his four carries and coughed up a fumble—recovered by the Packers—as he took a backseat to his backup.

Wide Receiver

Another day and another wide receiver injury—this time to Ty Montgomery, who didn't return to Sunday's game after leaving in the second quarter. Without the rookie's speed and ability to stretch the field, Rodgers' pass-catchers had a tough time getting open all game while San Diego's secondary keyed in on shutting down Randall Cobb and James Jones, who caught yet another touchdown from Rodgers. Jeff Janis, though, did make a couple of big catches when needed. 

Tight End

Richard Rodgers dropped two deep passes and was never really a major contributor on a depleted receiving corps. On the other hand, it was nice to see Justin Perillo get in on the action with a 21-yard reception after being signed this week to the active roster. 

Offensive Line

The offensive line should get some credit for opening up holes in the run game—especially on Starks' 65-yard touchdown run. Still, the unit failed to protect Rodgers in the second-half as the offense had three three-and-out drives with sacks coming on two of them. 

Defensive Line

For much of the game, the big men up front failed to pressure Rivers as he dissected the defense. However, the line was a huge factor in shutting down the San Diego run game—allowing just 60 rushing yards on 21 combined carries from three Charger backs. 

Linebacker

Although the defense as a group got torched through the air, the linebacking corps did their job in the second half to thwart a Chargers comeback. The unit started getting to Rivers with the blitz and tallied up 2.5 sacks—all in the third and fourth quarters. Datone Jones also came up with a huge 3rd-and-goal stop of Danny Woodhead at the 2-yard line as San Diego tried to tie the game on its last drive. 

Defensive Back

When an opposing quarterback sets franchise records for passing yards and pass attempts, you know it was a rough day at the office for your secondary. Rivers threw for 503 yards and two touchdowns on 43-of-65 passing as he nearly completed a second-half comeback solely through the air. 

Special Teams

Mason Crosby hit all three of his extra points and nailed two clutch field goals, including one in the fourth quarter to stretch the Packers' lead to seven. He also passed Ryan Longwell for the franchise lead in field-goal attempts with his 278th and 279th career kicks. Tim Masthay was also excellent on his four punts, including two inside the 20-yard line.  

Coaching

Defensive coordinator Dom Capers has a lot of explaining to do after allowing Rivers to single-handedly pass the Chargers back into the game. The defense also never had answers for Allen or Gates—San Diego's two big playmakers. 

James Starks Explodes for Career Day

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On their first offensive series of the game, the Packers turned heads when James Starks trotted out as the starting tailback—even with usual starter Eddie Lacy expected to be healthy for the first time in a few weeks. 

In typical Green Bay fashion, though, it was an unexpected face that became the offensive star in Week 6. Starks scored twice in the first-quarter and finished with 112 yards on 10 carries as he dominated the playing time at the running back position. 

The highlight of Starks' day came on a 65-yard touchdown run that showed off his speed and versatility—qualities that have become forgotten in the sixth-year player's recent time as Lacy's backup. 

"

James Starks decided he'd rather not get tackled So he pressed the SPIN BUTTON and ran it 65 yards for a TD #SDvsGB http://t.co/TiPVGmessC

— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2015"

The run was Starks' longest of his career and the longest by a Packer since DeShawn Wynn in 2008. 

Starks' other score came on a five-yard shovel pass on Green Bay's opening drive. It's the running back's first two-touchdown game of his career, via ESPN's Rob Demovsky.

His numbers may have been inflated a bit by one long run, but Starks averaged 5.2 yards per carry on his nine other rushes. 

It remains to be seen why Starks saw more playing time than a healthy Lacy, as both suggested after the game. 

"

#Packers RB Eddie Lacy said his ankle was not an issue. His backup, James Starks, said he didn't think there was anything wrong with Lacy.

— Michael Cohen (@Michael_Cohen13) October 19, 2015"

Nonetheless, Green Bay fans must be happy the team rode the hot hand early on. 

Eddie Lacy on His Ankle

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Eddie Lacy has been battling a sprained ankle almost all year—and it potentially kept him from starting and playing more on Sunday. 

Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel spoke to Lacy after Green Bay's win. 

"

Here is what #Packers RB Eddie Lacy said in response to questions about his ankle: "My ankle is all right." "It was OK." "Yeah I’m cool."

— Michael Cohen (@Michael_Cohen13) October 19, 2015"

So, not much information there. How about his teammates? Cohen provides information from them, too.

"

Other players said they thought Lacy was fine or didn't know anything. One teammate said Lacy was "still trying to get his ankle together."

— Michael Cohen (@Michael_Cohen13) October 19, 2015"

We'll see this week if Lacy reinjured his ankle at all prior to or during this week's game. It seems as if Starks, who started in place of Lacy and saw six more carries, simply played more because he was having a better game. 

"He came out of the gate strong," Lacy said of Starks, via Cohen. "And once a player gets hot like that...you want to keep him rolling." 

Packers Secondary Gets Torched

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Although the Packers won, Sunday's game is one the Green Bay secondary would love to have back. 

The unit seemingly couldn't stop Rivers and his receivers all day—until the final play—as San Diego's passer set franchise records with 503 passing yards and 65 attempts. 

As it turned out, the 65th and final attempt was the only one that mattered, but the preceding 64 made Rivers look untouchable. Until Keenan Allen left in the third quarter with a hip injury, Rivers found his top receiver 14 times for 157 yards. Afterwards, it was the combination of Malcom Floyd, Antonio Gates and Danny Woodhead that caught fire—the trio finished with 253 receiving yards on 19 catches in the game. 

For Green Bay, its secondary's performance was a much different one than the four-interception outburst it posted in last week's win over St. Louis. On Sunday, Rivers threw no picks and completed passes at will as he nearly orchestrated a San Diego comeback. 

The bye week couldn't come at a better time for a Packers unit coming off its worst showing of the season by far. 

Aaron Rodgers on Philip Rivers' Day

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

Rodgers is known for giving opponents credit when it's due. After Rivers set Chargers franchise records for pass attempts and passing yards in Sunday's game, the credit was certainly warranted. 

Obviously it's easier to joke around after a victory, but Rodgers is always good for a funny quote or two postgame. This time, he was asked about Rivers' 503-yard day.  

"That was impressive," he said, via Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin. "A lot of throws. I wouldn’t mind throwing 65 times now and then."

Wouldn't every quarterback, though?

Green Bay Offense with a Near-Perfect Start

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Starting fast has become a habit for Rodgers and the Green Bay offense, and it didn't break from the norm this week. 

Rodgers led three consecutive scoring drives to open Sunday's contest to give the Packers a 17-3 lead in the second quarter—a margin that would prove beneficial in the second half as San Diego surged for a comeback.

The first series was arguably the most impressive as it set the tone early for the afternoon. Rodgers went 5-for-5 from the shotgun—including a five-yard shovel pass touchdown to James Starks to finish it off—and scrambled for a clutch 15-yard gain on 3rd-and-7. 

After the offense struggled to convert first downs later in the game, the perfect start couldn't be taken for granted.