Green Bay Packers vs. Carolina Panthers: Green Bay Grades, Notes and Quotes
The Green Bay Packers lost their second straight game Sunday as the Carolina Panthers handed down a 37-29 defeat at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Despite leading 7-3 after the first quarter, the Packers (6-2) allowed the Panthers (8-0) to score 24 unanswered points before halftime—a deficit that ultimately put Aaron Rodgers and the offense in too big a hole.
Rodgers, though, did bounce back in a big way after struggling in last week's loss to Denver. The Green Bay quarterback finished with 369 passing yards and four touchdowns on 25-of-48 passing—still his performance is marred by Carolina's five sacks and a fourth-quarter interception that effectively ended the game.
Meanwhile, the Panthers moved the ball at will on offense as both their passing and running games dominated the Green Bay defense in all facets.
The loss not only cost the Packers their lead in the NFC North—Minnesota's overtime win forced a tie for first in the division—but it's also the first time Rodgers has lost back-to-back games in the same season since 2010 (h/t ESPN's Jason Wilde).
Let's look at each position group's performance and go over some important notes and quotes from Green Bay's Week 9 loss to Carolina.
Position Grades for Packers
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| Position | Grade |
| Quarterback | A- |
| Running Back | C+ |
| Wide Receiver | A |
| Tight End | C+ |
| Offensive Line | D |
| Defensive Line | D |
| Linebacker | C |
| Defensive Back | C+ |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | D |
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers did all he could to give the Packers a chance to win Sunday—his 369-yard, four-touchdown day was a far cry from his dismal showing a week ago against the Broncos. The signal-caller's big day through the air came despite being under immense pressure from Carolina defenders all game. Still, it's hard to ignore Rodgers' fourth-quarter interception on the Panthers' 4-yard line.
Running Back
The run game offered no help to Rodgers despite facing a Carolina defense that came in allowing 113.7 rushing yards per game. Following his second-quarter fumble in Green Bay territory, Eddie Lacy was benched and finished with just 10 yards on five carries. His replacement, James Starks, wasn't much better—39 yards on 10 carries. Starks, however, did contribute nicely as a receiver out of the backfield, catching six passes for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Wide Receiver
Green Bay's receivers finally had a good game collectively and got open enough times for Rodgers to confidently go to the air against a strong Carolina secondary.
Randall Cobb and Davante Adams both finished with at least 90 receiving yards apiece while James Jones—though he had a quiet day with just two catches—came down with a clutch 36-yard reception on 4th-and-14 to keep a touchdown-scoring drive alive in the fourth quarter. It was Cobb who scored on a 53-yard catch-and-run, but Adams repeatedly got the best of Panthers corner Charles Tillman all afternoon.
Tight End
Richard Rodgers may have caught two touchdown passes in the loss, but it's hard to overlook the tight end's lack of contributions elsewhere. He's struggled all season as a run-blocker and Sunday was no different. Rodgers consistently failed to block Carolina defenders on the edge as Green Bay's running backs never got going on the ground. He also dropped at least two passes that hit him square in the chest.
Offensive Line
When you consider how bad Green Bay's big men up front were on Sunday, Aaron Rodgers' huge passing day looks even more impressive. The offensive line struggled to keep its quarterback clean—Carolina racked up five sacks—and forced Rodgers to scramble or throw with defenders in his face all game.
Rodgers' fourth-quarter pick likely wouldn't have happened if he didn't have to throw off his back foot after back-peddling away from a defensive lineman who came right up the middle.
Defensive Line
Green Bay knew Carolina would run the ball—and still had trouble stopping it. Defending against a formidable run game starts and ends with how well the defensive line does up front. The Panthers' dynamic duo of Jonathan Stewart and Cam Newton combined for 123 rushing yards on an average of 4.2 yards per rush—so it's safe to say the Packers' D-line didn't do its job. Furthermore, the defensive line was no help in the passing game as the Packers failed to record a sack for the second straight game.
Linebacker
Despite facing his old team and entering the game with a team-high 5.5 sacks on the season, Julius Peppers was nowhere to be seen Sunday. He finished with just two tackle assists and didn't get to Newton once all afternoon. Green Bay's 3-4 defense is supposed to add more pressure on the quarterback on passing downs—yet Carolina's offensive line did a superb job keeping their star upright under center. Peppers and his fellow linebackers couldn't do much to stop Stewart and Newton running the ball, either.
Defensive Back
It's really a dire time for Green Bay's once-great defense right now. After allowing consecutive 500-yard games in the last two weeks, the Panthers racked up 427 on Sunday—largely thanks to Newton's big day through the air.
Carolina's quarterback threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns on just 15 completions as he easily picked apart a struggling defensive backfield. Already without cornerbacks Sam Shields and Quinten Rollins due to injury, the unit took another hit when Casey Hayward departed the game with a concussion. The secondary's only bright spot on Sunday came in the form of a Damarious Randall fourth-quarter interception.
Special Teams
Although he wasn't called upon once for a field-goal attempt in Sunday's loss, Mason Crosby drilled all three of his extra points. Green Bay's punt return unit held the speedy Ted Ginn Jr. in check as well—he averaged just seven yards on five returns.
Coaching
For the second straight game, head coach Mike McCarthy's team was outplayed on the road. Ideally, you don't want Rodgers attempting 48 passes a game—as he did on Sunday—but the Packers had no choice, facing a large deficit early and a run game that never got going. Defensive coordinator Dom Capers has a lot to explain after his unit got torched yet again to the tune of 427 total yards of Carolina offense.
Green Bay Defense Struggles Yet Again
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Green Bay's defense had another nightmare day.
In the last three games, defensive coordinator Dom Capers' unit has allowed 1,475 total yards to opposing offenses—including 427 in Sunday's loss to Carolina.
This week, not only did the secondary struggle to stop Cam Newton through the air, but the Packers also couldn't bottle up the rushing duo of the quarterback and Jonathan Stewart. The pair combined to rack up 123 yards on the ground on 29 carries.
The glaring weakness on Capers defense still lies with the defensive backs, though. Despite Newton's inaccuracies—he was just 15-of-30 passing—Green Bay gave up big gains through the air all afternoon.
A 59-yard completion to Jerricho Cotchery on a 3rd-and-13 in the second quarter was one of the more notable plays because it led to a Carolina touchdown two snaps later.
On the Panthers' next possession, Newton found rookie receiver Devin Funchess for 52 yards on the drive's first play. Again—you guessed it—the Panthers scored two plays later.
The back-to-back touchdown drives kicked off a run of 24 unanswered points by Carolina in the quarter to put the Packers down 27-7 at halftime.
As Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel points out, Green Bay's offense wasn't much help in giving the defense some rest:
"The #Packers had FIVE drives of 0 or fewer yards in the first half: -7, -1, -1, 0, -7.
— Michael Cohen (@Michael_Cohen13) November 8, 2015"
Meanwhile, the Panthers scored on four of their five second-quarter drives to give themselves a comfortable lead in the second half.
Mutliple Packers Players Involved in Sideline Scuffle
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Carolina's last score of the day—a 14-yard Cam Newton touchdown pass to Devin Funchess in the fourth quarter—brought out the worst in Green Bay's defense as a few notable players had their frustrations boil over for all to see.
Cameras caught a verbal confrontation between safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and outside linebacker Julius Peppers on the sideline following the play. As the animated argument continued, nose tackle B.J. Raji came to Peppers' defense with tempers escalating all around.
Check it out for yourself:
"VIDEO: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix has some words with Julius Peppers. Gets shoved away from B.J. Raji. https://t.co/qus8cilxKm
— MarcusD (@_MarcusD_) November 8, 2015"
After the Packers' loss, Clinton-Dix took to Twitter to address the confrontation between him and his teammates:
"I apologize for my play and sidelines issues. We are good just two emotional guys with heart and passion trying to find away to win.
— Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (@haha_cd6) November 8, 2015"
"I will never disrespect a HOF player and a guy I've been watching since I was a little kid. Misunderstanding, I apologize to my packer Fans
— Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (@haha_cd6) November 8, 2015"
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Clinton-Dix, Peppers and Raji on Their Sideline Incident
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A sideline incident is the last thing the Packers defense needs right now. Yet, the confrontation between Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Julius Peppers and B.J. Raji was all the talk after Green Bay's loss to Carolina Sunday.
"Sometimes it's an emotional game; sometimes things are said, things are done," said Raji, per ESPN's Jason Wilde. "But ultimately we're a family, and we stick together. We'll discuss it and move forward. It's an in-house thing, it's a family issue, and we'll take care of it."
So what happened? Wilde has more from Clinton-Dix and his teammates.
"Just really emotional," Clinton-Dix said. "I was talking to him and telling him to keep us going, keep us pumped up. That was it. Just a lot of emotions and a lot of things going on."
Clinton-Dix offered no explanation on why Raji stepped in to defend Peppers.
"You've got to take that up with B.J," said the Packers safety. "I don't know what's wrong with B.J., but it was just a lot of emotions...sometimes it gets the best of us, but that got us turned up a little bit."
"You want emotional guys on the team," Peppers said after the game. "That's what we have. Sometimes, emotions flare. It happens. We were down 20 points, obviously. If you're not frustrated and you're not upset, then something's wrong."
The incident may be nothing in the end, but it's not a good look from the Packers after losing their second straight game.
Packers Offense Comes Up Short Despite Fourth-Quarter Comeback
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After being held to a career-low 77 passing yards a week ago in Denver, Aaron Rodgers bounced back in a big way Sunday.
On 25-of-48 passing, the Green Bay quarterback threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns—highlighted by two fourth-quarter scores to help cut Carolina's lead to eight.
Rodgers was at his best toward the end of the game as he tried to single-handedly pull his team back from a 23-point deficit. He led two touchdown-scoring drives in the fourth quarter—each were fast-paced, no-huddle attacks that featured Rodgers making quick completions and timely scrambles.
Ultimately, Rodgers and his offense will be judged by the lack of execution on their last possession that could've tied the game.
Following a Damarious Randall interception, the Packers had the ball at Carolina's 22-yard line with 3:38 remaining and down eight points. A run and two incompletions later forced Rodgers and Co. to go for it on 4th-and-5—which they converted with Randall Cobb's eight-yard catch to set up a 1st-and-goal situation.
Still, three more unsuccessful plays from the 9-yard line forced the Packers into another fourth-down situation. Pressure up the middle forced Rodgers to throw awkwardly off his back foot, and Carolina's Thomas Davis promptly ended the game with an interception.
Rodgers on His Fourth-Quarter Interception
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After scoring 15 straight points on back-to-back fourth-quarter possessions, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense were gifted an opportunity to tie the game following an interception that gave them the ball deep in Carolina territory.
We all know what happened—Rodgers was picked off on fourth down at the 4-yard line, and the Packers suffered their second consecutive loss—but you may have missed something.
While he was dodging pressure in the pocket on the play, replays showed Rodgers missed a wide-open Randall Cobb in the end zone after two Carolina defenders collided with each other as James Jones ran a pick-play.
Rodgers was asked about the play following Sunday's loss.
"It was a great call," Rodgers said, per Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "When I looked out to Peanut (Tillman) to see if he had eyes in the backfield, because I was worried about him shuffling off and him tackling Randall short of the goal line. Turns out (Jones) kind of ran Peanut into (Coleman) and Randall was wide open for the touchdown, so that's disappointing."
Rodgers then tried to offer more of an explanation, per Cohen.
"I had the easy opportunity there for a pitch-and-catch touchdown, but I got scared by something," Rodgers said. "I can't explain it. It was a mistake by myself. I will definitely be thinking about that one on the ride home, but we have to move on tomorrow and get ready for this divisional stretch."
According to Rodgers himself, it seems like the loss boiled down to the Packers quarterback experiencing a rare mental mistake. Who would've thought?
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