Packers vs. Giants: Full Report Card Grades for Green Bay
The Green Bay Packers continued to run the table on Sunday, besting the New York Giants 38-13 at Lambeau Field.
Though they got off to a slow start, the Packers got rolling in the second quarter when Aaron Rodgers connected with Davante Adams on a 5-yard dart after scrambling for approximately eight seconds; he followed that up with a 42-yard Hail Mary to Randall Cobb as time expired in the first half.
Green Bay received the ball to start the second half and kept its foot on the gas, with Cobb finding the end zone twice more and fullback Aaron Ripkowski punching it in from the 1-yard line for good measure.
The defense allowed the Giants to score a 41-yard Tavarres King touchdown early in the third quarter but did not give up any more points through the rest of the game.
The Giants had not allowed any opponent to score more than 30 points in the 2016 regular season.
Though the game ended on a high note, the Packers may have to navigate the divisional round without top wideout Jordy Nelson, who suffered a rib injury. Per the team's Twitter account, there was no update on his status as of Sunday night.
The Packers will now take on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday for the chance to advance to the NFC Championship Game.
Quarterback
1 of 10
It's not normal to rack up Hail Mary touchdown passes like they're routine, but who said Rodgers was normal?
The 33-year-old got off to a slow start against New York, but in a classic case of overcorrecting, he made sure to get the ball rolling in the second quarter. All in all, Rodgers finished with 362 passing yards and four touchdowns, including the Hail Mary, to no interceptions. He averaged 9.1 yards per passing attempt.
Though he lost his top weapon, wide receiver Nelson, Rodgers spread the ball around, hitting seven pass-catchers, including Adams for 125 yards and Cobb for 116.
Oh, and Rodgers hasn't thrown an interception since his "run the table" promise seven games ago.
As long as Green Bay has Rodgers, NFC teams should be afraid to meet the Packers in the playoffs.
Grade: A+
Running Back
2 of 10
The Packers lost running back Ty Montgomery for a series in the fourth quarter against the Giants, but free-agent signing Christine Michael was more than happy to pick up the baton.
Michael finished the game with 47 yards on 10 carries, showing off his super speed en route to averaging nearly five yards per attempt.
Fullback Ripkowski got the Packers' cherry on top of their win, adding the final touchdown with just over two minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
The Packers haven't seen the same production out of the running position as they did immediately after making Montgomery the featured back, but they're doing enough on the ground to stay alive in the playoffs.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 10
The night, without a doubt, belonged to Cobb.
The 26-year-old connected with Aaron Rodgers for five receptions for a whopping 116 yards and an unbelievable three touchdowns in the Packers' win over New York. Not normally Green Bay's explosive pass-catching weapon, Cobb averaged 23.2 yards per catch, far and away more than any of his teammates.
The Packers could have crumbled after losing Nelson to a rib injury in the second quarter, but the offense regrouped and focused on Cobb and Adams, who also had a big night, with 125 yards on eight receptions and a touchdown.
Rodgers also utilized the help of tight end Jared Cook to move the chains; the tight end added 48 yards on five receptions. Montgomery also reminded the world of his receiving chops with a 34-yard reception, though the play unfortunately ended in injury. Thankfully for the Packers' hopes against the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round, Montgomery returned to the field.
That this squad was able to have this kind of success against the vaunted Giants pass defense was a testament to how the offense has been firing on all cylinders.
Grade: A-
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Behind every great quarterback is usually a great offensive line, and that was certainly true for Rodgers on Sunday.
The Packers line may have given up five sacks, but it made the plays that counted, including giving Rodgers a clean pocket for an incredible eight seconds as he scrambled to connect with Adams in the end zone.
Green Bay's upcoming opponents, the Dallas Cowboys, are often credited with having the NFL's best offensive line, but the Packers will attempt to pilfer that distinction on Sunday. Rodgers enjoyed incredible protection against the Giants front seven, with the linemen winning their one-on-one matchups—to wit left tackle David Bakhtiari held Olivier Vernon to just two pressures.
Grade: A
Defensive Line
5 of 10
Giants quarterback Eli Manning only went down two times, but the defensive line found ways to rattle him that didn't show up in that category on the stat sheet.
The Packers also managed to limit New York's rushing attack to just 70 total yards, including 30 to Paul Perkins and 29 to Rashad Jennings.
Mike Daniels blew up a Perkins run in the second quarter, holding him to one yard, and all four of his tackles were solo. According to Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke, Daniels had four run stops on 14 snaps, while Dean Lowry had four pressures on 15 pass rushes.
Letroy Guion stuffed Bobby Rainey on a third down, forcing the Giants to punt.
None of the linemen registered a sack, QB hit or pass defensed, however, and it would have been nice to see the big men up front make a few more splashy plays.
Grade: B
Linebacker
6 of 10
Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers blew this game wide open.
It's not every day that an outside linebacker gets a strip sack and then runs down the field to be the one to recover it, but so it was for Matthews, who, with Peppers, appeared to be the only player on the field to realize the ball was live.
Meanwhile, Peppers was all over the Giants. In addition to his two solo tackles, he sacked Manning once and registered two QB hits, had a tackle for a loss and defensed two additional passes.
Nick Perry got in on the action with a hit on Manning. On the inside, Jake Ryan tore it up, with three passes defensed and a spectacular effort to drop into coverage and blanket Odell Beckham, even as teammate Blake Martinez left the game with an injury.
Grade: A
Secondary
7 of 10
One of the lasting images from the Packers' wild-card win over the Giants will be cornerback Damarious Randall, who has struggled with injuries and performance-related benchings this season, intercepting Manning in the fourth quarter to seal the game and, with a giant grin, trying to run the pick back 100 yards for a touchdown.
Sure, with the Packers winning by 25 points, perhaps the classy thing for Randall to do would have been to go down after securing the ball. But Green Bay's much-maligned secondary, which was expected to be its biggest weakness heading into Wild Card Weekend, deserved to celebrate its successes on Sunday.
The Packers held Beckham to 28 receptions on four catches. Sterling Shepard didn't fare much better, with 63 yards on four.
Green Bay racked up 12 passes defensed against Eli and the Giants, including three for Randall and two for Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. The secondary was down cornerback Quinten Rollins, who suffered a head/neck injury in the Packers' final regular-season game, but it pulled together and got the job done.
Grade: B
Special Teams
8 of 10
The Packers didn't allow the Giants to do a thing in the return game, while punter Jacob Schum made sure to give the Giants poor field position as often as he could, pinning New York inside the 20 on three occasions.
Schum averaged 41.8 yards per punt, including a long of 58.
Mason Crosby didn't get many opportunities to pad the Packers' score, but the placekicker converted his one field-goal attempt, a 32-yarder, as well as all five of his extra points.
Jeff Janis, who seems to come on in the playoffs, had a 33-yard kick return in one of his flashiest special teams plays of the season.
Grade: B+
Coaching
9 of 10
In what seemed on paper to be a tricky matchup against a tough opponent, head coach Mike McCarthy and defensive coordinator Dom Capers coached their squad to a dominant win despite losing multiple players to injury, and in the playoffs, that is all you need.
However, grades require explanation, and even though McCarthy and Capers got the job done, there were a few hiccups along the way.
A play that could have come back to haunt McCarthy had the game turned out differently was his decision to go for it on 4th-and-1 from Green Bay's own 42 in the third quarter.
The Packers were leading 14-6 at the time, but when Montgomery got stuffed on the run attempt, the Giants had great field position. Two plays later, Manning connected with King on a 41-yard touchdown pass, and the Packers' lead was reduced to one point.
Green Bay dominated the rest of the game from that point, but McCarthy gave the Giants the gift of momentum, which they might have never relinquished.
Still, the Packers survived the loss of Nelson, Montgomery and inside linebacker Martinez and managed to blow out the Giants, one of the hottest teams coming into the playoffs.
Grade: B+
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Quarterback | A+ |
| Running Back | B |
| Wide Receiver/Tight End | A- |
| Offensive Line | A |
| Defensive Line | B |
| Linebacker | A |
| Secondary | B |
| Special Teams | B+ |
| Coaching | B+ |
| Final Grade | A- |
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