Packers vs. 49ers: 5 Observations from Green Bay's Crucial Win
The Green Bay Packers beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-16 Sunday, improving their record to 8-4 on the season while dropping the 49ers to 4-8.
It was a cold and wintry day at Lambeau Field, and the game stayed close until the Packers finally heated up and pulled away towards the end of the third quarter.
Regardless of how they got it done, the Packers' win Sunday was critical to staying in the hunt for both the NFC North title or a Wildcard spot. The 49ers, while now four games under .500, are still in the running for the NFC West division as well.
Here are five other observations from Sunday's game.
Aaron Rodgers Stays Hot...
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The cold weather and stiff wind of Green Bay might have slowed the Packers offense in the early goings, but Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the offense warmed up in a hurry.
The Packers seemed off for much of the first quarter, and they failed to score through the first 15 minutes. However, once Rodgers hit Greg Jennings for a 57-yard touchdown with 7:02 left in the second quarter, the offense was hard to stop the rest of the day.
Rodgers continued his impressive play of late, completing 21-of-30 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns and had his fourth straight game with a quarterback rating over 110.
In fact, these are Rodgers' numbers the past four games: 96-of-130 (74 percent) for 1232 yards (308/game) and 11 touchdowns.
And possibly the most important statistic: zero interceptions.
That's an impressive run for a quarterback that has carried the Packers offense seemingly the entire season. The Rodgers MVP talk should start heating up if these outstanding numbers (and wins) continue.
...But Greg Jennings Is on Fire.
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Outside of Dwayne Bowe of the Kansas City Chiefs, Greg Jennings has been the hottest receiver in the NFL over the past seven weeks.
Jennings caught another six passes Sunday for 122 yards and two touchdowns—his third straight game with at least 100 yards—and now has eight TD's in his past seven games.
His season totals include 57 catches for 944 yards and 11 touchdowns, and he has to be in the discussion for his first career Pro Bowl selection. (How has Greg Jennings never been to a Pro Bowl?)
Opposite of Jennings, however, Donald Driver had a big comeback game for the Packers offense. There was talk if maybe injury and/or age was finally catching up to Driver, but his four catch, 73-yard performance will quiet those critics for at least one week.
His 61-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter was vintage Driver, breaking tackles and fighting his way into the endzone, and it broke the game open in favor of the Packers.
Overall, it was just another solid day from the Packers receiving core. Jennings stayed on fire and was once again supplemented by a Packers receiver stepping up—it was Driver's turn today.
Vernon Davis Killed the Packers Again, but Defense Played Well
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The Packers, again, had trouble containing Vernon Davis, but it'd be tough to argue the Packers didn't have a pretty solid day defensively.
The 49ers offense was held to only 269 yards, quarterback Troy Smith was well under a 50 percent completion percentage and San Francisco had a hard time establishing much consistency on the ground (97 yards).
In addition, the Packers defense allowed only three third-down conversions on 12 tries, and Nick Collins' interception in the fourth quarter all but sealed the deal.
Davis' production on Sunday is a bit worrisome, as he went for four catches and 126 yards and a touchdown. His 66-yard touchdown at the end of the first half was both blown coverage and terrible tackling by Collins after the catch.
Other than that touchdown, however, and a few throws down field that the 49ers should have completed, the Packers defense was the dominant side on Sunday.
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Not Everything Was Perfect
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The Packers got the win, and I hate nitpicking after victories, but there were several things that went wrong on Sunday that kept the 49ers in the game.
Once again, the Packers got off to a slow start. The 49ers marched down the field on their opening drive and kicked a field goal, and while the Packers had a solid drive of their own, Mason Crosby clanked a 29-yard field goal.
Even after the miss, Green Bay didn't end up scoring until halfway through the second quarter. You'd expect a much faster start at home against a team with only four wins.
Part of the reason the Packers offense got off to a slow start was the shaky pass protection and indecision of Rodgers. The 49ers were able to tally four sacks, and that clearly knocked the Packers off rhythm early on.
On the defensive side, Clay Matthews was quiet again on Sunday. Other than one hit on Smith in the second half, Matthews' name was hardly called the majority of the afternoon.
Is Matthews still feeling the effects of his various ailments? Is the lack of practice time hurting his play? Or are teams simply gameplanning for Matthews better?
I think it's pretty obvious, the lack of practice has hurt him, but he's also seeing as many double teams as anyone in the NFL. Just because he isn't sacking the quarterback doesn't mean he isn't helping the defense.
I don't think it's been any coincidence that Frank Zombo has been tallying sacks at a much better rate than Matthews lately—he's getting one-on-one matchups while Matthews is seeing consistent double and triple teams.
James Starks Lived Up to the Hype
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The anticipation for James Starks' debut as a Green Bay Packer has been building for weeks now, but he lived up to that hype Sunday.
We all talked about how Starks could provide the jump start to the Packers running game, even though the rookie running back hadn't played in over two full seasons.
He finally got his chance Sunday, however, and he delivered for the Packers' lacking ground attack. While the offensive line clearly played better, we finally saw a Packers running back use the one-cut-and-go style that our running game calls for.
In fact, Starks on Sunday looked a lot like that guy that was originally slated to be the Packers' starter this season—Ryan Grant. It's only one game, but that's a good sign moving forward for the Packers and their running game.
Overall, Starks finished with 73 yards on 18 carries (4.1 yard average). He had a long of 16 yards, and it looked on a few runs that making just one more defender miss would have resulted in a big gain.
It took us 12 games, but James Starks finally burst onto the Packers' scene. Hopefully he's the answer at running back the last four weeks for Green Bay.
Looking Ahead
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The Packers will travel to Detroit next Sunday to take on the 2-9 Lions.
Detroit failed in doing the Packers a big favor Sunday by letting the division-leading Chicago Bears comeback and beat them 24-20. However, the Lions again proved that getting out of Detroit next weekend with a win will be far from a gimme.
Next Sunday will also kick off a brutal stretch for the Packers to close the season. After Detroit, the Packers must go to 9-2 New England then return home for two games against the 8-4 Giants and 9-3 Bears.
The 26-9 record of the Packers' final three opponents ranks as the hardest in the NFL, and there's no question that if Green Bay does in fact make the playoffs, they will have earned it.
That journey to the playoffs begins in Detroit. While I'm not sure I believe in "trap games," especially within the division, the Packers can't look past the Lions to their matchup in Foxborough.
Green Bay still needs to go 3-1 to make the playoffs in my mind, and one of those three wins must be in Detroit next Sunday.
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