Packers vs. Giants: 5 Observations from Green Bay's Season-Saving Win
Eli Manning, Antrel Rolle and the rest of the New York Giants should be pretty quiet now.
After a week of overhyped players-only meetings and "guaranteeing" wins, the Giants were blown out by the Green Bay Packers 45-17 at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
The win puts the Packers ahead of the Giants in the NFC playoff picture, and a win against Chicago next week guarantees Green Bay a spot in the playoffs.
The Giants now need the Packers to lose next week to have any chance of continuing their season.
Here are five observations from the Packers' season-saving win.
Rodgers Comes Back Sharp
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Coming off a second concussion in just over three months, Aaron Rodgers had a valid excuse to come out and look a little shaky against the Giants.
He made sure there was no excuse needed for his performance on Sunday.
Rodgers completed 25-of-37 passes for 404 yards and four touchdowns, and even slid down after an early 15-yard scramble.
The slide drew a "thank you" roar from the Lambeau crowd, but his complete body of work against the Giants was more than worthy of applause.
In fact, it was probably the finest Rodgers has played in a regular season game of this importance. The 404 yards were a career high in the regular season, and his four touchdown throws tied his best.
He was locked in all afternoon, hitting nine different receivers, and probably would have had better numbers had a few receivers not dropped catchable passes.
No doubt it was great to watch Matt Flynn break out last week, but it sure was nice having No. 12 back under center for the Packers on Sunday.
Offensive Balance
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It might have taken the better part of 14 weeks, but the Packers' offense is giving us a scary preview of what their offense can do when it remains balanced.
The Packers ran the ball 35 times—including two Rodgers scrambles—for 119 yards, and kept a ratio of nearly 1:1 by dropping back to pass 37 times.
What did that equal? Only 515 yards of total offense and 45 points.
Maybe, just maybe, the Packers have found the formula for success on offense.
While no one is going to call Green Bay a rushing juggernaut, it was their commitment to the run that had been a missing variable.
That commitment, and using the run to set up play-action, allowed the offense to finally hit on all cylinders against the NFL's second-ranked defense.
Is John Kuhn the Packers' Third Most Important Player on Offense?
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Remember back in the baby stages of this season when coach Mike McCarthy named John Kuhn the Packers' backup running back?
That situation seemed dire, and only the diehard fans even knew this guy was on the roster.
Fast forward nearly 14 weeks, and Kuhn may just be the Packers' most important player on offense behind Rodgers and Greg Jennings. In fact, he's a cult hero and a clear fan favorite for Packers fans at Lambeau and on the road.
What's not to love?
He does all the dirty work for the Packers offense: blocks, picks up the tough short-yardage situations, and gets the ball in the end zone when the Packers get inside the 20-yard line.
His stat line doesn't usually translate how important he is, but on Sunday it did.
Six carries for 22 yards, along with two catches for seven yards. Included in those eight touches, however, were three touchdowns and three first downs.
Tthe ultra-efficient Kuhn is one of the bigger reasons that the Packers offense has hit its stride, and who doesn't love to hear "Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhn" from 72,000 fans?
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Defense Finds Turnovers
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The Giants came into Sunday as the NFL leaders in turning the ball over, and the Packers defense made sure that New York would keep that crown for at least another week.
Green Bay intercepted Manning four times, and both Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs lost fumbles to the Packers defense.
Lost in the turnovers, however, was the fact that the defense played well.
The Giants have an explosive offense—as we saw in long touchdowns to Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham—but the Packers did a good job of limiting New York's offense to those two big plays.
And really, those two touchdowns were somewhat lucky plays for the Giants. Charles Woodson lost his footing on the first, and Tramon Williams misplayed the ball in the air on the second.
In the end, though, it was the turnovers that told the story. The Packers were able to score 24 points off Giants giveaways, and that was more than enough to beat New York.
Packers Play Their Best Game When It Matters Most
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Maybe I was being a pessimist, but I saw today's game as a matchup nightmare for Green Bay.
To the Packers' credit, however, they took this game right to the Giants. In fact, it'd be hard to pin down a better performance from Green Bay during the 2010 season, and it came when the Packers absolutely needed to win.
They controlled the line of scrimmage from the start, rushing for nearly 120 yards and allowing only one sack, but this was a complete effort.
Rodgers shredded the Giants defense, the special teams had no head-scratching mistakes, and the defense battered Manning into dumb decision after decision.
When it was all over, the Packers had leaped over the Giants in the NFC standings, and they gave themselves a chance to play their way into the playoffs with a win next week.
Green Bay should build on the last two weeks, because as they've proved, there's no team in the NFL the Packers can't play with when they are clicking like this.
Looking Ahead
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It's not how many of us had the season predicted out, but the Packers finally have a chance to stamp their ticket to the NFC playoffs with a win over their hated rival Chicago Bears.
As well as the Packers are playing, however, the Bears are playing just as well in their last two games.
Jay Cutler and the Bears offense have been scary good, scoring 78 points in the Bears' wins over Minnesota and New York, and their defense and special teams will be solid as always.
In addition, the Bears will have something to play for next Sunday. With a win over the Packers, the Bears will lock up the second seed in the NFC and a first-round bye in the playoffs—a valuable prize in the quest for a Super Bowl.
And maybe it wouldn't mean as much as a first-round bye, but knocking the Packers out of the playoffs in their own building would be a fitting end to a somehwat unbelievable season for the Bears.
Is it next Sunday yet? Let Packers-Bears week begin.
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