Ryan Grant and the Top 5 Performers for the Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers stayed perfect at 13-0 as they beat the Oakland Raiders 46-16 in Week 14 at Lambeau Field. Building on a fast start, the Packers cruised into halftime with up 31-0. The win clinched a first-round playoff bye for the Packers. 

Extreme efficiency on offense and plenty of takeaways propelled the Packers to the win that was decided with time still remaining in the second quarter. Completely outmatched, the Raiders just patiently waited for the clock to hit zeros so they could head home.

In one of the most complete performances of the season, the Packers had plenty of players step up, but this was a total team effort with touchdowns from unlikely heroes such as Ryan Taylor and Erik Walden.  

Ryan Grant

Ryan Grant had easily his best game of the season with two touchdowns and 85 rushing yards and just 10 carries. On the Packers' first offensive snap following a Raiders' offsides penalty, Grant made a quick move, burst through the line and was on his way to a 47-yard touchdown run, the longest of the Packers' season.

In what could be a downright scary addition to the Packers offense, Ryan Grant and the running game found success unlike any other time this season. There were plenty of rushing lanes for Grant, who would have definitely amassed 100 yards rushing with more carries.

With his success, Grant adds a dimension to the Packers offense that will make them even harder to beat for the last three weeks of the regular season. If the Packers offensive line can provide holes like they did against the Raiders, the Packers should be able to put opponents away.

Jordy Nelson

Jordy Nelson continues to find success every week and will be asked to do so in a big way with Greg Jennings injured. Against the Raiders, Nelson caught three passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. On one of his best plays of the day, Nelson blocked a Raiders defender allowing Ryan Grant to get free for a 47-yard touchdown run.  

Nelson's first catch of the day came on a 3rd-and-3 from the Packers' 27-yard line. Rodgers found Nelson wide open in the middle of the field for a gain of 31 yards helping to set up a four-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers to tight end Ryan Taylor. 

The third and most impressive catch of the day came on a deep strike from Rodgers, who smartly went down the field after the Raiders jumped offsides. The 37-yard touchdown catch was Nelson's 10th of the season.

This season, Nelson has emerged as a star and will need to step and fill the void if Jennings misses substantial time. If he does this, he immediately becomes Rodgers' number-one target.   

Charles Woodson

Following his concussion against the New York Giants, Charles Woodson was back in the lineup against his former team. Showing no signs of the concussion, Woodson played well and helped the Packers increase their lead with an early interception.

After the Packers went up 24-0 on a Rodgers-to-Nelson touchdown pass, Charles Woodson took the ball right back as he picked off Carson Palmer. With the short field, the Packers scored another touchdown to increase their lead to 31 points.

Woodson finished the day with six tackles and broke up a couple of passes. The biggest takeaway is that Woodson looks healthy and ready to finish the season out strong. Still waiting for his record-breaking interception return, Woodson will have to wait until at least next week.  

Aaron Rodgers

While it wasn't his prettiest outing, Aaron Rodgers was efficient enough to get the Packers a quick lead and get off the field for Matt Flynn. Rodgers finished the day with a season-low QB rating of 96.7, but his quick start negated a lackluster performance late. 

One of the best aspects of Rodgers' game agains the Raiders was his ability to force the Raiders to jump offsides. Rodgers killed the Raiders with a hard-count and racked up a cool 25-yards worth of penalty yardage. On one occasion, the Packers burned the Raiders as Rodgers threw deep for a 37-yard touchdown pass. 

Rodgers was hit hard in the second quarter on what was initially ruled a fumble, but overturned to an incomplete pass. Afterwards, Rodgers was slightly inaccurate, but claimed he was fine when asked about taking the hits after the game. 

The interception, on a fade in the end zone, was partly on Jermichael Finley, who failed to fight for the ball on the way down. In any case, it was Rodgers' sixth interception of the season compared to his 39 touchdowns.  

D.J. Smith

In the second start of his career, D.J. Smith was all over the field and made his presence known. On the opening possession of the game, Smith initially bobbled, but calmly held on to a Carson Palmer interception to give the Packers great field position.

Along with the interception, Smith finished the afternoon tied with Morgan Burnett for 10 combined tackles for the team lead. Smith has done a very good job paired with Robert Francois filling in for the injured A.J. Hawk and Desmond Bishop.

With Hawk and Bishop nearing their returns, Smith will see his minutes dramatically decreased, but he has been the glue of this team, helping to hold the Packers defense together. The Packers, once weak at inside linebacker, seem to have great depth going forward.