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 Yet, Rodgers tried to lend a voice of reason to anyone inclined to
make a big deal about the Packers' 27-17 win over the Seattle
Seahawks before a spirited crowd of 78,433, the largest attendance
at Lambeau Field for a regular-season game.
"It doesn't do much for us. It's the second game of the season,"
Rodgers asserted. "They beat us in the NFC Championship (in
January). That's a little bit bigger game than the second game of
the season. So, we have a long way to go."
In the grand scheme of a 16-game regular season in which
head-to-head results can have great bearing on playoff positioning
and where those games are played in January, the Packers
nevertheless took a huge step.
Not only are they off and running at the front of the NFC North with
a 2-0 record, but the Packers already have essentially a three-game
cushion between themselves and the winless Seahawks in the
conference pecking order.
"It's a big win, let's put it at that," linebacker Clay Matthews
said. "Obviously, we wanted to win for a number of reasons ... In
years prior, we might have started the season off slow, but
hopefully we can keep stacking these victories."
Green Bay has an extra day to savor the comeback victory since it
doesn't play again until it hosts the Kansas City Chiefs in a Monday
night game Sept. 28.
The Packers could benefit from the extended downtime as they
continue to be beset by attrition in the early going.
They went into Sunday's game without right tackle Bryan Bulaga,
who's expected to be out until at least late October because of
ligament and cartilage damage in his left knee.
Green Bay then lost featured back Eddie Lacy to an injury to his
right ankle in the opening minutes of play Sunday. James Starks
carried the load the rest of the way.
Overcoming that adversity as well as rallying from a 17-13 deficit
in the second half made the Packers' long-awaited conquest of
Seattle, the two-time-reigning NFC champion, that much sweeter.
After all, the Seahawks prevailed the last three meetings going back
to the "Fail Mary" ending in 2012 and culminating with the
improbable overtime outcome in the NFC title game.
"Obviously, it doesn't count for anything more than a win, but it is
probably one of the more satisfying regular-season wins that we've
had, just to get that monkey off our back of not being able to beat
these guys," said right guard T.J. Lang, a seventh-year pro.
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NFL Team Report - Green Bay Packers - NOTES, QUOTES
--The last time the Packers defense saw Marshawn Lynch, the star
running back was running away for a 24-yard touchdown that was one
of many key plays in the Seattle Seahawks' stunning 28-22 overtime
win in the NFC Championship on Jan. 18.
Lynch gashed Green Bay for 157 yards in 25 carries.
In the NFC heavyweights' rematch Sunday night, Lynch didn't even
sniff 50 rushing yards for the game.
The Packers embraced a swarming mentality to hold Lynch to 41 yards
in 15 carries in their 27-17 victory over the visiting Seahawks on
Sunday night.
According to linebacker Clay Matthews, the success against Lynch was
as simple as "don't let him get going."
"I think, for the most part, we did a great job of forcing him to
not have his choice of gaps and being smart with and trying to
dictate where he runs the ball," Matthews added. "Obviously, he's a
great runner, and he does a fantastic job of breaking tackles. I
thought, for the most part, we did a great job of rallying to him
and getting him down and limiting his rush yards."
The increased attention given to Lynch did result in some lapses for
the Packers when confronted by Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson
on a steady diet of read-option runs, primarily in the second half
when Seattle erased a 13-3 halftime deficit and briefly went ahead
17-13.
Wilson had 10 rushing attempts for a team-high 78 yards.
"You've got to give 'em credit on that because they came out in the
second half and they hit us with a few wrinkles," nose tackle B.J.
Raji said. "That's just a good team making a good adjustment. But,
eventually, we made an adjustment, and we were able to keep that
under wraps."
--When Wilson had to go back to throwing the football after the
Packers regained the lead at 24-17 with 9 1/2 minutes left in the
final quarter, unheralded linebacker Jayrone Elliott put the
Seahawks away.
Elliott produced takeaways in Seattle's final two possessions.
The second-year undrafted player had a lunging, one-handed
interception of Wilson's screen pass to Lynch with less than seven
minutes to go.
Elliott later chased down running back Fred Jackson on a
catch-and-run in Green Bay territory and punched the football out
for a fumble recovered by the Packers in the final minute.
"It feels pretty good, to be on the national stage and show guys I
can compete," Elliott said.
"A guy like me, an undrafted guy, I'm trying to get my name out
there a little bit, trying to show guys I can compete at a high
level and do whatever it takes to help this team win," he added.
--Mason Crosby etched his name in a prominent place in the Packers
record book.
On the strength of tallying 13 points Sunday with four field goals
and an extra point, Crosby is the team's all-time scoring leader. He
came into the game needing 10 points to tie Ryan Longwell.
Crosby now has 1,057 points in his ninth pro season, the same number
of seasons logged by Longwell with the Packers until 2005.
"This is just kind of surreal thinking about the fact that I hold
that record," said Crosby, whose first field goal Sunday came from
54 yards out.
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NFL Team Report - Green Bay Packers - STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
PLAYER NOTES
--RB Eddie Lacy suffered a sprained right ankle early in the
Packers' 27-17 home win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night
and didn't return to action. Lacy left the field under his own power
during Green Bay's 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to start the
game. Multiple reports Monday indicated X-rays taken on Lacy's ankle
were negative. During his media availability Monday night, head
coach Mike McCarthy said Lacy was at the team's Lambeau Field
facilities earlier in the day for treatment and indicated the team's
featured back could be back on the field as early as Thursday, when
the Packers will hold their first practice of the week before their
next game Sept. 28 against the Kansas City Chiefs. "If Eddie can go,
he'll go," McCarthy said of the outlook for Lacy playing the next
game. James Starks replaced Lacy in Sunday's game and finished with
20 carries for 95 yards.
--RT Bryan Bulaga didn't play the 27-17 victory over visiting
Seattle on Sunday night and is expected to be sidelined for up to
six weeks. The veteran starter suffered an injury to his left knee
in practice Thursday. Subsequent reports indicated Bulaga sustained
a sprained MCL and a torn meniscus, the latter of which resulted in
surgery. Don Barclay started in place of Bulaga against the
Seahawks.
[to top of second column] |
--WR Davante Adams sustained an ankle injury early in the second
quarter of the 27-17 win over Seattle on Sunday night. After missing
the rest of the first half, the young starter returned to action at
the start of Green Bay's first possession in the third quarter.
Adams finished with five catches for 33 yards. McCarthy said Monday
that Adams was feeling better and could be on the field Thursday
when the team starts practicing for the Sept. 28 game against the
Chiefs.
--SS Morgan Burnett made the start in Sunday night's 27-17 victory
over Seattle. Burnett missed the season-opening victory at Chicago
the previous week because of a calf injury.
--DL Josh Boyd had to be taken off the field on a cart after
suffering what reportedly was a broken right ankle in the second
quarter of the 27-17 win over Seattle. The third-year backup was
placed on injured reserve Monday. To fill his spot on the 53-man
roster, the Packers signed first-year linebacker Joe Thomas off the
Dallas Cowboys' practice squad. The 6-foot-1, 227-pound Thomas spent
the second half of last season on Green Bay's practice squad and
then was cut by the Packers at the end of the preseason earlier this
month.
REPORT CARD VS. SEAHAWKS
--PASSING OFFENSE: B -- Better late than never, Aaron Rodgers had
what would constitute as a prolific performance against Seattle's
notoriously unyielding defense. After averaging just 207 passing
yards in five previous meetings with the Seahawks, Rodgers threw for
249 yards on 25-of-33 accuracy with two touchdowns and no
interceptions for a workmanlike 116.9 efficiency rating. Rodgers was
at his finest in Green Bay's game-winning 10-play, 80-yard drive
bridging the third and fourth quarters. He completed all eight of
his passes for 78 yards, capped by a five-yard touchdown strike to
tight end Richard Rodgers. And Rodgers may be in a league by himself
for his ability to draw antsy defenders offside, as he did twice
with Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett in the first half. Green
Bay's lone giveaway was on a catch-and-run fumble by James Starks,
who took over for an injured Eddie Lacy at halfback. Left tackle
David Bakhtiari and, to a lesser extent, right tackle Don Barclay,
who started in place of an injured Bryan Bulaga, struggled in pass
protection. Rodgers was sacked twice.
--RUSHING OFFENSE: B -- The Packers' injury-plagued offense took
another big hit early in the game when Eddie Lacy had left the game
only a few minutes into action during Green Bay's first of two
10-play, 80-yard touchdown drives. Lacy, who carried the ball three
times for nine yards, was carted back to the locker room later in
the first quarter with an ankle injury. That left Starks as the lone
halfback with Alonzo Harris deactivated. Starks shrugged off his
second-quarter fumble on the pass play by running hard and putting
up solid numbers with 95 yards in 20 carries. Starks' shiftiness
between the tackles on a third-quarter draw play and then slipping
three would-be tacklers on the next level amounted to a 35-yard
gain. The rest of Green Bay's game-high 127 rushing yards came from
Aaron Rodgers, who churned out 24 yards, not including the loss of a
yard on game-ending kneel-down.
--PASS DEFENSE: B -- Situational outside linebacker Jayrone Elliott
rose to the occasion in the final 7 1/2 minutes as the Green Bay
defense preserved its newfound 24-17 lead. Elliott, an undrafted
player in his second pro season, reached out with his right hand to
intercept a screen pass from Russell Wilson intended for halfback
Marshawn Lynch with the Seahawks on the move near midfield. Then,
after the Packers cashed in that takeaway with a field goal to go up
10, Elliott from behind punched the ball out of the grasp of back
Fred Jackson on a catch-and-run deep in Green Bay territory in the
last minute of play. Earlier in the second half, Jackson split
defensive backs Casey Hayward and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix on an in route
toward the goal line to pull in a five-yard touchdown throw from
Wilson. The Seahawks' next possession resulted in their go-ahead
touchdown, as a leaping Doug Baldwin (team-high seven catches for 92
yards) beat safety Micah Hyde for a 13-yard touchdown reception.
Those were the stellar moments for Wilson, who relied more on his
feet with the football pulled in to wreak havoc. He had a wobbly
passing performance of 19-of-30 for 206 yards, finishing with a
passer rating of 91.8.
--RUSH DEFENSE: B-minus -- A week after allowing 189 rushing yards
in its season-opening at the Chicago Bears, including 141 by Matt
Forte, the Packers defense fared considerably better against the
next marquee back on the early-season schedule. Nose tackle B.J.
Raji said the mantra going into the game against Lynch was "just
swarm, man." With Raji setting the tone by manhandling and pushing
back Drew Nowak several times in the young Seahawks center's
homecoming as a Green Bay-area native, the Packers held Lynch a
measly average of 2.7 yards per carry. Lynch finished with 41 yards
in 15 touches. The Seahawks, however, still managed 119 yards on the
ground. Wilson nearly doubled Lynch's output. His deft and mostly
unstoppable execution of the read option with primarily bootleg runs
around end in the second half gave the quarterback an impressive
stats line of 78 yards in 10 rushing attempts.
--SPECIAL TEAMS: A-minus -- Mason Crosby racked up 13 points with
four field goals and an early extra point to eclipse Ryan Longwell's
10-year-old all-time team scoring record by three points. Just as
alluring on this night, however, was the effectiveness of Crosby and
punter Tim Masthay in combination with their relentless coverage
units to impede Tyler Lockett, Seattle's dazzling rookie kick
returner. Out of Crosby's seven kickoffs, Lockett returned four but
averaged a lowly 19.8 yards with a long of just 26. Masthay's sharp
directional kicking all but cornered Lockett, who managed to get
loose only once for 22 yards, a punt return that was exacerbated by
an illegal-use-of-hands penalty against the Packers' Jeff Janis.
Masthay averaged 46.3 gross yards and 39.0 net yards in his three
punts. Seahawks counterpart Jon Ryan also was on the money with his
placement kicks, not giving Hyde (four fair catches) a chance for a
return. Montgomery's only kickoff return went for 19 yards.
--COACHING: B -- To conclude a week in which head coach Mike
McCarthy and his staff swept talk of the stunning overtime loss at
Seattle in the NFC Championship eight months ago under the rug with
their players, Green Bay still exacted a sizable piece of revenge
against its nemesis of recent years. The comeback victory was
decided in the fourth quarter, first by play caller Tom Clements'
working a speedy playmaker out of the backfield with a rotation of
Cobb, Montgomery and Richard Rodgers replacing Starks in the
go-ahead touchdown drive. Defensive coordinator Dom Capers didn't
have an answer for Wilson's read-option runs for much of the second
half, but his reliance on playing multiple guys at linebacker paid
off by having the instinctive Elliott on the field for those two big
takeaways. Special teams coordinator Ron Zook drew up a precise game
plan to neutralize the speedy Lockett on kick returns. The Packers'
exhausting all three of their first-half timeouts in the first 13
1/2 minutes cost them what probably should have been a touchdown
instead of a field-goal drive down to the Seattle 1-yard line before
halftime.
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