32/32: The Green Bay Packers

32 Teams/ 32 Days: The Green Bay Packers 2020 season

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To whom it may concern,

Before I indulge in this lengthy post, I would like to give a shoutout to the people who volunteered to help me with this. This is my first time in this rodeo, and these guys are the reason why the post you see today is in-depth and on time. So thanks a lot, u/TheBeardedYouth, u/ProtoMan3, and u/poggeth-twelve87! Stay classy guys, I enjoyed doing this a lot and hope to help out next year! Thanks for reading this r/nfl!

-kp1077

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P.S: Link to the hub

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Introduction:

Green Bay Packers

Division: NFC North

Record: 13-3, 1st in NFC North

Playoffs: Qualified as Top Seed

2nd Trip to Playoffs under Matt LaFleur

Wild Card Weekend: BYE

Divisional Round: W, 32-18, Home vs. Rams

NFC Conference Game: L, 26-31, Home vs. Tampa Bay

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Pro Bowl: 7: QB Aaron Rodgers, RB Aaron Jones, WR Devante Adams, T David Bakhtiari, G Elgton Jenkins, OLB Za'Darius Smith, CB Jaire Alexander

All-Pro 1st team: QB Rodgers, WR Adams, LT Bakhtiari, C Linsley

All-Pro 2nd team: Edge Rusher Za'Darius Smith, CB Jaire Alexander

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1. Statistics:

A. Team Statistics:

Metric	Number	Rank
Total Offense/YPG	6,224/389.0	5
(Offensive) Passing Total/YPG	4,106/256.6	9
Passing TDs	48	1
Sacks Surrendered	21	T-2
(Offensive) Rushing Total/YPG	2,118/132.4	8
Rushing TDs	16	T-10
(Offensive) 3rd Down Percentage	49.4%	2
(Offensive) Points Total/PPG	509/31.8	1
Total Defense/YPG	5,344/334.0	9
(Defensive) Passing Total/YPG	3,539/221.1	7
Sacks	41	T-9
(Defensive) Rushing Total/YPG	1,805/112.8	13
(Defensive) Point Total/PPG	369/23.1	13
(Defensive) 3rd Down Percentage	39.5%	10
INTs	11	T-6
Fumbles	7	T-8
Total Turnovers	18	T-10

B. Individual Stats

Passing:

Name	CMP/ATT	Yards	TDs	INTs	Rating
Aaron Rodgers	372/526 (70.7%)	4,299 (7th)	48 (1st)	5 (1st)	121.5 (1st)

Rushing:

Name	Attempts	Yards	YPC	YDS/Game	TDs
Aaron Jones	201 (10th)	1,104 (4th)	5.5 (5th)	78.9 (4th)	9 (T-11th)
Jamaal Williams	119	505	4.2	36.1	2
AJ Dillon	46	242	5.3	22.0	2
Aaron Rodgers	38	149	3.9	9.3	3

Receiving:

Name	Rec	Yards	TDs	YDS/G	LNG	YAC
Davante Adams	115 (T-2nd)	1,374 (T-5th)	18 (1st)	98.1 (1st)	56	592 (3rd)
MVS	33	690	6	43.1	78 (6th)	255
Robert Tonyan	52	586	11 (T-1st TEs)	36.6	45	224
Allen Lazard	46	451	3	45.1	72	195
Aaron Jones	63	355	2	25.4	30	367
Jamaal Williams	35	236	1	16.9	29	220

Defense:

Name	Total Tackles	TFL	Sacks	FF/FR	INT/PD
Adrian Amos	83	4	2	0/1	2/9
Krys Barnes	80	6.5	1	1/0	0/0
Christian Kirksey	78	3	2	0/0	2/4
Darnell Savage	75	4	1	0/1	4/12
Kevin King	57	0	0	1/1	0/5
Za’Darius Smith	52	16.5	12.5	4/2	0/2
Jaire Alexander	51	3	1	1/0	1/13
Raven Greene	44	1.5	1.5	1/0	1/5
Preston Smith	42	8	4	0/1	0/3
Chandon Sullivan	41	0.5	0	0/0	1/6
Kenny Clark	41	3	2	0/0	0/0
Dean Lowry	36	2.5	3	0/0	0/2
Rashan Gary	34	6.5	5	0/1	0/1
Kamal Martin	24	3	1	0/0	0/0
Kingsley Keke	21	4.5	4	1/0	0/2

Kicking:

Name	FGM	FGA	FG%	50+	Long	XPM	XPA	XP%
Mason Crosby	16 (T-26th)	16 (T-29th)	100% (T-1st)	4-4	57 (9th)	59 (1st)	63 (1st)	93.7% (14th)

Punting:

Name	Punts	Yards	AVG	Long	Net	In 20	TB	FC	AVG PR
J.K. Scott	46 (18th)	2,092 (26th)	45.5 (18th)	62 (T-21st)	37.0 (28th)	15 (28th)	3 (T-18th)	10 (30th)	17.1 (Most)

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Some Fun Stats:

• This is the first time since 1968/69 that a non-kicker led the Packers in scoring in consecutive seasons.
• The 2020 Packers are the 4th team in NFL history to finish with more passing TDs than punts, 48 to 46.
• The Packers loved goldddd as they scored TDs on 48 of 60 “gold zone” attempts, good for a league-leading 80%.
• Jaire Island allowed just 4.8 yards per attempt when he was in coverage.
• Aaron Rodgers’ 121.5 passer rating is the 2nd best in NFL history, one point behind Aaron Rodgers’ mark of 122.5 set in 2011.
• The Packers punt returning woes continued as they posted just 53 yards led by Tyler Ervin with 20.
• The 2020 Packers had as many games with 40+ points as they did under 30.
• Marquez Valdes-Scantling led the NFL in YPC at 20.9, more than 2 yards better than 2nd place.
• Davante Adams finished #1 in yards per game, #3 in first down catches, #3 in YAC, #1 in TDs, and #5 in yards despite missing 2.5 games.

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2. 2020 Draft Picks:

Round	Overall	Player
1	26	QB Jordan Love, Utah State
2	62	RB AJ Dillon, Boston College
3	94	TE Josiah Deguara, Cincinnati
5	175	LB Kamal Martin, Minnesota
6	192	G Jon Runyan, Michigan
6	208	C Jake Hanson, Oregon
6	209	OT Simon Stepaniak, Indiana
7	236	S Vernon Scott, TCU
7	242	DE Jonathan Garvin, Miami

u/ProtoMan3 - "Coming into the draft, pretty much every analyst said that the Packers needed help on rush defense, as well as getting Aaron Rodgers another target to stimulate the passing game further. However, the Packers decided to draft Rodgers’ successor in Jordan Love, and another running back. This definitely confused a lot of people, both fans and analysts alike."

Review from u/poggeth-twelve87:

The Packers' 2020 draft began in the first round with the 26th selection, drafting absolutely nobody and packing up and going home. (sheesh I wish) They actually selected QB Jordan Love. I’m going to go off on a minor tangent here about why this was the worst pick in the draft.

Justification for the Jordan Love Pick

Love had the second-most passing yards, completions, and attempts, behind Jose Fuentes in all three categories. So maybe the packers saw something in Jordan Love.

Obligatory Jordan Love rant

Aaron Rodgers played a total of 1,018 snaps in the 2020 regular season. Tim Boyle played 22 snaps in the regular season. In the 2020 regular season, containing 16 games where the Packers suited up on offense, their first-round pick played a grand total of zero snaps. It gets worse. Aaron Rodgers was the AP MVP. Maybe they wanted a QB for the future, I dunno. But now it's time for an actual good pick. It’s time for AJ Dillon!

Round 2, Pick 60: AJ Dillon, RB

AJ Dillon actually played, being fourth on the Packers RB list in terms of snaps with 107, with a third of his snaps coming in a Week 16 blowout of the Titans. He got 242 yards on his rushing attempts with a 30 yard long on the year, which is pretty good for a guy with 46 rushing attempts, with 5.3 yards per average rush, scoring twice. He was also targeted twice, with both times being receptions, for 21 yards and 1 first down, and 16 yards on his longest catch.

Round 3, Pick 94: Josiah Deguara, TE

Deguara only played in the first 4 weeks, due to him suffering a season-ending ACL injury on a punt. Due to the injury, Deguara was only targeted twice, but unlike Dillon, Deguara only caught 1 of these passes. He actually managed to get a first down with 12 yards on that single catch, but it left Packers fans wondering what could have been.

The Packers traded their fourth-rounder away so they could claim Jordan Love.

Round 5, Pick 175: Kamal Martin, LB

Martin was injured for a bit, and played his first snap in Week 7, accumulating a total of 189, the highest snap count for someone we’ve covered this year so far. Martin has a collegiate award, winning the Gary Tinsley award as a senior. Martin got 24 combined tackles, with 17 solo and 7 assists. He recorded 3 tackles for loss, with a QB hit. Without his meniscus injury, many Packers fans wonder how good he would have performed healthy.

Round 6, Pick 192 (acquired from Raiders): Jon Runyan, GIn 2018 and 2019, Runyan was the recipient of the Hugh R. Radar award, awarded to Michigan’s top lineman. In a pick that was acquired from the Raiders, the Packers selected Runyan, who had 160 snaps, and 81 special teams snaps. Runyan was not penalized the entire year and played in every regular-season game.

Round 6, Pick 208 (from Titans): Jake Hanson, C

Hanson did not play a snap and was on IR for most of the season, so I’m going to talk about Hanson’s college accolades here. Hanson was named second-team All-Pacific honors in his final two years and did not allow a sack in his college career.

Round 6, Pick 209: Simon Stepaniak, G

On September 5, 2020, Stepaniak was placed on the non-football injury list. He had torn his ACL in practice preparing for the Gator Bowl. He was sidelined the entire season, not playing a snap. He earned all-state and all-district honors as a senior in 2014 at Ross High School in Hamilton, Ohio.

Round 7, Pick 236 (from Bills through Browns): Vernon Scott, S

In his early college days, Scott was mainly a special team player but managed to play as a safety in his junior season and senior season, recording 2 picks, returning one for a 98-yard touchdown, 1 yard shy of the TCU record. In 2020 he recorded 11 tackles and a sack, which is probably better than most of the guys on this list.

Round 7, Pick 242 (from Ravens) Jonathan Garvin, LB

This was the pick that landed Ty Montgomery in Baltimore. Garvin was a pretty good high school and college player, recording a school-record 18 sacks in his senior year of high school. As a sophomore in college, he posted 60 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and 5 ½ sacks. He only recorded 2 tackles this season, but I foresee him having a bright future.

3. Signed 2020/2021 Free Agents and 2021 Free Agents:

Additions:

Player	2019/20 Team	Date	Method of acquisition
OT Rick Wagner	Detroit Lions	March 17th, 2020	Free Agency
ILB Christian Kirksey	Cleveland Browns	March 17th­­, 2020	Free Agency
WR Devin Funchess	Indianapolis Colts	April 2nd, 2020	Free Agency
OLB Jamal Davis	Miami Dolphins	April 21st, 2020	Claimed off waivers
DE Gerald Willis	Miami Dolphins	April 21st, 2020	Claimed off waivers
DE Treyvon Hester	Oakland Raiders	May 1st, 2020	Free Agency
FB John Lovett	Kansas City Chiefs	August 5th, 2020	Claimed off waivers
WR Malik Turner	Seattle Seahawks	August 12th¸ 2020	Free Agency
WR Travis Fulgham	Detroit Lions	August 15th, 2020	Claimed off waivers
CB Parry Nickerson	Jacksonville Jaguars	September 7th, 2020	Free Agency
NT Anthony Rush	Philadelphia Eagles	November 30th, 2020	Claimed off waivers
WR Tavon Austin	San Francisco 49ers	December 1st, 2020	Free Agency
NT Damon Harrison	Seattle Seahawks	December 31st, 2020	Claimed off waivers
OT Jared Veldheer	Indianapolis Colts	January 12th, 2021	Signed off the practice squad

In response to helping with the rushing defense and passing game, the Packers signed a handful of free-agent wide receivers and linebackers.

Subtractions:

Player	Release Date	Notes
TE Jimmy Graham	March 12th	Played for the Bears in 2020
QB Manny Wilkins	April 27th
FB Jordon Jones	July 31st
G Cole Madison	July 31st
QB Jalen Morton	August 3rd
FB Elijah Wellman	August 3rd
LB Jamal Davis	August 10th
S Frankie Griffin	August 12th
CB Marc-Antoine Dequoy	August 15th
TE James Looney	August 15th
WR Darrell Stewart	August 15th	Played for the Panthers in 2020
OT Travis Bruffy	August 19th	Final cuts to bring the roster to 53
WR Travis Fulgham	August 19th	Played for the Eagles in 2020
WR Darrius Shepherd	December 1st
NT Anthony Rush	December 31st	Released after the acquisition of Damon Harrison

The subtractions basically had the Packers get rid of some practice squad players, as well as many of the acquisitions they signed for the depth chart. The main loss was Jimmy Graham.

2021 Free Agents:

Player	Tag	Date Signed	2020 Team
OT Bryan Bulaga	UFA	March 31st	Los Angeles Chargers
ILB Blake Martinez	UFA	March 30th	New York Giants
CB Tramon Williams	UFA	November 10th	Baltimore Ravens
WR Geronimo Allison	UFA	April 4th	Detroit Lions
K Mason Crosby	UFA	February 24th	Green Bay Packers
TE Marcedes Lewis	UFA	March 24th	Green Bay Packers
OLB Kyler Fackrell	UFA	April 2nd	New York Giants
SS Will Redmond	UFA	March 19th	Green Bay Packers
ILB BJ Goodson	UFA	March 20th	Cleveland Browns
FS Ibraheim Campbell	UFA	May 1st	Tennessee Titans
FB Danny Vitale	UFA	March 20th	New England Patriots
OT Jared Veldheer	UFA	December 31st	Indianapolis Colts
RB Tyler Ervin	UFA	March 30th	Green Bay Packers
WR Ryan Grant	UFA	None
OT Jason Spriggs	UFA	April 17th	Chicago Bears
FB Malcolm Johnson	RFA	None
WR Jake Kumerow	ERFA	April 25th	Green Bay Packers
DE Tyler Lancaster	ERFA	April 25th	Green Bay Packers
WR Allen Lazard	ERFA	April 27th	Green Bay Packers
CB Chandon Sullivan	ERFA	April 27th	Green Back Packers
TE Robert Tonyan	ERFA	April 24th	Green Bay Packers

Most notable free agents kept in Green Bay:

-Mason Crosby gave stability at the kicking position once again, missing only four extra points and zero field goals.

- Robert Tonyan emerged as one of the best tight ends in the game and as one of Rodgers’ favorite targets with 11 receiving TDs, compensating for the loss of Jimmy Graham.

- Marcedes Lewis was continued to provide good depth behind Tonyan at the TE position.

- Jake Kumerow and Allan Lazard were young WRs that the Packers kept wanting to develop; Lazard ended up making a valuable impact in 2020 as the third receiver.

Most notable free agents who left Green Bay:

- Bryan Bulaga, a longtime stalwart of the offensive line, no longer played for the team. The offensive line attempted to get younger, and they succeeded in that.

- Tramon Williams, an old corner from the days of Super Bowl 45, was not signed back. The secondary also wanted some youth to emerge, such as guys like Jaire Alexander (who did great) and Kevin King (who did okay).

- Blake Martinez, a linebacker that was drafted to help with rushing defense in the first place, was let go as it was not working as great as the Packers had hoped.

- Geronimo Allison, a receiving target that was being developed over the past few years, could not take that next step forward, and thus the Packers did not bring him back.

- Jared Veldheer was not resigned in the summer of 2020 due to the offensive line emerging as good, but he was brought back after David Bakhtiari was injured late in the season.4. 2021 Presumptive Draft Picks:

4. Presumptive 2021 Draft Order:

1st round, 29th pick

2nd round, 62nd pick

3rd round, 92nd pick

4th round, 135th pick

4th round, 142nd pick (compensatory)

5th round, 173rd pick

5th round, 178th pick

6th round, 214th pick

6th round, 220th pick

7th round, 256th pick

5. 2020 Season Analysis:

Box Scores:

Week 1	@Vikings	W 43-34
Week 2	vs Lions	W 42-21
Week 3	@ Saints	W 37-30
Week 4	vs Falcons	W 30-16
Week 5	Ain’t no lie baby	Bye bye bye
Week 6	@ Buccaneers	L 10-38
Week 7	@ Texans	W 35-20
Week 8	vs Vikings	L 28-22
Week 9	@ 49ers	W 34-17
Week 10	vs Jaguars	W 24-20
Week 11	@ Colts	L 31-34 OT
Week 12	vs Bears	W 41-25
Week 13	vs Eagles	W 30-16
Week 14	@ Lions	W 31-24
Week 15	vs Panthers	W 24-16
Week 16	vs Titans	W 40-14
Week 17	@ Bears	W 35-16
Divisional	vs Rams	W 32-18
NFCCG	vs Buccaneers	L 31-26

Game Recaps:

Week 1 @ Vikings, 43-34

If there was any indication that this year would be different, week 1 was it. What would normally be an absolutely raucous U.S. Bank Stadium was silent, Aaron Rodgers’ dream scenario as he hard-counted the Vikings into 3 defensive penalties. The Packers dominated this game as Rodgers picked on the Vikings young CBs to the tune of 364 yards and 4 TDs, 156 yards, and 2TDs finding their way to Davante Adams.

Defensively Jaire Alexander recorded his first career safety on this play and picked off Cousins to help set up the Packers 2nd score in less than 30 seconds to end the second half. The defense crumbled in the 4th quarter as they tried to play prevent, but they let the final score seem better than it was giving up 24 4th quarter points.

Stat of the game: Packers controlled the clock with a roughly 41 to 19-minute advantage.

Week 2 vs Lions, 42-21

The defense carried its lack of momentum into week 2 as the Packers ended the 1st quarter looking up at a 14-3 deficit. From there they would clamp down, only giving up one more score the rest of the game. The defense scored their first touchdown of the season on this excellent read from Chandon Sullivan. Rashan Gary added 1.5 sacks as well.

Week 1 was the Aaron Rodgers week, this time it was the other Aaron on the team to show his stuff. With Adams sidelined due to a hamstring issue, Aaron Jones tallied 236 total yards and 3 total TDs, including an excellent show of speed on the first play of the 2nd half. There isn’t much else to say offensively, Aaron Jones simply ran all over the Lions defense.

Stat of the game: This was the 6th time in Aaron Rodgers’ career the Packers have won while rushing for more yards than passing.

Week 3 @ Saints, 37-30

The first “real” test of the season but once again in a silent stadium, allowing Rodgers to add 2 more hard-count penalties to his tally. Allen Lazard was the star of the day, racking up 146 yards and a score while playing with a core muscle injury. Aaron Jones pitched in 69 (nice) yards and a TD on the ground as the Packers rushing attack was not nearly as explosive.

This game brought me back to the 2011 Packers defense, as Cris Collinsworth said “a defense built for shootouts.” I cringe when I think of Alvin Kamara’s catch and run, but fans of the other 30 teams deserve to see this. This defense was gashed all day but came up with 2 sacks (thanks to Kinglsey Keke) and a timely 4th quarter turnover (thanks to Za’Darius Smith) did just enough to hold on.

Stat(s) of the game: Rodgers threw his second-ever TD pass to a 1st round pick. The Packers notch a victory in the Superdome for the first time since Super Bowl XXXI.

Week 4 vs Falcons, 30-16

Big. Bobby. Tonyan. At this point in the year, it felt like every week one Packer would have a career day. This time, Roberto Grande stepped onto the scene with 98 yards and THREE touchdowns, becoming the 3rd Packer TE to do so in 24 years. Surprisingly, RB Jamaal Williams had a very impressive day with 8 catches for 95 yards, showing his versatility.

Za’Darius Smith continued to wreak havoc defensively tallying 3 sacks Beyond Z’s big day the Packers defense did what it needed to, holding the Falcons to only 78 rushing yards and Matt Ryan to 0 TDs.

Stat of the game: Aaron Rodgers became the 11th player to have 4,000 completions in their career.

Week 5 BYE

Through 4 games Aaron Rodgers had thrown for 1,214 yards (303.5 YPG), 13 TDs (3.25 per game), and zero interceptions. Also shoutout to the offensive line who gave up 3 sacks through 4 games.

Week 6 @ Buccaneers, 10-38

Ugly ugly ugly. The first quarter could not have gone smoother, with the Packers jumping out to a quick 10-0 lead and it looked like they were running away with it. After that, there were no offensive highlights as Rodgers had eyes only for Davante and was picked off twice because of it, including the 3rd pick-six of his career. Seven 3-and-outs and no drives longer than 23 yards, yikes.

Not much better on the defensive side either. Sure 14 points were the product of the INTs but the defense recorded 0 sacks, 0 turnovers, and was gashed by Ronald Jones for 112 yards. All Tom Brady had to do was be efficient and watch his defense take care of business.

Stat of the game: 2 of Rodgers’ 3 pick-sixes have come in Raymond-James Stadium. Must be the damn cannons.

Week 7 @ Texans, 35-20

After a brutal loss, a matchup against the free-falling Texans was exactly what the Packers needed. Davante Adams went off, torching the Houston defense for nearly 200 yards and 2 scores. Aaron Jones and David Bakhtiari were hardly missed as Jamaal Williams added 114 total yards and an iconic Jamaal moment after his helmet was knocked off.

It was another dominating defensive performance for 3 quarters before the wheels fell off a bit in the 4th quarter again as Mike Pettine’s prevent defense allowed 13 points. The Texans could only muster 79 rushing yards, 38 of those off of Watson scrambles. Adrian Amos starred with a sack and a fumble recovery from the safety spot as well. It was also nice to see Randall Cobb have a good day going 8 for 95.

Stat of the game: Malik Taylor and Jace Sternberger both caught their first career TDs against the Texans.

Week 8 vs Vikings, 22-28

When Mike Pettine was hired, he said something along the lines of he would rather be beaten by the run than the pass. Well, Dalvin Cook took that personally. 30 rushes for 163 yards (5.4 YPC) and 3 TDs with 2 catches for 63 and a score is about as dominating of a performance you can get. That was the entire offense for the Vikings. When he wasn’t targeting Cook, Kirk Cousins was a measly 9/11 for 97 yards.

Offensively, the Packers continue to struggle when they are down. After going down 28-14 in the middle of the 3rd quarter, the Packers only called 5 running plays. Self-inflicted penalties lost the field position game and two failed 4th down attempts from the Vikings side of the field killed any chance the Packers had.

Stat of the game: This was Davante Adams’ first career game with 3 TDs

Week 9 @ San Francisco, 34-17

Coming off a sour loss, the Packers turned their eyes to the injury-riddled 49ers. With both sides agreeing that running the ball is overrated (maybe it had something to do with all of the RBs being injured), Aaron Rodgers got to duel Nick Mullens. Not even 5 minutes into the game and Davante Adams caught this dime and it was over from there. We also had Marquez Valdes-Scantling showing his talent as one of the league’s best deep threats on a great deep ball.

A wild Preston Smith sighting forced an ill-advised throw leading to Raven Greene’s first career INT. Other than that it was a stifling 3 quarter performance. This time the 4th quarter defensive collapse was much more reasonable as the Packers were playing literal practice squad players like Henry Black and Stanford Samuels. Made all 15 Richie James fantasy owners happy as he ended the night with a whopping 184 yards and a score.

Stat of the game: This was Davante Adams’ 3rd game this season with at least 150 yards and a TD.

Week 10 vs Jaguars, 24-20

Green Bay’s next opponent was the tanking Jaguars sporting one of the weakest defenses in Lambeau, easy right? Punting on 4 of 5 drives to start the game, including one of them going to the house, said otherwise. The Packers could not do anything on the ground ending up with just 80 yards on 25 carries. Outside of a beautiful play to MVS to start the 2nd quarter and another Rodgers to Adams score, there was very little to feel good about on the offensive side.

The defense did its job making life difficult for UDFA Jake Luton who was just over 50% throwing the ball and tossed a pick. The Smith Bros. + Gary each tallied a sack and held rising star James Robinson to just over 100 yards on 23 carries. This was a bizarre game and thankfully both sides came out happy.

Stat of the game: MVS’ 78-yard score was the 6th longest catch of the year.

Week 11 @ Colts, 31-34 (OT)

An absolutely agonizing game to watch as a Packer fan. Rodgers threw 3 TDs in the first half as Green Bay went into the locker room up 28-14. Indianapolis’ defense showed why it was a top squad in the 2nd half holding the Packers offense to just 53 yards on 15 plays to start the half. Aaron Rodgers showed his clutchness on this throw to MVS to set up a FG to send the game to overtime. Unfortunately, Aaron Rodgers is also known for not having much help from his team in OT as MVS fumbled the second snap of the period.

The defense forced a pick and a fumble but otherwise, the Colts proved to be too efficient for them. They were on the field for nearly 20 minutes in the second half and stood no chance starting on their own 29 in overtime.

Stat of the game: Aaron Rodgers is 1-2 in his career against the Colts when leading by 14 or more points. He is 95-2 against all other opponents.

Week 12 vs Chicago, 41-25

Packers/Bears on SNF at Lambeau, what could go wrong? Facing a Bears defense without Akiem Hicks made for easy pickings as Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams combined for 163 yards and a TD on 17 carries each. Aaron Rodgers wasn’t touched (0 sacks/QB hits) as he tossed 4 scores to 4 different players and 211 yards including this strike to Adams where he could’ve chugged a beer before throwing.

Yet again, the score looked prettier than it was with the score of 41-10 entering the 4th quarter. Chicago’s Montgomery burst up the middle for 57 yards on the second play of the game, which was more than enough for Matt Nagy to see as he would only give him 10 more carries the rest of the way. Trubisky channeled his inner Jay as he tossed picks into double and triple coverage on 2 of his 46 attempts. The Smith Bros were at it again as Z forced a fumble Preston took to the house. It was a stifling defensive performance against a struggling offense.

Stat of the game: The Packers under coach Matt LaFleur have never lost back-to-back games through 32 regular-season games.

Week 13 vs Eagles, 30-16

Aaron Rodgers threw his 400th career TD pass as the Packers took care of business against the Eagles. Davante Adams continued to show why he’s a top 2 (not 2) WR with this unbelievable catch on his way to his 3rd game with 10 catches, 100 yards, and 2 TDs. Aaron Jones had a very quiet day until his 77-yard game-sealing run, but it’s exactly that explosiveness that makes him so great.

The defense toyed with Carson Wentz holding him to just 6/15 passing and 79 yards while sacking him 4 times. Pederson made the switch to Hurts in the 3rd quarter which gave the Eagles hope, but 3 more sacks and the aforementioned Aaron Jones slammed the door on that. It was still head-scratching to watch the defense breakdown on a 4th and 18, something about Eagles and 4th and longs…

Stat of the game: This was the first TD milestone ball Aaron Rodgers has been able to keep. James Jones threw his 100th into the crowd, his 200th was Davante’s 1st, and his 300th was also lost to history.

Week 14 @ Lions, 31-24

There’s something about playing at Detroit that confounds the Packers. The run game did enough with Jones and Williams combining for 25 carries and 109 yards but once again it was the MVP who carried this team. 3 passing TDs (two to Adams) and a rushing score on his way to the 8th consecutive game with a 100+ passer rating.

The Lions simply would not go away as they scored to make it a one TD game mid-way through the 4th quarter. Unfortunately for Detroit, Kenny Clark hit Stafford on a scramble that knocked him out of the game just as they were mounting their comeback. The defense tallied 4 sacks and shut down the Lions rushing attack but this game turned on one play. From an outside perspective, there weren’t many big highlight plays but it was a gritty, NFCN style game.

Stat of the game: At 36 years old Mason Crosby booted a 57-yard field goal, his longest since 2011.

Week 15 vs Panthers, 24-16

Given the success of the last two seasons, it’s easy to forget Matt LaFleur is still learning as a coach. The offense moved the ball at will scoring on their first 3 drives and the game looked like it was getting out of hand. After those first drives, the Packers offense would only muster one more field goal while giving up 5 sacks. Aaron Jones had 123 yards and a TD in the first half but only added 22 more yards in the second half. Coach LaFleur abandoned the run game as the game looked similar to the 2019 matchup.

The defense could only watch as the offense floundered around. A great heads up play by rookie Krys Barnes denied Teddy B at the goal line. The Panthers would only score TDs on one of their five red zone trips. Other than DJ Moore’s big day (6 for 131), there wasn’t much given up. The Smith Bros each recorded a sack and Adrian Amos tallied his 2nd of the season.

Stat of the game: Aaron Rodgers became the first QB in NFL history to throw for 40+ TDs in 3 seasons.

Week 16 vs Titans, 40-14

As soon as the snow started at Lambeau, it was over. The Packers defense, for all the flak they get, shut down the Titans offense holding Derrick Henry (yes 2,000 yard Derrick Henry) to just 98 yards on 23 carries. Darnell Savage grabbed his 4th pick of the year and Christian Kirksey filled up the stat sheet with a pick, PD, and a sack. Ryan Tannehill only had 121 yards although he did scamper for a 45-yard read-option score.

Who to highlight on offense? Aaron Rodgers, who nearly threw a “Dawson”? Davante Adams and his 3 TDs? Let’s shine a light on AJ Dillon and his 124 yards and 2 TDs. With Jamaal Williams out and Aaron Jones hurt, Dillon took full advantage of his first career start, and out Derrick Henry’d the Yeti himself. Equanimeous St. Brown caught his first career TD as well.

Stat of the game: This was Davante Adams’ 4th game of the season with at least 10 catches, 100 yards, and 2 TDs. No one else had more than one game.

Week 17 @ Chicago, 35-16

It feels right when the Packers and Bears play with so much on the line. The Bears started off hot after a bad kickoff gaff running the ball efficiently as Matt Nagy seemed to learn from his previous mistakes. However, the Packers would clamp down as the Bears went 0-4 in the red zone after the opening drive. Jaire Alexander made an absolutely incredible play to force the ball away from Cole Kmet while former Bear Adrian Amos continued to haunt his old team to seal the game. Oh and 6’7” 265lbs Jimmy Graham was outmuscled by 5’10” 195 Jaire Alexander.

Packer fans are spoiled when 19/24 for 240 and 4 TDs is a “ho-hum” game from their QB. But really outside of another incredible deep ball to MVS and reserve TE Dominique Dafney scoring his first career TD, there weren’t many spectacular offensive highlights. The running game wasn’t ineffective (4.2 YPC) but the return of Akiem Hicks clearly played a role. The Packers clinched the #1 NFC seed and the conference’s only bye.

Stat of the game: Davante Adams set the Packers franchise record for receptions in a season. He finished with 115 despite missing 2+ games.

Divisional Round vs Rams, 32-18

The Packers came off the bye fresh while the Rams came into Lambeau with an injured Goff and Donald. Regardless, rushing for 188 yards and surrendering 0 sacks and 1 QB hit against any team is incredibly impressive. Aaron Rodgers and co. burned the Rams for 296 yards and 2 TDs. Davante Adams asserted his dominance over Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd took flight as Rodgers pump-faked him to the moon, and Allen Lazard proved MVS isn’t the only deep threat on the team.

On defense, it was the Jekyll and Hyde show. The Rams quite literally scored every other time they had the ball. It was either a 3-and-out or a 75-yard drive, no in-between. Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark each tallied 1.5 sacks as Goff’s surgically repaired thumb seemed to get worse as the game went on and the weather got colder.

Stat of the game: The Packers victory sent them to a home NFCCG for the first time in Aaron Rodgers’ career.

NFCCG vs Buccaneers, 26-31

An absolute gut-wrencher for Packer faithful with too much blame to go around. Aaron Rodgers and the offense for not taking advantage of 3 Brady picks. Kevin King for getting exposed all day. The referees for letting the DBs play physically until the penultimate play. Mike Pettine for calling a cover 1 on a Hail Mary attempt. The Packers collapsed at the worst time of the season, and still managed to claw their way back down 28-10. I disagree with the decision to kick the field goal down 23-31 but I can understand why with 3 timeouts, the 2-minute warning, and a defense that just picked off Brady 3 consecutive times. Still, another season came and went with a terribly disappointing ending for Green Bay.

Stat of the game: Aaron Rodgers became the first QB to lose 4 consecutive Championship Games.