Seahawks beat Packers: What's Wrong in Wisconsin?
Seattle rallied from an 11-point deficit to defeat Green Bay 27-24, keeping its playoff hopes well alive while casting a cloud of doubt around Green Bay's.
Game Recap
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers started Thursday night's contest in Seattle about as well as they possibly could have by forcing a Chris Carson fumble on the first snap of the game before scoring on an Aaron Jones run a few plays later.
After surrendering a Seattle field goal, Rodgers made an incredible throw on the run, finding Robert Tonyan (who?) for a 54-yard touchdown. But the Seahawks climbed back into the game with a Russell Wilson touchdown pass and a Carson run, taking the lead late in the second quarter.
Rodgers responded with a touchdown pass to Aaron Jones, but after trading field goals, it was Wilson who got the last laugh. He threw a beautiful pass to Ed Dickson on an "uncovered" concept my high school team used to run. No linebacker or safety was remotely close to Dickson off the line of scrimmage, so Wilson wisely threw him the ball immediately and let him barge his way into the end zone.
After this, Rodgers and the Packers were faced with a 4th and 2 at their own 33-yard line, and Mike McCarthy opted to punt the ball back to Seattle. Green Bay never got the ball back, falling to 4-5-1 and potentially seeing its playoff hopes fade away.
Coaching
It's fitting that great coaching and play calling was the cause of Seattle's go-ahead touchdown. Pete Carroll and the Seahawks have their own issues, sure, but it's clear that something is wrong with the way Mike McCarthy is running the show.
The decision to punt on 4th and 2 was absolutely ridiculous. Green Bay has one of the league's worst run defenses, and Seattle is averaging the most rush yards per game (152.5) out of any team in the league. In a scenario where the Seahawks were going to be running the ball to run out the clock, the odds of a stop weren't as high as you would hope.
Additionally, if the Packers had gone for the fourth down and not gotten it, they still would have given themselves a chance if they had kept Seattle out of the end zone. A long field goal try still would have given Green Bay the ball back with a chance to win even if they were down six. Ultimately, you have to trust your quarterback and give him chances to make plays. McCarthy didn't do that.
Aaron Rodgers
It's hard to put blame on a quarterback who completed 21 of 30 passes for 332 yards and two touchdowns, but Aaron Rodgers had many flashes of mediocrity last night.
Sure, we can lament McCarthy for not giving Rodgers a chance on 4th and 2, but Rodgers deserves some blame too for missing a wide-open receiver on 3rd and 2. Rodgers had some big completions throughout the game, but the throws themselves weren't too impressive with the exception of a deep ball to Davante Adams and the touchdown to Tonyan.
Rodgers has a bad habit of putting too much weight on his back foot, which caused him to bounce the 3rd and 2 pass and which caused him to under throw his touchdown pass to Aaron Jones and another sideline pass to Adams. Rodgers made a handful of amazing plays, but he was also bailed out by his receivers a couple times and had a critical mistake at a bad time.
'
What's Next
At 4-5-1, the Packers are in third place in the NFC North and a couple games behind in the NFC Wild Card race. If they win out and finish 10-5-1, they would almost certainly make the playoffs. Winning five of six would give them a shot as well and winning four would give them very slim odds, but in the competitive NFC, they don't have much room for error.
Chicago leads the division at 6-3 while Minnesota is a half-game behind at 5-3-1. The Packers have to face both of these teams on the road, which is a daunting task for Rodgers and company. Rodgers brought a 4-6 Packers team to the playoffs a couple years ago, but repeating that feat is unlikely.
If the Packers do end up missing the playoffs, I can't possibly see McCarthy coming back. Rodgers will be in his 15th season, meaning his prime is winding down. For a quarterback who relies on athleticism and pure arm strength, age takes a larger toll. The Packers have the talent on offense around Rodgers to win, but they've dug themselves quite a hole this year. With the right coaching staff next year (John Harbaugh, perhaps?) the Packers should find themselves right back in the NFC mix.
Game Recap
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers started Thursday night's contest in Seattle about as well as they possibly could have by forcing a Chris Carson fumble on the first snap of the game before scoring on an Aaron Jones run a few plays later.
After surrendering a Seattle field goal, Rodgers made an incredible throw on the run, finding Robert Tonyan (who?) for a 54-yard touchdown. But the Seahawks climbed back into the game with a Russell Wilson touchdown pass and a Carson run, taking the lead late in the second quarter.
Rodgers responded with a touchdown pass to Aaron Jones, but after trading field goals, it was Wilson who got the last laugh. He threw a beautiful pass to Ed Dickson on an "uncovered" concept my high school team used to run. No linebacker or safety was remotely close to Dickson off the line of scrimmage, so Wilson wisely threw him the ball immediately and let him barge his way into the end zone.
After this, Rodgers and the Packers were faced with a 4th and 2 at their own 33-yard line, and Mike McCarthy opted to punt the ball back to Seattle. Green Bay never got the ball back, falling to 4-5-1 and potentially seeing its playoff hopes fade away.
Coaching
It's fitting that great coaching and play calling was the cause of Seattle's go-ahead touchdown. Pete Carroll and the Seahawks have their own issues, sure, but it's clear that something is wrong with the way Mike McCarthy is running the show.
The decision to punt on 4th and 2 was absolutely ridiculous. Green Bay has one of the league's worst run defenses, and Seattle is averaging the most rush yards per game (152.5) out of any team in the league. In a scenario where the Seahawks were going to be running the ball to run out the clock, the odds of a stop weren't as high as you would hope.
Additionally, if the Packers had gone for the fourth down and not gotten it, they still would have given themselves a chance if they had kept Seattle out of the end zone. A long field goal try still would have given Green Bay the ball back with a chance to win even if they were down six. Ultimately, you have to trust your quarterback and give him chances to make plays. McCarthy didn't do that.
Aaron Rodgers
It's hard to put blame on a quarterback who completed 21 of 30 passes for 332 yards and two touchdowns, but Aaron Rodgers had many flashes of mediocrity last night.
Sure, we can lament McCarthy for not giving Rodgers a chance on 4th and 2, but Rodgers deserves some blame too for missing a wide-open receiver on 3rd and 2. Rodgers had some big completions throughout the game, but the throws themselves weren't too impressive with the exception of a deep ball to Davante Adams and the touchdown to Tonyan.
Rodgers has a bad habit of putting too much weight on his back foot, which caused him to bounce the 3rd and 2 pass and which caused him to under throw his touchdown pass to Aaron Jones and another sideline pass to Adams. Rodgers made a handful of amazing plays, but he was also bailed out by his receivers a couple times and had a critical mistake at a bad time.
'
What's Next
At 4-5-1, the Packers are in third place in the NFC North and a couple games behind in the NFC Wild Card race. If they win out and finish 10-5-1, they would almost certainly make the playoffs. Winning five of six would give them a shot as well and winning four would give them very slim odds, but in the competitive NFC, they don't have much room for error.
Chicago leads the division at 6-3 while Minnesota is a half-game behind at 5-3-1. The Packers have to face both of these teams on the road, which is a daunting task for Rodgers and company. Rodgers brought a 4-6 Packers team to the playoffs a couple years ago, but repeating that feat is unlikely.
If the Packers do end up missing the playoffs, I can't possibly see McCarthy coming back. Rodgers will be in his 15th season, meaning his prime is winding down. For a quarterback who relies on athleticism and pure arm strength, age takes a larger toll. The Packers have the talent on offense around Rodgers to win, but they've dug themselves quite a hole this year. With the right coaching staff next year (John Harbaugh, perhaps?) the Packers should find themselves right back in the NFC mix.
Comments