Do the Green Bay Packers have a strong roster? Not even near it. Could this be the beginning of them becoming a successful team? Perhaps?
Maybe?
Whatever your thoughts on the Packers’ 20-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, at least the team finished the season with a bang as the 3-5 Packers defeated the 3-6 Rams.
With a commanding 13-3 advantage, Jordan Love hit Christian Watson with a shot. This season, those 50/50 balls had been left unfinished much too frequently. Watson got up for a 37-yard reception this time. The Packers delivered the knockout one play later.
Love seemed to be scanning the left for a screen. Then he pivoted and turned to face a screen. All of it was merely decorative. Luke Musgrave, the tight end, was racing across the center and was the target. The outstanding youngster broke a tackle at the 9 and raced for the game-winning 20-yard touchdown after catching the ball at the 15.
To be crystal clear, the Packers were supposed to win this game. persuasively. Matthew Stafford, the quarterback for the Rams, was out due to a thumb injury. The clumsy backup quarterback for the Rams, Brett Rypien, made his fourth career start and might not have scored a touchdown if he had been given a month of Sundays to play.
Rypien gave in with the clumsy plays. He completed 13 of 28 passes for 13 yards, one interception, and one fumble loss. Love wasn’t perfect, but he was still far superior to the other.
Love completed 20 of 26 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown. Love had his best passer rating since opening with back-to-back games of three or more touchdowns, zero interceptions, and triple-digit ratings against Chicago and Atlanta, coming in at 115.5, 70 points higher than Rypien.
Love had his moments even though he had thrown at least one interception in each of the previous five games. Halfway through the third quarter, with the Packers holding a 7-3 lead, he made two huge throws on back-to-back drives. He started by firing a sidearm bullet to Dontayvion Wicks for eighteen. He demonstrated incredible dexterity on the following play, dropping one past linebacker Troy Reeder and to Musgrave, who leapt to catch it for a score of twenty-five.
The drive died, though. Romeo Doubs tripped on his route on third-and-two from the 4. Aaron Donald raced through a double-team block to get the sack before Love could locate his backup plan. The Packers took a 10-3 lead thanks to a chip-shot field goal.
With 9:08 remaining, Green Bay had increased their advantage to 13-3. Rypien’s ball was deflected into the air by Jaire Alexander, and rookie safety Anthony Johnson made a sliding interception at midfield. Carlson’s 34-yard field goal tied the score at two.
The Rams offense had played so poorly that the game was finished. However, confidence may not have increased all that much after an ugly win. The game was transformed into a romp by the game-winning touchdown, which may instill some confidence before the team faces the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, the start of a more difficult stretch of the schedule.
The Packers had a 7-3 lead at the half, their largest lead since Week 2. Despite having a 151-91 advantage, they were penalized seven times, twice for lining up offside, which rendered their successful fourth-down quarterback sneaks ineffective.
With 11 first downs, the Packers actually moved the ball for once. However, drives stalled at the Rams’ 43 when Love overthrew Watson for what should have been a touchdown and the Packers’ 45 when Jon Runyan lined up offside on a sneak. Aaron Jones had followed blocks by left guard Elgton Jenkins, tight end Luke Musgrave, and receiver Christian Watson for a 3-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0 early in the second quarter.
It was a comedy of blunders on the last possession of the first half. Romeo Doubs’ pass to Love on a third-and-17 allowed him to convert despite taking a terrible sack on the second down. After being called for a false start that put them outside of field goal range, Jayden Reed recovered by catching a pass for ten yards. However, Anders Carlson missed a 48-yard field goal on the last play of the half.
The second half started off worse than it had been. Wicks attempted a first down on the opening play, but fumbled when he touched the ground, leading to a turnover. Jones found a hole on the following series, but it was stripped for another turnover. However, there was little harm done; after Jones’ fumble, the Rams failed to convert a field goal.