The Green Bay Packers remain home this week for a visitor from the west coast in the Los Angeles Rams.
Coming off of yet another embarrassing loss to the division rival Minnesota Vikings, the Packers have a chance to right the ship. They face an injured-riddled Rams squad led by backup QB Brett Rypien.
The Packers are injured themselves, as today they are without LB Quay Walker and safety Rudy Ford. An already depleted secondary will face off against a Rams receiving corps that has lit up the stat sheet this season.
Earlier this week, Matt LaFleur stated the team was ready to “let Aaron Jones loose.” Could today finally be the day Jones sees proper use? Will that be the key to getting the offense going in the first half?
Post-Game Report
The sloppiness of previous weeks continued this week for the Packers. On the first three drives of the game, the Packers had four penalties. One of these penalties was an offensive offsides that negated a fourth down conversion and forced the Packers to punt on their opening drive.
The defense played well to start the game. Despite numerous attempts to shoot themselves in the foot, the defense came up big early in the game. On the second Rams’ drive of the game, Jonathan Owens came flying in to strip-sack Rypien, and De’Vondre Campbell was there for the recovery.
The Packers offense capitalized on the short field, with Aaron Jones finding pay dirt from three yards out seven plays later. The Packers offense finally showed life in the first half.
The defense continued to hold, forcing back-to-back three-and-outs from the Rams offense. The Packers offense began to lose momentum though. Their two subsequent drives were also three-and-outs and featured a bad underthrow by Love intended for Watson. If the throw was better, Watson had a beat on the defender and could’ve walked in for another score.
Following that drive, the defense finally began to bend. They allowed the Rams to drive to their own 34-yard line before holding strong and forcing a field goal attempt. The Rams’ 52-yard field goal attempt was good, giving the Rams their first points of the game.
With just under two minutes to go in the first half, Love engineered a beautiful two-minute drill to get the Packers within field goal range. The drive was all for naught, however, as Anders Carlson’s 48-yard attempt sailed wide left, his second miss of the season.
The Packers had a rough start to the second half. Their very first play from scrimmage saw rookie Dontayvion Wicks fumble the ball right into the arms of Rams corner Ahkello Witherspoon. A Rams punt and four plays later, and the Packers fumbled again, this time after a nine-yard run by Jones.
The defense continued to hold though. The rest of the game, the defense didn’t allow any points. Across the Rams’ six drives in the second half, the Packers defense forced a missed field goal, two punts, two turnover-on-downs, and one turnover.
The turnover came off of a Jaire Alexander deflection that rookie safety Anthony Johnson Jr snagged out of the air, his first career interception.
Offensively, the Packers recovered nicely from the back-to-back fumbles early on. Love and the offense were cooking, with their four subsequent drives ending in two Carlson field goals, one three-and-out, a touchdown to rookie tight end Luke Musgrave, his first of his career.
Their fifth and final drive of the game ran out the clock. The Packers get their first win since week three in dominating fashion over the Rams 20-3.
Players of the Game
- Carrington Valentine: After Rasul Douglas was traded earlier this week, questions about the Green Bay secondary arose. Following today’s game, it’s safe to say there is still talent there. The seventh round pick out of Kentucky played an outstanding game in his first start. Valentine was lock down today, racking up three pass break-ups and two tackles and nearly recording an interception. Valentine helped to completely shut down a talented Rams’ wide receiver room and, while it is still early, has potential to be a star and a solid replacement for Rasul Douglas.
- Safeties: With injuries to Rudy Ford and Darnell Savage, seventh round rookie Anthony Johnson Jr and fifth year vet Jonathan Owens were thrust into the starting role at the free and strong safety position. Both players played fantastic. Owens led the team in tackles, with eight on the day, and recorded one QB hit, one sack, and one forced fumble. Johnson recorded two tackles, two pass break-ups, and one interception. The makeshift safety tandem had a great game, hopefully a sign of better days ahead for the secondary.
Injury Report
- Kenny Clark suffered a shoulder injury in the second half. Clark was carted to the locker room and did not return to the game.
- Christian Watson suffered a chest and back injury and was evaluated for a concussion late in the game. He did not return.
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Analysis
The Packers get their first win since week three in a convincing blowout win over the Rams. Outside of early game penalties and early second-half struggles, the Packers played their most complete game since week one.
The defense played great, but that should be taken with a grain of salt as the Rams were down to their third string QB. Still, good defenses are expected to shut down these teams, and that’s exactly what the Packers defense did.
It’s still too early to tell, but Carrington Valentine and Anthony Johnson Jr have the potential to be the steals of the draft for the Packers. They have a tough road ahead in the next month, facing the Steelers, Chargers, Lions, and Chiefs. If they can continue to play well against these teams toting some pretty good receivers, the Packers defense could be scary.
Offensively, there are still some notable issues, but they played their best game since week three. LaFleur finally fed Aaron Jones, and when he got going, the offense seemed much more fluid. Love made some mistakes, most notably the missed deep shot to Watson in the second quarter, but otherwise played a great game.
Love continued his second half dominance. In the second half, he went 12/13 and threw for 160 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions for a 143.6 passer rating. Love led the offense to three scoring drives in the second half to seal the win for the Packers.
The final big thing of note is the offensive line. Despite giving up four sacks, the offensive line played noticeably better. Yosh Njiman and Sean Rhyan filled in at left tackle and right guard respectively and played considerably better than Rasheed Walker and Ron Runyan Jr. This needs to be the lineup going forward.
Any win in the NFL is something to be happy about, even one against a struggling team like the Rams. The Packers still have some mistakes to clean up but otherwise looked like a completely different team than weeks past. They have a tough schedule ahead, but will be carrying some momentum into their week 10 matchup on the road against the 5-3 Pittsburgh Steelers.
