Packer Post- Op Atlanta

Lambeau Live at State Fair
8/3/2018  dwm photo

I don't want to get too excited, but the game yesterday was the most fun and least frustrating one of the season.

A 34 - 20 win over the equally hapless Atlanta Falcons had several heroes for the guys in green and gold: Bashaud Breeland, Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Jones, and Davante Adams.

It was the first Packer win for interim head coach and long-time Green Bay assistant Joe Philbin.  It improved the Pack's season mark to 5 - 8 - 1 and mathematically they are still in the running for a play-off spot.  Admittedly, it is a long shot.

The Falcons marched through Green Bay's defense much like General Sherman on their first drive of the game - finishing with a 22 yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to top receiver Julius Jones.

Green Bay scored the next 34 points, but only because Atlanta missed a go ahead field goal after the Packers tied the score their first time with the ball (Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams on a 22 yard completion).

The Packers scored with a Mason Crosby 50 yard field goal to take the lead and got their biggest boost when first year Packer Breeland picked off Ryan at the Falcon 22 yard line and ran it in.  At the end of the half, Crosby put another 3 points on the board, this time from 48 yards for a 20 -7 lead.

In the second half, Green Bay took the kick, moved crisply downfield and scored on a 24 pass from Rodgers to Randall Cobb.  It was Rodgers 359 pass attempt without an interception, which set a new NFL record that he extended to 368 by game's end.

Running back Aaron Jones touched the ball a lot in the second half - scoring on a 30 yard run with 5:51 left in the 3rd quarter to push the lead to 28.

Atlanta finally scored again in the second minute of the fourth quarter and were driving to make it interesting when a poor snap by the Falcon center bounced off an Atlanta player where Breeland smothered it on the Green Bay seven yard line.  Green Bay made a couple first downs before giving it back to Atlanta with 2:37 to play, but without no times out.  The Falcons got a late score to make the final 34 - 20 (they missed the extra point).

It is difficult to reach any real conclusion from this game, but it was good to see some urgency on the field from the Packers.  Joe Philbin went "all-in" early when he challenged two questionable pass completions by Atlanta on their opening drive.  He lost both challenges (incorrectly according to the FOX officials analyst), but it seemed to set the right tone for the team.  Another positive was the team was only called for a handful of penalties.

After getting pretty much walked over at the start of the game - the Packer defense played better from there on - getting some sacks with an interception and fumble recovery.

This was a good game to watch.  It looked like the team was having fun on the field.  The way the team played seemed stronger than the effort witnessed in the last game.

Who knows what that means - other than it sets up an interesting match next Sunday in Soldier Field as they go play with some Bears.

Go Pack, Go!