Week 5 Game Recap: St. Louis Rams 23, Green Bay Packers 20

What you need to know

St. Louis Rams

In the first four weeks of this NFL season, the Green Bay Packers’ defense gave up an average of 311 yards through the air. QB Marc Bulger and his star receiving corps had to be licking their chops at the thought of having their way with the Packers’ defensive backfield, but CBs Al Harris and Charles Woodson limited the All Pro receiving duo of Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce to a combined 63 yards on five catches and one touchdown. Holt saw seven targets while Bruce had only four.

QB Marc Bulger still had a decent day, completing 18 of 28 passes for 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but he did it by spreading the ball out to nine different receivers. Third down RB Tony Fisher led the team with 51 receiving yards, 40 of which came on a dump pass that he took up the sideline for a near touchdown.

RB Steven Jackson put in a solid effort with 98 yards on 23 carries, but failed to score. He lost three red zone touches to backups Stephen Davis and Tony Fisher, but still had five chances of his own from inside the 20. Jackson also added 20 yards by catching three Marc Bulger passes.

Green Bay Packers

RB Ahman Green was unable to play due to his lingering hamstring injury. Vernand Morency was given the start, but fumbled twice in his first five carries and was replaced by Noah Herron (officially, Morency was charged with only one fumble as the other went unnoticed by officials and Morency covered it quickly.) Herron ran with authority from the get go and was featured for the balance of the game. He scored the Packers’ first rushing touchdown of the season and finished the game with 106 yards on 20 carries. He also caught five passes for 20 yards.

WR Donald Driver started and played a typical number of snaps, but was obviously hampered by his injuries. He was targeted primarily on slants and other short routes and had trouble gaining separation from his coverage. He was targeted eight times by Brett Favre, but caught only three passes for 24 yards.

Rookie WR Greg Jennings recorded his second 100 yard receiving game of the season, catching five balls for 105 yards and the Packers’ only passing touchdown. He was targeted deep often, recording a long catch of 46 yards. He showed decent speed and excellent toughness, but also dropped a couple of catchable passes.

What you ought to know

QB Marc Bulger, Pass: 18 - 28 - 220 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 3 - 10 - 0

Bulger had an unspectacular outing against a defense that had been giving up yardage by the plateful. He had some trouble connecting with his star receivers, who drew single coverage more often than not, and ended up spreading his 18 completions among nine different receivers. Bulger extended his league-leading streak of passing plays without an interception, though Packers’ CB Al Harris should have ended it when Bulger hit him on the numbers in the third quarter. Bulger ended the game with 220 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns.

RB Steven Jackson, Rush: 23 - 98 - 0, Rec: 3 - 20 - 0 (3 targets)

Jackson got off to a slow start, recording only 27 rushing yards in the first half, but finished strong with 98 yards on 23 carries. He had four red zone carries and one red zone passing target, but failed to cross the stripe. He was replaced by Stephen Davis or Tony Fisher in the red zone on a couple of occasions, though neither had any more success. Jackson added 20 yards in the passing game, extending his streak of consecutive games with 100+ combined yards.

RB Stephen Davis, Rush: 3 - 4 - 0, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (1 targets)

Davis touched the ball four times, but of extreme importance to Steven Jackson owners, three of the touches were in the red zone. He had 14 combined yards.

RB Tony Fisher, Rec: 2 - 51 - 0 (4 targets)

Fisher saw several snaps in passing situations. He took a dump pass for 40 yards down the sideline, nearly keeping his feet in bounds for a touchdown. He also had a 15 yard reception nullified by penalty.

WR Kevin Curtis, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0, Rec: 3 - 21 - 1 (5 targets)

Three of Curtis’ five targets came in the red zone. He finished with 21 yards on three catches and a touchdown.

WR Torry Holt, Rec: 3 - 40 - 1 (7 targets)

Holt’s first target of the game resulted in a six yard touchdown catch. He found himself blanketed tightly by CB Al Harris most of the game and consequently recorded only two additional catches for 34 yards.

WR Shaun McDonald, Rec: 2 - 30 - 0 (3 targets)

McDonald was one of nine Rams to catch a pass in this game. He finished with 30 yards on a pair of catches.

WR Isaac Bruce, Rec: 2 - 23 - 0 (4 targets)

Bruce had a difficult time separating from CB Charles Woodson’s tight coverage and finished the game with only 23 yards on a pair of catches. He was targeted four times by QB Marc Bulger.

TE Madison Hedgecock, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (1 targets)

Hedgecock caught his only target for a one yard first down.

TE Joe Klopfenstein, Rec: 1 - 24 - 0 (2 targets)

The rookie TE caught one pass for 24 yards.

PK Jeff Wilkins 3 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 11 points

Wilkins was perfect on a trio of short field goals and a pair of extra points.

STL Rush Defense

Third string RB Noah Herron recorded his first career 100 yard game against the Rams in this game. Green Bay’s offensive line was able to open up some gaping holes and Herron exploited them very well.

STL Pass Defense

The Rams’ defense limited Brett Favre and the Packers to 220 passing yards, but were unable to add to his interception total even though they had multiple prime opportunities. They sacked Favre only twice, but one of those resulted in the fumble that sealed the Rams’ victory.

QB Brett Favre, Pass: 22 - 39 - 220 - 1 TD / 0 INT

Favre was limited to a relatively sedate 220 yard total, but unlike last Monday night, he managed to avoid the interception bug and didn’t subject his body to any big hits. His receiver corps was certainly limited, with Robert Ferguson out and Donald Driver slowed by injuries, and he relied primarily on rookie Greg Jennings and newly acquired Koren Robinson. Favre looked like he might work his way to another late game come back victory until he fumbled away the ball on the St. Louis 11 yard line with 44 seconds left in the game.

RB Noah Herron, Rush: 20 - 106 - 1, Rec: 5 - 20 - 0 (5 targets)

Herron came into the game on the Packers’ second possession, after Vernand Morency fumbled for the second time. He carried the ball seven times on this drive, showing excellent vision and good quickness, and scored the Packers’ first rushing touchdown of the season. Herron recorded his first NFL 100+ yard rushing game, finishing with 106 yards on 20 carries. He also caught five passes for 20 yards and had a 16 yard run erased by penalty.

RB Vernand Morency, Rush: 6 - 15 - 0, Rec: 2 - 9 - 0 (2 targets)

Morency started for the injured Ahman Green and touched the ball on the Packers’ first four offensive plays, two short pass receptions and two carries. He fumbled on the second carry, but was given a second chance. He fumbled again three carries later and recovered it himself, but RB Noah Herron replaced him on the next play and was the primary RB for the balance of the game. Morency did play a few snaps in the second half and finished with 15 yards on six carries.

RB Ahman Green

Green was a late scratch for the second consecutive week due to his injured hamstring.

WR Greg Jennings, Rec: 5 - 105 - 1 (11 targets)

Jennings was the star receiver today for Brett Favre. He pulled in a beautiful deep ball on the second quarter’s first play. He caught the ball with a safety closing fast, took the big hit and held on to the ball for a 38 yard pick-up. He was targeted deep often and reeled in a 46 yard catch for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

WR Koren Robinson, Rec: 4 - 42 - 0 (8 targets)

With the probability of a league suspension hanging over his head, Robinson took this opportunity to try and prove to the Packers that he is deserving of a roster spot. He finished as the team’s second leading receiver with 42 yards on four catches. It’s obvious that he and Favre aren’t quite on the same page yet as Robinson had some difficulty with formations and routes.

WR Donald Driver, Rec: 3 - 24 - 0 (8 targets)

Driver was deemed healthy enough to start, but didn’t catch a pass until the third quarter (the 18 yard reception was nullified by a holding penalty.) He obviously had trouble getting separation and was not as effective as usual. He settled for only 24 yards on three catches.

WR Robert Ferguson

Ferguson was inactive in this game due to injury.

TE Bubba Franks, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (4 targets)

Franks had an uneventful day, recording two catches for only 16 yards. He was open near the goal line and was signaling Favre for the ball, but Favre was zeroed in on his other tight end.

TE David Martin, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (4 targets)

Martin was targeted twice in the end zone, but failed to catch either pass. He had one reception for only four yards.

PK Dave Rayner 2 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points

Rayner missed wide left from 45 yards, but hit his other two field goal attempts as well as a pair of extra points.

GB Rush Defense

The Packers kept a good handle on RB Steven Jackson in the first half, limiting him to only 27 yards on eight carries, but he eventually wore them down and finished with 98 yards on the ground. Rams’ runners attempted seven red zone carries but were unable to cross the stripe on the ground.

GB Pass Defense

The Packers’ veteran corners Al Wilson and Charles Woodson did an excellent job limiting Rams’ WR Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce in primarily one-on-one coverage. The Packers forced QB Marc Bulger to look off his primary targets, but he had plenty of time to look for alternate route runners and took only a pair of sacks.