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| BUF at NYJ | CLE at PHI | DEN at CAR | DET at IND | GB at JAX | MIN at ARI | NE at OAK | NO at CHI |
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Week 15 Game Recap: Green Bay Packers 16, Jacksonville Jaguars 20
What you need to know
| Green Bay Packers |
The Packers were able to move the ball well in the first half, but did not capitalize on that with touchdowns, which turned out to be a factor as they lost a close game. They were less successful moving the ball in the second half, and managed one field goal in that half. Their running game epitomized their play. Ryan Grant ran aggressively and hard at Jacksonville's defenders, but did not break free for any runs of ten yards or more. His production tailed off in the second half as he was stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage on four of his ten second-half rushing attempts, compared to one such carry in the first half.
Aaron Rodgers also mirrored his offense in that he moved his team up and down the field, but only engineered one drive that resulted in a touchdown. Rodgers took some chances downfield, with James Jones being his most targeted receiver on those passes. They connected on three deep passes, and had a good feel for each other on those throws. Conversely, although Rodgers threw deep to Greg Jennings three times, they were unable to connect, although Jennings broke open on two of those pass plays where he was a few yards away from the end zone. Jennings was the recipient of a touchdown pass from Rodgers. Donald Driver was used on mostly short and intermediate routes, and caught each pass thrown his way.
The Packers attempted nine plays on three possessions in the red zone -- none in the second half, and came away with one touchdown and two field goals. Two of these possessions began at or inside the ten yard line, and Green Bay ended those drives with field goals. The Packers ran the ball four times in the red zone, three by Grant and one by Rodgers on a designed play. Rodgers threw five red zone passes, one to Jennings for a touchdown. The only other red zone pass he threw to the end zone was to tight end Jermichael Finley, but it was too high. None of Rodgers other passes in the red zone yielded more than two yards.
| Jacksonville Jaguars |
The Jaguars scored first but gave up 13 unanswered points as their offense sputtered before making enough adjustments in the second half to take the lead and come away with the victory. Maurice Jones-Drew started in place of Fred Taylor, who was placed on Injured Reserve earlier in the week, but did not find many holes to run through. As a result of the ineffective running game, Jones-Drew just had 12 carries in the contest. He only had one run of over three yards in the first half, while two of his five second half carries gained seven or more yards. He ran with great power and did not go down at the first hit. His power was never more evident than on his touchdown run when a Green Bay linebacker hit him at the four yard line, but Jones-Drew absorbed the blow and dragged him into the end zone. Jones-Drew attempted a run on a two-point conversion play, but was stopped a yard short.
David Garrard was mostly ineffective in the first half, although he did throw a well timed pass to Dennis Northcutt for Jacksonville's first touchdown. At times Garrard threw the ball in an area where the Packers' defenders were able to deflect the ball, and at other times his receivers dropped passes they should have caught. Garrard was more effective in the second half, and he and Northcutt connected on several big plays where Northcutt ran deep routes. Northcutt was the only receiver to be targeted deep, as Garrard threw mostly short passes with a few intermediate routes sprinkled in. He spread the ball around, targeting his tight ends a combined 12 times. Reggie Williams was the second most targeted wide receiver, receiving five targets to Northcutt's eight. Once he settled down in the second half, Garrard threw more accurately, and used his running ability several times to gain important yards on short yardage plays, none more important than on a designed play late in the fourth quarter when he gained a first down, fumbled the ball but recovered it. The Jaguars scored on the next play to take a 20-16 lead.
The Jaguars ran five plays on two red zone possessions -- none in the first half, and came away with two touchdowns. They passed the ball twice, both to Jones-Drew, who turned one of them into a touchdown. Two of the red zone rushes were by Jones-Drew. He scored on a short-yardage run, and was stopped short of the end zone on a two point conversion attempt. Garrard had the other red zone run, which was designed for him.
What you ought to know
| QB Aaron Rodgers, Pass: 20 - 32 - 278 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 5 - 22 - 0 |
Rodgers had an uneven game. While he made several good throws and connected with his wide receivers on the majority of them, he did not lead his team to enough touchdowns. He missed receivers at times when they broke open heading towards the end zone, and apart from his touchdown pass to Jennings, his other four red zone passes netted a total of two yards. One of those passes came when it was apparent there was confusion on his teammates' part as to where to line up, and he snapped the ball instead of calling a timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty. The pass resulted in no gain and Green Bay had to settle for a field goal. Rodgers' only interception came on the Packers' last offensive play of the game.
| RB Ryan Grant, Rush: 21 - 56 - 0, Rec: 3 - 32 - 0 (4 targets) |
Grant ran hard whenever he had the ball, but although he seemed on the verge of breaking loose for big gains a few times, was unable to do so. He showed good power as he gained several yards after being initially hit at or near the line of scrimmage on some of his rushes. The only pass he dropped was just outside the red zone, and he had blockers in front of him, giving him a decent chance of getting into the end zone. His team settled for a field goal on that drive.
| RB Brandon Jackson, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (2 targets) |
Jackson spelled Grant periodically but did not have much of an impact.
| RB John Kuhn, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0 (1 targets) |
Kuhn's only carry was on a fourth and one play in the fourth quarter, but he was stopped for no gain. Jacksonville took over on downs and scored on that subsequent drive to take a 14-13 lead.
| WR Donald Driver, Rec: 5 - 65 - 0 (5 targets) |
Driver was asked to run short and intermediate routes and did so well, getting open when his number was called. He ran aggressively after securing the ball, and gained a few yards after his catches.
| WR James Jones, Rec: 4 - 132 - 0 (5 targets) |
Jones and Rodgers were in sync on several deep pass patterns, with Jones not only getting open deep, but also displaying good hands at the same time. He showed good awareness of where the sideline was on three of his receptions and was the Packers' best home run threat in this game.
| WR Greg Jennings, Rec: 3 - 22 - 1 (7 targets) |
Jennings ran his routes well, and got open on most of the times he was targeted. However, he and Rodgers only connected on shorter passes, including one for a touchdown. Jennings got open deep three times, but was overthrown twice, although in Rodgers' defense he was under a strong pass rush on one of those pass attempts. Jennings' displayed good speed and route running to get open a few yards outside of the end zone on two of the deep patterns he ran, but he and Rodgers could not connect.
| WR Ruvell Martin, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
Martin was not involved much in the game.
| WR Jordy Nelson, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
Nelson had a minimal impact on the game.
| TE Donald Lee, Rec: 2 - 8 - 0 (2 targets) |
Lee had a small role in the passing game, and one of his two targets, while in the red zone, was a dump off pass as a result of a broken play.
| TE Jermichael Finley (2 targets) |
Finley was targeted once in the end zone but the pass was thrown too high.
| PK Mason Crosby 3 - 3 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 10 points |
Crosby made his only point after attempt and all three of his field goals, which were from 22, 23 and 38 yards.
| GB Rush Defense |
Green Bay's run defense did not allow a lot of yards, but Jones-Drew averaged 4.0 yards per rush and Garrard 6.2 yards pr rush, most of which were designed runs. While they kept a powerfully running Jones-Drew from breaking loose for big gains, they could not stop him from scoring a short-yardage touchdown. They also had a missed opportunity when they stripped the ball from Garrard on one of his designed runs, but could not recover the fumble. Jacksonville only attempted 19 total running plays.
| GB Pass Defense |
The Packers could not generate a pass rush by their front four, and if not for their secondary, may have allowed more yards in the air. They blitzed more in the second half, and their two sacks came in the second half, one by a linebacker and the other by a safety. However, they could not stop the Jaguars' passing game in the second half, which was mostly short and intermediate passes with some deep passes thrown in. They did not intercept Garrard and surrendered two touchdowns in the air, with players getting open inside the ten yard line and running the remainder of the way for the scores.
| QB David Garrard, Pass: 21 - 33 - 238 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 5 - 31 - 0 |
Garrard started slowly, apart from his pass to Northcutt for the first score of the game, but he made good adjustments and benefited from a mediocre pass rush to have a solid game. He relied mostly on short and intermediate passes, and only threw deep to Northcutt. With his reliance on the shorter passing game, Garrard distributed the ball to three tight ends and Jones-Drew, and only threw to two wide receivers. He was more accurate in the second half, and complemented his passing with some timely rushes to help keep his team moving forward for scores. His numbers could have been better had it not been for Northcutt dropping a deep pass that was accurately thrown, and for overthrowing Troy Williamson in the end zone.
| RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Rush: 12 - 48 - 1, Rec: 4 - 22 - 1 (7 targets) |
Jones-Drew played with great effort. In addition to running with power, he showed excellent change of direction skills, making defenders miss on a few occasions in tight space, including the short pass he caught then ran around some defenders to score his receiving touchdown. Jones-Drew displayed the power on his touchdown run, dragging a defender who hit him at the four yard line, into the end zone. Although he only had 12 carries, Jones-Drew turned in a very productive game.
| RB Chauncey Washington, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0 |
Washington gained a first down on his only rushing attempt as the new backup running back with Fred Taylor on injured reserve.
| WR Dennis Northcutt, Rush: 1 - 9 - 0, Rec: 5 - 127 - 1 (8 targets) |
Northcutt showed excellent quickness in getting off the line and in running his routes. He used his quickness to beat his defender and get open deep and connected with Garrard on several deep passes. He could have posted even bigger numbers had he not dropped a pass that hit him in the hands as he got open deep in the first half. Garrard's confidence in him did not wane, and Northcutt benefited from several similar passes in the second half.
| WR Reggie Williams, Rec: 4 - 31 - 0 (5 targets) |
Williams ran mostly short routes and was able to get open and secure the catch when thrown the ball. He was open on the only intermediate route he was thrown the ball on, but the pass was under thrown.
| WR Troy Williamson (2 targets) |
Williamson dropped one of the two passes that were directed to him, and the other was too high in the end zone.
| TE Greg Estandia, Rec: 4 - 36 - 0 (6 targets) |
Estandia ran short routes well and displayed good hands. One of his targets was for a first down but called back due to a penalty on the offensive line, and another one was initially ruled a catch -- for a first down -- but upon challenge and review, overturned.
| TE Richard Angulo, Rec: 2 - 15 - 0 (3 targets) |
Angulo was utilized on short routes and caught the two passes that were thrown within his reach, with the third pass being too high.
| TE Marcedes Lewis, Rec: 2 - 7 - 0 (4 targets) |
Lewis was used on short routes and had a minimal impact.
| PK Josh Scobee 0 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 2 points |
Scobee made both of his point after attempts, and missed his only field goal attempt, which was from 51 yards, when it hit the upright and bounced backwards.
| JAX Rush Defense |
Jacksonville's run defense played hard and aggressively, and because of their effort prevented Ryan Grant from breaking any big runs despite Grant's strong efforts. The Jaguars stopped Grant at or behind the line of scrimmage on five of his 21 rushing attempts, and made several other stops just past the line of scrimmage. They stripped the ball from Grant once but did not recover it.
| JAX Pass Defense |
The Jaguars did not generate much of a pass rush and two of their three sacks could be attributed to good coverage by their secondary. The secondary played fairly well considering they were missing their best cornerback, Rasheen Mathis. Although they gave up close to 300 yards passing, they stiffened in the red zone and only allowed one passing touchdown. A Jaguars' defender dropped a potential interception on the first play of the second half, but the unit redeemed themselves by intercepting Rodgers during the Packers' last possession to seal the victory.