Good morning, everyone. On Christmas Day, the Green Bay Packers took on the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. Temperatures for this game were in the 40s and 50s with an overcast sky (plus a bit of snow before kickoff). I was there at the stadium to witness the Packers try their best to keep their playoff hopes alive. In the end, the Packers did what they had to do to keep those hopes alive by winning in Miami. Here is how the game went down.
The Packers won the coin toss, but they once again deferred to the second half. This meant that the Dolphins started this game on offense. After an incomplete pass to start the drive, the Dolphins got gains of 14, 14, and 17 yards to get into Packers territory (2 were runs by Raheem Mostert, and the other was a pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill). The drive stalled at the Green Bay 28 after Tua threw incomplete to Tyreek Hill, forcing Miami to settle for a field goal. The kick by Jason Sanders was good from 46 yards out, giving the Dolphins a 3-0 lead with 11:10 left in the first quarter. The Packers should’ve scored a touchdown on their first drive of the game. Heck, they should’ve scored when Keisean Nixon returned the ensuing kickoff. He was tackled 9 yards short of the goal line, giving the offense a fantastic opportunity to take the lead. What did they do with it? They squandered it, especially on the second down play when Aaron Rodgers had Randall Cobb open. Rodgers held the ball too long and took a sack. On third down, the pass bounced off Romeo Doubs’ hands and was almost picked off. Mason Crosby made the kick from 36 yards out, tying the game at 3-3 with 9:26 left in the quarter. The Dolphins started at their own 16 yard line after Mostert was tackled by Tariq Carpenter. Unfortunately for the defense, the Dolphins were able to score on the first play. WR Jaylen Waddle took a crossing route catch and outran everyone to the end zone for Miami’s first touchdown of the game. The extra point was good, giving the Dolphins a 10-3 lead just like that. Miami’s kickoff team intentionally squibbed a kick to avoid the dangerousness of Nixon. Josiah Deguara got the ball at the Green Bay 46 and didn’t go any further. From there, the offense was able to go down the field for a touchdown. On the first play, Rodgers found Allen Lazard for an 11-yard pass completion. Two plays later, Rodgers found Christian Watson for a 20-yard pass play that got Green Bay into the red zone. Then they faced a third and 8 from the Miami 15 yard line. Aaron Rodgers decided to scramble for the first down and slid at the Miami 3. Even with a great opportunity for a score, it took a fourth down conversion to get it. Rodgers faked a handoff and found a wide open Marcedes Lewis for a 1-yard touchdown that (with the extra point) tied the game at 10-10 with 4:10 left in the first quarter. Miami’s next drive stalled out due to a holding penalty, a botched snap that Tua luckily recovered, and an incomplete pass on third and 21 from the Dolphins 44 yard line. Randall Cobb was back deep to receive the punt, and he only went 2 yards before being tackled at the Green Bay 12. From there, the offense took over looking for a touchdown. On the first play, Aaron Rodgers found Allen Lazard down the sideline for a 42-yard pass completion that got Green Bay into Miami territory. After that, the drive went kinda nowhere as they only gained 8 more yards before facing a fourth and 2 from Miami’s 37. They decided to go for it rather than try a 55-yard field goal. Seeing that they only needed two yards, a short pass or a run by Aaron Jones/AJ Dillon would’ve been the right call. Instead, Rodgers went deep and overthrew Christian Watson for a few yards, resulting in a turnover on downs. Miami took advantage by scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run by Jeff Wilson, which was set up by a Tua to Tyreek Hill pass that went all the way to the one yard line. The touchdown gave the Dolphins a 17-10 lead with 10:52 left in the second quarter. Things almost went completely downhill after the Packers attempted a fake punt run and was stopped short of the first down marker from their own 20 (WHY?!). Thankfully, the defense only allowed a field goal after that. After a three and out (and thankfully no bad fake punt attempt), the Dolphins gave the ball right back when Jarran Reed stripped Mostert of the ball and recovered it at the Miami 49 yard line. The Packers were able to get some points out of the turnover, but it was only a field goal. Mason Crosby made the kick from 46 yards away, decreasing Miami’s lead to 20-13 at halftime.
The Packers started the second half on offense as they looked to tie the game with a touchdown. During the drive, the Packers faced a fourth and one from their own 31 yard line. Aaron Rodgers sneaked it in for a first down, keeping the drive alive. AJ Dillon then ran 11 yards for another first down. Three plays later, Green Bay converted a third and 9 when Rodgers found Patrick Taylor for a 17-yard pass completion that put Green Bay into Dolphins territory. On the next play, Rodgers made a fantastic throw to Marcedes Lewis that set up a first and goal at the Miami 7 yard line. 2 plays later, AJ Dillon ran it in for the touchdown that (with the extra point) tied the game at 20-20 with 7:53 left in the third quarter. The Dolphins went down the field looking for a score to retake the lead. They got to the Green Bay 30 yard line during the drive, which included a fourth down run by Raheem Mostert. The defense made Tua Tagovailoa throw the ball away on third and 8, setting up a 48-yard field goal attempt. The kick went wide right, keeping the score tied at 20 with 2:25 left in the third quarter. The Packers had a chance to take the lead after that missed kick, but threw it away when Aaron Rodgers was picked off in the end zone by Kader Kohoe (who should’ve been called for PI). The defense got an interception right back thanks to Jaire Alexander, who returned the pick to the Green Bay 14 yard line. They almost messed things up when Rodgers fumbled, but AJ Dillon recovered the ball. The drive only resulted in a field goal, but the Packers took the lead with 11:45 left in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins then went on a drive that was promising. They got into Packers territory in this drive with a mix of run and pass. Once again, the defense made sure that Miami didn’t get a single point on the drive. On second and 13 from the Green Bay 30, Tua was picked off by De’Vondre Campbell, who returned the interception to the Green Bay 36. From there, the Packers offense went on a drive that I thought was going to be the sealer. The drive started well with a Romeo Doubs catch and run that got to the Miami 41 yard line. 2 plays later, Rodgers found Robert Tonyan for a 13-yard pass completion that got another first down. After a holding penalty negated an Aaron Rodgers scramble, Aaron Jones ran for 18 yards to set up a second and 2 from the Miami 20. An encroachment penalty gave the Packers a free first down at the Miami 15 yard line. The drive ultimately ended with another field goal by Mason Crosby (after a failed attempt by Rodgers to get the defense offsides). The kick was good, giving the Packers a 6-point lead with 2:02 remaining in the game. This meant that the season was in the hands of the defense. 2 plays into Miami’s drive, the Packers sealed the game with Rasul Douglas intercepting Tua on second and 7 from the Miami 31. 3 kneel-downs followed that, giving the Packers a 26-20 win over the Dolphins on Christmas Day. With the win, the Packers are now 7-8 on the season with their playoff hopes still alive.
(Here are the highlights of the game, provided by the NFL's YouTube page.)
On offense, the Packers didn’t play their best game. A major problem for Green Bay was that they weren’t consistent in terms of getting to the end zone at all, scoring only two touchdowns. The most frustrating segment was after the long kick return by Keisean Nixon. The offense was set up at the Miami 9 yard line and completely messed it up. The sack on second down was maddening because Rodgers had Randall Cobb open for a touchdown. For some reason, he could not find him and held the ball too long, resulting in a sack. Rodgers did not have his best game, but he did have some great throws to Marcedes Lewis and Allen Lazard. He was also able to scramble for a first down on Sunday. I was surprised that he was able to do a QB sneak. Considering that Yosh Nijman was sidelined with an injury during this game, the offensive line tried their best to keep Rodgers upright (other than 2 sacks). The running backs only got 61 combined rushing yards, but AJ Dillon did contribute a rushing touchdown to help Green Bay win this game. Allen Lazard (in addition to his run blocking) led the receiving corps with 61 yards on 5 catches, while Christian Watson had 49 yards on 6 catches before being sidelined with a hip injury. Romeo Doubs caught a key first down in the Packers’ final offensive drive. Marcedes Lewis was able to catch a touchdown in addition to the 31-yard catch that was an incredible throw by Rodgers. I kinda wanted the Packers to seal the win with a touchdown on the last drive, which made that whole non-play on fourth down frustrating as heck. To the Packers: if you’re going to line up to go for it on fourth down, especially deep in opposing territory, just do it!
Thankfully, the defense sealed the victory with the interception by Rasul Douglas. I have to give Joe Barry’s unit credit for playing much better in the second half than in the first half. The first half had plenty of long catches and big runs that we were expecting Green Bay to give up to the likes of Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and Raheem Mostert. For some reason, they stopped giving Mostert the ball consistently, which was a sigh of relief for the defense. The biggest play allowed in the first half was the 84-yard catch and run by Waddle that went for a touchdown (plus his penguin dance). During the halftime break, defensive backs coach Jerry Gray was heated and got the DBs (and coincidentally, the whole defense) to play much better in the second half. After giving up 20 points, the Packers shut out the Dolphins while also getting three interceptions off of Tua Tagovailoa in three straight drives (one each by Jaire Alexander, De’Vondre Campbell, and Rasul Douglas). Also, the defense was able to pressure Tua into a couple of bad throws that were either to the ground or out of bounds. Preston Smith and Jarran Reed each got a sack of Tua on Sunday, with Reed also forcing and recovering a fumble last in the first half. It was thanks to the defense that the Packers are still alive in the playoff hunt. Hopefully they get ready to play at chilly Lambeau in the next couple of weeks.
On Special Teams, the Packers had a fantastic play and then a couple of mistakes. The 93-yard kick return by Keisean Nixon was the only return by him before he left with a groin issue. After he left, Romeo Doubs was brought in to return kickoffs, and he at least didn’t fumble the ball. The worst play that happened on Special Teams, and the play that could’ve ended things for Green Bay, was the fake punt run by Dallin Leavitt that went nowhere. Like last week, Pat O’Donnell only punted once in this game. Other than that, he did his job in securing the hold for each of Mason Crosby’s field goal and extra point attempts. Also, there were no kicks blocked, which is always a good thing. The last thing I’ll say is a major shoutout to Mason Crosby. With Sunday’s game, he broke Brett Favre’s franchise mark of consecutive starts in a Packers uniform, which was a record that I thought would never be broken. Crosby is now at 256 straight starts, and he celebrated the occasion by making each kick through the uprights. He is a guy that will definitely make it to the Packers Hall of Fame once his career is done.
Overall, it was not the prettiest win for the Packers. But they were able to get it done in come-from-behind fashion to keep their season alive. The best part about it is that both of the remaining games for Green Bay are at the friendly confines of Lambeau Field. First up will be a matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, who already clinched the NFC North. I think that the Packers can win each of the remaining games, but it’s up to them to show up in front of their home crowd. In the meantime, I’ll be celebrating a Victory Monday. Have a great week, everyone. Go Pack Go!
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