Good afternoon, everyone. The Green Bay Packers finished their 2019 regular season with a 13-3 record. Before the playoffs start for them, I might as well give all of you my thoughts on how the regular season went down for the Packers. Without further delay, let’s get right into it.
The Packers started the regular season in the right direction with a win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Opening Night. It was a defensive struggle all game long, with the only touchdown being scored by the Packers (a touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Jimmy Graham). Other than a field goal, the Packers new-look defense shut down the Bears offense throughout the entire game. The win was sealed with an Adrian Amos pick of Mitchell Trubisky in the end zone. The Bears had another chance at scoring after the pick, but a sack of Trubisky by Preston Smith (the defense’s 5th of the night) ended the game. The Packers won by a score of 10-3 to start the NFL’s 100th season. In the home opener at Lambeau Field, the Packers quickly went up 21-0 over the Minnesota Vikings with 3 touchdown drives in a row. After those touchdowns, the Packers ended up scoring nothing for the rest of the game while the Vikings cut the lead to as little as 5 points. Once again, the game was sealed with an end zone interception (this time by Kevin King). Even with the pick, the offense helped seal the win with a couple of first downs in a drive that gave the Vikings very little time to do anything. The Packers won that game by a score of 21-16, giving them 2 wins in the NFC North after 2 weeks. In Week 3, the Packers went against the Denver Broncos at Lambeau Field. Late in the first half, the score was tied at 10-10 when the Packers got a turnover on a strip-sack of Joe Flacco. The fumble was recovered by Rashan Gary, and the offense scored a touchdown on a 7-yard run by Aaron Jones. The Packers got a couple of more turnovers against the Broncos (a strip of the ball and recovery by Jaire Alexander and a pick by Darnell Savage) that helped seal the victory. After the takeaway by Alexander, they scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run by Jones (which was set up by a wheel route pass caught by Danny Vitale that almost got into the end zone). A couple of late sacks by the duo of Preston and Za’Darius Smith preserved the 27-16 win that propelled the Packers to a 3-0 start. In Week 4, the Packers finished their three-game home-stand against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Packers started the game by getting to a 10-0 lead, but things went the opposite direction after that. After the Eagles cut the lead to 10-7, the Packers went down the field to get another score. Facing a fourth and two, they decided to settle for a field goal to make it 13-7. A nice kick return gave the Eagles the ball at their own 40 yard line. They took advantage of the short field by scoring a touchdown after an 11-play drive. The Eagles quickly got another touchdown after a strip-sack of Aaron Rodgers by Derek Barnett (who should have been kicked out for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Jamaal Williams earlier in the game). Rodgers led the Packers down the field to get a touchdown before halftime. He connected to Geronimo Allison on 2 straight plays, including the touchdown pass that cut the lead to 21-20. The game went back-and-forth in the second half, with some controversial moments during it. There were a couple of times where there should have been defensive pass interference called on the Eagles. The first time was challenged by head coach Matt LaFleur, but the officials stayed with the non-call ruling. The second time was at the very end of the game, where Rodgers’ pass bounced off the chest of Marquez Valdes-Scantling into the hands of Nigel Bradham for the interception that sealed the Eagles’ 34-27 win. Even with these controversial moments, the Packers still had chances to win. They could not get it done when they had to, including 4 failed pass attempts from the one yard line. It did not help that Davante Adams got hurt on the drive with the failed goal-line attempts.
The loss gave the Packers a 3-1 record and their first chance at a bounce-back game. They responded in a big way against the Cowboys, building a 31-3 lead behind Aaron Jones’ 4 touchdown runs. The defense intercepted Dak Prescott 3 times in the game (one each by Jaire Alexander, Chandon Sullivan and Kevin King). The defense did let the Cowboys cut the lead to 10 points in the second half, but they got the stop when they needed it late in the fourth quarter. It also helped that the field goal with 1:44 left by Brett Maher was wide right from 33 yards out, which sealed the Packers’ 34-24 win at AT&T Stadium. In Week 6, the Packers took on the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field on Monday Night Football. The game started ugly for Green Bay, as they trailed 13-0 to the Lions. In the second quarter, the Packers cut the lead to 13-10 thanks to a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jamaal Williams and a Mason Crosby field goal. After the Packers tied the game at 13-13, they once again had to overcome a deficit. Trailing 22-13 with 12:17 left, the offense went down the field for a touchdown. Aaron Rodgers connected to Allen Lazard for a 35-yard touchdown pass that cut the lead to 22-20. After a defensive stop by Green Bay, the offense went down the field for the winning score. Allen Lazard made some clutch catches during the game-winning drive for Green Bay. Late in the drive, a questionable hands to the face penalty on Trey Flowers gave the Packers a chance to run down the rest of the clock. With 2 seconds left, Mason Crosby was called upon for the game-winning field goal. It was good from 23 yards away, giving the Packers a 23-22 win and a 5-1 record. In Week 7, the Packers played the Oakland (soon to be Las Vegas) Raiders at Lambeau Field. The game was back-and-forth in the first half until momentum went the Packers’ way. With the score at 14-10 in Green Bay’s favor, the Raiders had the ball at the Green Bay 2. Derek Carr scrambled to his right and dove for the end zone, but Blake Martinez forced Carr to lose the ball in and out of the end zone for a touchback. The Packers then proceeded to get a touchdown after the turnover on a 37-yard TD pass to Jake Kumerow to increase the lead to 21-10. In the second half, the Packers scored a touchdown on their first possession to put them up 28-10. It’s safe to say that the Packers won the game easily after that turn of events. The final score was 42-24 in favor of the Packers. Aaron Rodgers had his first perfect passer rating of his career (158.3) with 25 completions in 31 attempts for 429 yards and 6 total touchdowns (5 passing, 1 rushing). The following week was on the road against a Chiefs team that was without Patrick Mahomes (he had a knee injury that kept him out for a couple of games). Even with Matt Moore starting, the Chiefs made sure that the Packers did not have an easy win. The 14-0 Green Bay lead changed to 17-14 in Kansas City’s favor by halftime. Like before, the Packers overcame the deficit in the second half with some clutch moments both on offense and defense. After a forced fumble and recovery by Tyler Lancaster with the score tied at 17-17, the offense went down the field for a touchdown. In what I think is the play of the year for Aaron Rodgers, he threw the ball to Jamaal Williams for the score while falling away from the defender. Jamaal Williams caught the pass in the back of the end zone to give Green Bay a 24-17 lead. After the Chiefs tied it up, the Packers scored again on a touchdown pass. Aaron Jones caught a short pass from Rodgers and proceeded to go all the way for a 67-yard touchdown, which gave Green Bay a 31-24 advantage. A defensive stop and a couple of first downs later, the Packers exited Arrowhead Stadium with their 7th win of the season. All of these wins were with Davante Adams sidelined with the toe injury that he suffered late in Week 4.
Entering Week 9 against the Los Angeles Chargers, I thought that the Packers were going to get another victory in what was essentially a home game for Green Bay (even though it was in California). They proceeded to get embarrassed by the Chargers in this game, losing by a score of 26-11. Nothing worked right on offense, even with Davante Adams back from injury. The only touchdown they scored was after they already trailed by a score of 26-3. The defense tried its best to keep them in the game, but they eventually got tired after the offense did not do them any favors. It was pretty much a “burn the tape and move on” game for the Packers, who were heading back to Lambeau Field for a matchup against the Panthers the next week. The game went back and forth in the first half, with the Packers leading 14-10 after 2 quarters. Green Bay had a chance to get another touchdown before halftime, but Jamaal Williams was stuffed for -3 yards by Gerald McCoy (who easily shedded a block from David Bakhtiari). The Packers did score in the start of the second half anyway on the third TD run by Aaron Jones on the day. An interception of Kyle Allen by Tramon Williams was followed by a 47-yard field goal by Mason Crosby. After that, the Packers failed to put the Panthers away on their next few drives. The game went down to the final seconds (like a few other games during this season). Christian McCaffrey was stuffed at the goal line by Preston Smith for no score, preserving the Packers’ 24-16 win in the snow. The win gave the Packers an 8-2 record and a much-needed bye week to rest up for the final stretch of games. That stretch began with a horrible 37-8 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. A turnover on Green Bay’s first possession and a touchdown by the 49ers was a prelude of things to come in that game. The Packers could not get anything going on offense, and the defense had lapses while allowing the 49ers to score at will. It was embarrassing to watch the Packers get blown out in this fashion, especially after the bye week. Luckily, they rebounded the following week at MetLife Stadium against a Giants team whose season was already over. The game was tight for most of the game, but the Packers put the game away with 2 fourth quarter touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers (who had 4 TD passes against the Giants). Daniel Jones was picked off a total of 3 times (once each by Kevin King, Darnell Savage and Tramon Williams). The Packers won by a score of 31-13 and improved their record to 9-3 on the year.
Next up was back-to-back home games for the Packers. These were also their final home games of the regular season. First up was against the Redskins, who were also struggling this season due to injuries and bad play. Entering this game, I thought that the Packers were going to blow them out early. When they went up 14-0, I thought that was going to be reality. Instead, the Packers failed to put Washington away after the 14-0 start. With the score 20-9, the Redskins scored a touchdown on a crazy one-handed catch by rookie WR Terry McLaurin. The game went down to an onside kick, which was recovered by Davante Adams for Green Bay. The final score was 20-15 in Green Bay’s favor. The following week was against a Bears team that was on a 3-game winning streak. The Packers led the Bears by a score of 7-3 at halftime, even through some failed possessions. They scored touchdowns on back-to-back drives to start the second half. Both of the drives ended with an Aaron Jones touchdown run (the first from 21 yards and the second from just 2 yards). The second touchdown was set up by a 49-yard catch and run by Jake Kumerow in which he was evading tacklers all the way to the Chicago 11. Unfortunately, the Packers scored no more points in this contest. They did nothing after Dean Lowry picked off Mitchell Trubisky in the middle of the fourth quarter. Even with the failed offensive possessions, the defense still got the stops needed to win the game, including stopping the lateral play in the final seconds (which almost scored a touchdown for the Bears). The Packers won by a score of 21-13 in ugly fashion (like a few other games this season). The penultimate game for the Packers was against the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on Monday Night Football. This game was dominated by the Packers defense, which gave up only 139 total yards and 7 first downs to the Vikings. If it was not for 3 first-half turnovers by Green Bay (2 fumbles and an interception), the Vikings would have been shut out against the defense. The offense was led by Aaron Jones’ 154 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns. WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling made a key block for Jones’ 56-yard TD run that sealed the 23-10 win for Green Bay. Za’Darius Smith dominated on defense that night with 3.5 sacks of Kirk Cousins and 7 total tackles (5 for loss of yards). The win was the Packers’ first in 4 tries at U.S. Bank Stadium. It also gave the Packers the NFC North title for the first time since 2016 (which was also the last time they made the playoffs before this season). The final game for the Packers was against the Lions at Ford Field. This game was for a first-round bye (and potentially home-field advantage) in the playoffs. In the first half, they did not play like they were going after that bye week, trailing 17-3 at halftime to a Lions team with nothing to play for. As they have always done throughout the season, they overcame the deficit and hung on to win the game. Aaron Rodgers made some clutch throws, including the 2 touchdown passes to Davante Adams and Allen Lazard, respectively. The TD pass to Lazard was set up by an interception of David Blough by LB Blake Martinez, who sacked Blough on the previous play (with help from Za’Darius Smith). Despite an interception by Rodgers late in the fourth quarter, the Packers had another shot at the game-winning score thanks to a defensive stop. The field goal by Mason Crosby was set up by two clutch first downs. The second one was when Rodgers threw a screen pass to Aaron Jones while under pressure. Jones caught the pass and ran 31 yards to the Detroit 20. The field goal was good, giving the Packers the 23-20 win and a first-round bye in the playoffs.
The 13 wins was the most by the Packers since 2011 (when they finished 15-1). Those wins include sweeping the division for the first time since that same year. Against the Lions, they never led until the final seconds in each of the 2 wins. I have to give credit to head coach Matt Lafleur and his staff for turning things around in just one year. The offense was a bit sloppy at times, but I think that it will perform better during the playoffs and in future seasons. Aaron Rodgers did not have his best season by a long shot, but he was always there with the clutch throws when they were needed the most. His best games were against the Raiders in Week 7 (where he had the perfect passer rating) and against the Chiefs in Week 8. He finished the season with 4002 passing yards and 26 touchdowns (with only 4 picks). I think that he will perform well in the playoffs against any team. I also think that the receivers can get the job done in the postseason, even though some of them were not good at times. Allen Lazard jumped onto the scene with his performance against the Lions in Week 6, in which he had 4 catches for 65 yards. He finished the season with the second-most receiving yards for the Packers (477) and 3 touchdowns. Even though he missed 4 games, Davante Adams came just 3 yards shy of 1000 yards on the season with 997 yards. His first touchdown catch was not until the 49ers game in Week 12. He added 4 more TD catches to end the season, including 2 against the Giants. Jamaal Williams tied Davante Adams with 5 touchdown receptions on the year, including the catch in the back of the end zone against the Chiefs. In that same game, Aaron Jones had 159 of his 474 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. Jones finished the year with 1084 rushing yards and 19 total touchdowns, one shy of tying Ahman Green’s mark of 20 from the 2003 season. There is no doubt that the offense needs to perform better come playoff time. I think that they will get that done, with Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Jones and Davante Adams leading the way. The offensive line did great, for the most part, this season. I have to give a lot of credit to Bryan Bulaga, who had to go against elite pass rushers all season long and shutting them down. David Bakhtiari played solid this season as Rodgers’ blind-side blocker. Elgton Jenkins had a remarkable rookie season, as he allowed no sacks at all. Billy Turner (who was a free-agency pickup) did solid as well for the Packers on the O-Line. When Corey Linsley and Bryan Bulage were sidelined with injuries against the Lions in Week 17, Lucas Patrick and Jared Veldheer did well in protecting Rodgers in the clutch moments.
I thought that the defense did a fantastic job this season under coordinator Mike Pettine and his staff. The trio of Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith and Kenny Clark led the defense in sacks with a total of 31.5 (13.5 for Za’Darius, 12 for Preston, and 6 for Kenny Clark). They were 1 sack shy of breaking the mark of 32 in 1998 by the trio of Reggie White, Keith McKenzie and Vonnie Holliday (16 for White, 8 each for McKenzie and Holliday). Kevin King led the defense with 5 interceptions on the season, including 2 end-zone picks (one against the Vikings in Week 2 and one against the Raiders in Week 7). There were times where they allowed wide-open receivers for touchdowns, including George Kittle in Week 12 against the 49ers. When they needed to get clutch stops, the defense got the stops to seal victories through interceptions or fourth down sacks. I think that they will turn it up a notch in the playoffs, but it will take all 11 of them to get their job done against the top teams in the NFC. I am including the rookies in this as well. Rashan Gary and Darnell Savage were drafted this past April to help make the defense better, in addition to the free-agency pickups of the 2 Smith’s and Adrian Amos. It will help that Raven Greene is coming back from IR after getting injured in Week 2. I can’t wait to see what the defense does come playoff time.
The good news was that the Special Teams unit was better than last year in terms of a number of things under Shawn Mennenga. First, they cut down on the number of penalties on kickoff and punt returns. Next, there were fewer costly turnovers, if any at all. Tyler Ervin was a late pickup for Green Bay, but he has improved the return game, which had negative return yards for most of the season. Field position is crucial in the playoffs, especially in colder temperatures at Lambeau Field. The coverage unit needs to make sure that no long returns are allowed during the playoffs, as they can give the opposing team a lot of momentum. Mason Crosby had a fantastic year, missing only 3 kicks on the year (2 field goals, 1 PAT) while delivering clutch moments for the Packers. He did all of this even though he had a heavy heart off the field. In the offseason, his wife had a cancerous tumor removed, which was great news for him and his family. During the season, his sister-in-law (his brother’s wife) passed away from cancer. With everything that has happened with Mason and his family, it’s amazing that he had a year like he did. I am extremely thankful to have Mason Crosby as the Packers’ kicker since 2007, through all the highs and lows. In my opinion, he should be re-signed next year to be a Packer after his performance this year. JK Scott did a great job punting this year, having 29 of his punts inside the opponent’s 20 yard line. Even though one of his punts got blocked, he still did great this season. Hunter Bradley made sure all season long that the snaps were accurate and that everything went smoothly with the kicks and punts. I think that the Special Teams unit will not make any big mistakes from here on out.
Overall, the Packers had a great regular season in 2019 with a 13-3 record. They will not apologize for the way that they won some of their games this season, as nothing is guaranteed in the NFL. Matt Lafleur did a wonderful job in his first year as the head coach of the team, changing the overall culture and vibe within the organization while doing so. I have no doubt that he should be in talks for Coach of the Year with the job that he did. This team is a very special bunch who cares for one another and does not blink in the face of adversity. Brian Gutekunst should be in consideration for Executive of the Year for how he rebuilt the roster in one offseason. He hit a home run with the signings of the Smith’s, Adrian Amos and Billy Turner. The Smith’s helped change the culture around the team on and off the field. I love it every time they do their interviews together, along with their play on the field. In my opinion, Za’Darius Smith should be the Defensive Player of the Year. I have a great feeling about this team going all the way to the Super Bowl in Miami. Before that, they have to play 2 more games to reach the big game. On January 12th, they will play at Lambeau Field against the highest remaining seed from the Wild Card round. The 3 possible opponents for Green Bay are the Saints, the Eagles and the Seahawks. It will be decided on Sunday afternoon who they will face at 5:40 PM Central Time on the 12th. Have a great day, everyone. Go Pack Go!
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