The Green Bay Packers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 17-0 on Sunday afternoon. It was the Packers’ first shutout since 2018, and shows how incredible the defense has been all year long. Despite missing Za’Darius Smith, Kingsley Keke, and Jaire Alexander, the defense showed that it is one of the best units in the NFL. Despite offensive and special teams struggles, the defense really stepped up tonight. Aaron Rodgers is not going to have many off games. When this defense matches with a rhythmic offense, the rest of the NFL should be very afraid.
Three Studs
AJ Dillon
In typical Matt LaFleur fashion, AJ Dillon and the run game were used sparingly in the first half. However, in the second half, they unleashed the backfield. Unfortunately, Aaron Jones left the game with a knee injury. AJ Dillon, however, trucked through the Seattle defense and scored the game’s first touchdown. Later in the fourth, he had a 50-yard reception before pounding in his second touchdown of the day.
Overall, Dillon carried the ball 21 times for 66 yards and two touchdowns. He also had two receptions for 62 more yards, giving him 123 yards of total offense on the day.
The Defense
There was such good play by the Packers’ defense that I could not pick just one player. Kevin King, who has been good all season, had a massive red zone interception to preserve a 3-0 lead. Rasual Douglas had a huge stop in the backfield to blow up a Seattle play. Eric Stokes covered everyone assigned to him and kept the big plays from happening. Andrian Amos, the veteran safety, made plenty of solid tackles before intercepting Russell Wilson in the end zone.
Whitney Mercilus had his first sack as a Packer before exiting the game with an arm injury. Rashan Gary, too, had a sack before exiting with a gruesome arm injury. Late in the game, Preston Smith got a sack as well, giving the Packers three on the day.
Davante Adams
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To any other wide receiver, five receptions for 66 yards would be a pretty good day. Those were the stats for Davante Adams at halftime. Clearly the best wide receiver in the game, he consistently is in the right place at the right time. Additionally, he always manages to get yards after the catch, even when they do not seem possible.
The passing game took a back seat to the running game in the second half, and Adams finished the day with seven receptions for 78 yards.
Three Duds
Mason Crosby
Mason Crosby started the season a perfect 9/9 on his field goal attempts. With his miss in the first quarter, he was four for his last 10 attempts. So far this season, Crosby has missed a NFL-high seven field goals. Thankfully, he was able to make a 27-yard attempt in the second quarter to give the Packers a 3-0 lead. As great as he is in Packers history, might it be time for a new kicker in Green Bay? Certainly no change will happen this season. However, it will be interesting to see what the Packers do in the offseason.
Allen Lazard
Allen Lazard had some big time blocks in this game, proving once again that he is the best blocking wide receiver in the entire league. Unfortunately, he only had one reception for six yards. He was targeted four times. On a couple of those targets, Lazard could have made big gains for the Packers offense, but allowed the ball to bounce off of his hands.
Aaron Rodgers… I Guess
For the sake of having three duds, I guess I’ll put Aaron Rodgers here. Though he certainly has had worse games (see Week One versus the Saints), tonight was certainly not his best. Rodgers threw his first red zone interception at home in almost two years. He also fumbled a snap (he recovered the fumble), but seemed off for most of the night. I suppose missing ten days of practice and game action due to COVID will do that.
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