The Green Bay Packers earned a very special Christmas Day win this Saturday against the Cleveland Browns. They remain the NFC’s #1 seed, Aaron Rodgers broke Brett Favre’s franchise passing touchdown record, and became true owners of the north. Not only did they clinch the NFC North division title, but they also swept all their AFC North opponents this season. Here are some of the highest PFF (Pro Football Focus) graded players from Green Bay’s win against Cleveland this week.
Davante Adams- 85.6 (High Quality)
With Malik Taylor (Shoulder) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (Covid-19) inactive, Adams was inevitably going to see more action. He ended with ten receptions on thirteen targets, 114 receiving yards and two touchdowns. With this performance, he became the first player in Packers history to record three seasons with 100+ receptions. In addition, he’s only 25 receiving yards shy of a new career single season high since being drafted in 2014. He earned the highest overall PFF grade for Green Bay, and is averaging a 92.1 grade through fifteen games.
Aaron Rodgers- 84.7 (High Quality)
Although he didn’t practice all of last week with the toe injury, Rodgers put on a spectacular performance. He broke Brett Favre’s franchise record in passing touchdowns (442), and threw three touchdowns that day. He averaged 2.26 seconds to throw, which negated Myles Garrett and Cleveland’s pass rush. Rodgers also earned his third straight game with a NFL passer rating over 100 (115.1), his ninth of the season. He was pressured nine times, was not sacked, and didn’t scramble once. Rodgers still remains atop the MVP race, and is inline to win a back to back MVP, the fourth in his career.
Aaron Jones- 84.1 (High Quality)
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Jones rushed twelve times for 66 yards, and also caught five of six targets for 21 receiving yards. This was Jones’ first time over 80 scrimmage yards since week ten against the Seahawks. In addition, this was only his eighth game this season where he led the team in rushing. That being said, Jones looked like he was fully healed from his MCL sprain a couple weeks ago. He forced nine missed tackles, and had one explosive run of 27 yards. His stats may not look like previous years, but Jones only has three drops and two fumbles this season.
Rashan Gary- 82.0 (High Quality)
Gary continues to improve each week, as he is my pick for Green Bay’s breakout player of the year. He leads the team with 8.5 sacks, has six tackles for loss, 42 total tackles, and two forced fumbles with one recovery this season. This is Gary’s sixth time this season where he landed in the top 3 graded defensive players for Green Bay, leading the team twice. The pass rush was evident for Green Bay against the Browns this week, as Gary was one of three players who had five total QB pressures. He ended the day with two sacks, three tackles and three defensive stops. He’ll look to dominate under the Sunday night lights against the Vikings who he was inactive against in week 11.
Oren Burks- 80.0 (High Quality)
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Burks has had kind’ve a quiet season, only having four total QB pressures and 14 tackles through 15 games. He did have two tackles after only playing five total snaps on defense. With the tandem duo of both Campbell and Barnes, Burks fights for playing time, but does provide great depth at the linebacker position.
Dean Lowry- 71.8 (Above Average)
Lowry played phenomenally on the defensive line, totaling 5 QB pressures, including four hurries and one important third down sack. He also totaled two tackles and one tackle for loss yardage. Lowry has 35 total QB pressures, five sacks, three batted passes, and eleven defensive stops this season.
Honorable Mentions:
De’Vondre Campbell- 64.7 (Average)
Campbell may have not earned a high PFF player grade, but he once again proved he is one of the best linebackers in the league. After being snubbed from being selected to the Pro Bowl, he led the team in tackles again for the third straight week. He also defended one pass, and three defensive stops. He is the second highest graded linebacker, per Pro Football Focus with fifteen games played.
Rasul Douglas- 54.5 (Below Average)
Douglas came in clutch again this week with another game winning interception against Baker Mayfield. He had two interceptions, five total tackles and one pass defended. After being on the Cardinals practice squat just twelve weeks ago, Douglas is now the sixteenth ranked cornerback through fifteen games among the NFL.
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