A Win's a Win: Packers Improve to 3-1

October 2, 2022

No matter how many games a team wins each year, there's always going to be at least one or two wins that are far from pretty. It can be from an offense not being able to put together a few scoring drives for most of the game, or the defense with a strong lead letting the opponent get back into the game and coming down to the wire.

It was the case of the former in the Green Bay Packers 27-24 overtime win over the New England Patriots on Sunday. The offense in the first half looked very similar to the offense in the second half against the Buccaneers the week prior, but in the second half the Packers were able to score on three straight drives as they battled the Patriots in a one score game before it would be decided in overtime.

Things did not start off so well at Lambeau for the green and gold. After the Patriots kicked a field goal on their opening drive, the Packers got the ball on their own 25 and Aaron Rodgers connected with Allen Lazard on the first play from scrimmage for a 24-yard gain, moving the offense to midfield.

On the very next play, Rodgers looked to his left and slung the ball out to Romeo Doubs, who then was hit by Patriots rookie CB Jack Jones and forced Doubs to lose his handle on the football. Jones recovered it on the spot and the Packers offense had one turnover only 2 plays into their first drive.

It wouldn't be until early in the 2nd quarter when the Packers got their first score of the game. The backfield duo of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon moved the ball on the ground through New England territory as they got to the Patriots' 15. From there, Rodgers took the snap and handed the ball off to Christian Watson on the jet sweep; the 2nd round pick would go the distance, untouched, for his first career touchdown.

Following the touchdown, the two teams exchanged punts after failing to keep their offenses on the field. While Green Bay tried to find the rhythm, the Patriots had to make a huge adjustment under center.

QB Brian Hoyer, the 36-year old journeyman starting the game in place of the injured Mac Jones, had to leave the game with a concussion in the first quarter. Bailey Zappe, a 2022 fourth-round pick from Western Kentucky, would take New England the rest of the way in his first NFL appearance.

Zappe's first NFL action would not come without pressure. With a minute left in the first half, LB Rashan Gary sacked Zappe at the Packers' 31, and the ball popped out of the QB's hands. Gary grabbed the loose ball and the turnover set up Green Bay with a chance to score on one more drive before the half.

But the 4-time league MVP would make a costly mistake, as Jack Jones jumped in front of a dig route intended for Lazard, and went the other way for a 40-yard pick six with 14 seconds left. It was only the 4th pick six thrown by Rodgers in his career, and it gave the Patriots a 10-7 lead. It capped off an abysmal first half for Rodgers, who was 4 of 11 for 44 yards and threw an interception that resulted in a TD.

The second half started out much better for Green Bay, as the offense was effective in splitting between the run and pass on the first drive of the half. The 10 play, 81 yard possession finished with a 20-yard touchdown snag by TE Robert Tonyan, his first TD since Week 7 of the 2021 season.

After New England answered with a touchdown, the Packers orchestrated another great drive that got into the red zone, but would be settled with a field goal that tied up the game at 17 all going into the 4th quarter.

The Patriots' next series pounded the Packers' run defense, as Rhamondre Stevenson & Damien Harris combined for 45 of the drive's 66 yards and Harris ran in for a 5-yard score to re-take a one-score lead with 11:00 remaining.

Rodgers would respond with a well-managed 9 play, 75 yard drive that took 5 minutes off the clock. The veteran QB found the rookie Doubs in the end zone for a 13-yard TD with just over 6 minutes remaining to make it 24-24. The defense then forced a 3-and-out, highlighted by a Jarran Reed sack on 2nd down, and with less than 4 minutes remaining close to midfield the Packers had themselves in the driver's seat for a game-winning drive.

Just before the 2-minute warning, facing a 3rd and 8 on the NE 40-yard line, Rodgers rainbowed the ball to the end zone, where Doubs hauled in the pass for what looked like a touchdown initially, but as he went to the ground replays showed he had no control of the ball as he hit the turf and the officials ruled it incomplete.

Head coach Matt LaFleur showed visible disagreement with the call and threw the challenge flag. However, the officials upheld the ruling and the Packers lost their 2nd timeout right before the 2-minute mark. LaFleur would later admit the decision to challenge the play was an emotional one, and that several other coaches did not want to do so.

With that, the Packers were forced to punt but great downfield coverage by Keisean Nixon put New England at their own 2-yard line. The bad spot paired with a 3rd-string rookie QB would yield no epic drive, and the game went to overtime.

The Packers won the coin toss and got the ball first. A couple of screen passes from Rodgers and an incompletion led to a 3-and-out and the Patriots would get their chance with the ball. However, the following drive for New England gave the same result, and Green Bay had another opportunity on offense starting at their own 10.

It took a 12-play, 77 yard drive that brought the game clock down to 4 seconds, but Mason Crosby booted a 31-yard game-winning field goal at the gun to give the Packers their third-straight win and improve to 3-1 on the season.

It wasn't the best-looking performance by Rodgers, but the rest of the offense contributed. Aaron Jones rushed for 110 yards and averaged 7 yards a carry while Dillon had 73 yards of his own. For the first time this season, a Packers receiver had a 100+ yard game courtesy of Lazard's 6 receptions for 116 yards. Notably, David Bakhtiari played 70 of 73 snaps at left tackle due in part to an illness to Yosh Nijman. It was an unplanned move, but it did have an impact in the offensive line holding the defense to only one sack for the second week in a row.

The defense gave up 17 points, but the league's best 3rd down defense put the pressure on Bill Belichick's offense, allowing only 3 conversions on 3rd down. Rashan Gary had 2 sacks on the day to bring his season total to 5, which leads the team and is in the league's top 10 through the first 4 weeks. The secondary only allowed 104 passing yards and 1 touchdown between 2 quarterbacks as Green Bay's passing defense ranks in the top 5 in yards allowed.

There won't be too much time for the Packers to catch their breath after this one. They're taking themselves international for the first time ever in the regular season next week when they face off against the New York Giants in London. The turnaround and preparation for an overseas game will be a huge focus, but should provide an exciting opportunity for the Packers to continue their winning streak.