No Bye Week Blues: Packers Take Care of Defending Champions on MNF

December 20, 2022

Over the last 5 seasons, the Green Bay Packers have struggled coming off their bye week- losing 4 out of 5 games and allowing an average of 32.8 points per game following the week off.

After their latest bye week in franchise history, the team returned to Lambeau looking very different from the one through the first 13 games as they limited the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in a 24-12 win on Monday night.

The Packers defense held the league's worst offense to only 156 total yards and sacked QB Baker Mayfield 5 times, the most in any game for Green Bay since Christmas Day last season against the Cleveland Browns and Mayfield when he was in Cleveland last season.

Rasul Douglas had 8 tackles and intercepted Mayfield in the second half, but tried to lateral the ball to both Adrian Amos and Rudy Ford on the runback, which nearly resulted in giving the ball back to the Rams on the play. It was a mistake that almost mirrored the Patriots-Raiders final play lateral the day prior, but at least it didn't cost Green Bay the win.

Quay Walker was one of the best contributors on defense, with a sack and 5 tackles- allowing only one completion in coverage. Preston Smith had 2 sacks on the night as he leads the Packers defense with 8.5 this season, and Kenny Clark limited the Rams' backfield with two hits and two run stops.

The offense managed themselves in a different way, but didn't let mistakes get the best of them.

Aaron Rodgers completed 22 passes for 229 yards and threw one touchdown, but also had an interception on a bad read in the 2nd quarter as he was looking for Allen Lazard downfield. Despite not completing a pass for more than 20 yards, Rodgers got the ball out quickly against the blitz and was 18 for 22 when looking for targets in the short game.

The backfield duo of AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones pulled the load to get the Packers in scoring position. Dillon rushed for only 36 yards, but pounded in 2 scores at the goal line. Jones went for 90 yards on the ground and caught Rodgers' only TD pass in the 3rd quarter.

Romeo Doubs caught 5 passes for 55 yards, with four of them picking up a first down. For the first time since Week 9, Christian Watson did not score in a game as he was stopped at the Rams' 4 yard line on the Packers final drive. Watson collected 4 catches for 46 yards as he moved the chains on a few first down plays.

The offensive line gave up 3 sacks, but allowed Rodgers opportunities to make throws from a clean pocket. Elgton Jenkins didn't allow any pressures and Jon Runyan held up on the run attack as he allowed only one pressure.

Ball control was in the Packers' favor. The finishing touch for the offense's night was eating off the remaining 9 minutes in the 4th quarter as the offense ran 15 plays for 82 yards and picked up 5 first downs on the final drive.

Keisean Nixon's contributions on special teams continues to leave positive impressions. After taking over primary return duties, Nixon has had 8 returns for 30+ yards this season- the most in the league at that category. He had 3 returns for 95 yards, with the biggest one coming at the end of the 3rd quarter for 52.

At 6-8, the Packers are not entirely out of consideration for a Wild Card spot. They're hoping for plenty of gifts this holiday weekend, as they head down to play the Miami Dolphins on Christmas Day. Winning out is still the most important factor, but some help will go a long way.