Packers Close the Door on Rams at Lambeau Field

 By Eric Goska

Rams fans could only watch as
Green Bay held Los Angeles to minus-4 yards in the fourth quarter.
(photos by Eric Goska)

Two days after the Vikings staged the greatest comeback in NFL history, the Green Bay Packers effectively deprived the Los Angeles Rams of any opportunity to rally in the late going.

In doing so, the Green and Gold demonstrated how a good offense can be an even better defense.

The Packers closed out the fourth quarter with ball control, sending the Rams packing 24-12 Monday night at Lambeau Field. In securing a second consecutive win, Green Bay (6-8) remains in the hunt for a wild-card playoff spot.

Based on what transpired Saturday and Sunday in Week 15, no lead is so large that it can’t be overcome. Down 17 in the third quarter, the Jaguars surprised the Cowboys 40-34 with the aid of an extra period. Behind by 33, the Vikings stunned the Colts and the league in general by uncorking a 39-36 overtime win.

Green Bay, it can be safely assumed, didn’t want to lose in such a manner. And so by being overly possessive down the stretch, it avoided heartbreak.

The Packers’ largest lead was 18 after Aaron Rodgers passed seven yards to Aaron Jones late in the third quarter. That cushion lasted but two minutes, nine seconds. Rams quarterback Baker Mayfield moved his team 70 yards and connected with tight end Tyler Higbee from eight yards out to pull the Rams to 24-12 with 22 seconds left in the period.

Plenty of time for a Los Angeles comeback. Plenty of time for Green Bay to unravel.

Two plays early in the fourth quarter suggested the Packers could cave. After intercepting Mayfield on third down, Rasul Douglas tried an ill-advised lateral that cost his team 12 yards and very nearly the ball. A minute later, Jones, the game’s leading rusher with 90 yards, surrendered the pigskin to Jalen Ramsey after getting frisked by the Rams’ safety.

How to prevent such foolishness? Hang on to the damn ball!

That Green Bay did, helping itself to 82 yards while chewing up the final 8:51 with a game-closing drive for the ages. Rodgers and Co. ran 15 plays and picked up five first downs.

The advance ended when Rodgers kneeled three times inside the Rams’ 5 rather than attempt to put up more points. That turn of events prompted play-by-play announcer Joe Buck to speculate that some might be disappointed with the decision.

But in refusing to give the ball back to Los Angeles, Green Bay ended the game on its terms. No stockpiling of yards by the opposition in garbage time. No miracle comeback by a team that had failed to muster a lead in the first three-and-a-half quarters.

In addition, that last drive served to put the finishing touches on a quarter in which the Packers held the Rams to minus-4 yards. That’s the fewest given up by the Green and Gold in the fourth quarter since the Lions stumbled to minus-5 in the 1978 season opener.

The advance also prevented Los Angeles from adding to the 156 yards it had earned before Green Bay took to the field for the last time. That’s the fewest produced in a regular-season game in six years under head coach Sean McVay, another indication of how far the defending Super Bowl champs have fallen.

Best of all, that long haul by Green Bay kept its oft-maligned defense under wraps. Not having to rely on that unit to lock down victory is a development Packers fans could surely embrace.

Closeout Deals

Since 1952, the six times the Packers have held the ball for more than seven-and-a-half minutes to close out the fourth quarter. TOP = time of possession.

TOP	Plays-Yards	Date	Opponent	Result
8:51	15-82	Dec. 19, 2022	Rams	GB won, 24-12
8:30	15-75	Dec. 13, 1959	49ers	GB won, 36-14
8:30	14-60	Dec. 31, 2006	Bears	GB won, 26-7
8:17	13-56	Oct. 17, 2004	Lions	GB won, 38-10
7:52	12-43	Oct. 18, 2009	Lions	GB won, 26-0
7:36	13-74	Sept. 15, 2013	Redskins	GB won, 38-20

Note: GB defeated the 49ers 31-13 on Oct. 21, 1962 by utilizing an 11-play, 72-yard drive to close out the fourth quarter. Time of possession for that advance cannot be determined.