Saturday, December 30, 2023
Andre Johnson—The Next WR to Make the HOF?
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
TUESDAY TIDBITS: "And What a Game It Was"
Otto Graham |
"Ghost to the Post" by Merv Corning |
Sunday, December 24, 2023
Predictions for Hall of Fame Class of 2024 Final 15
- Jared Allen, DE
- Willie Anderson, T
- Jahri Evans, G
- Dwight Freeney, DE
- Antonio Gates, TE
- Devin Hester, Ret
- Torry Holt, WR
- Andre Johnson, WR
- Julius Peppers, DE
- Reggie Wayne, WR
- Patrick Willis, LB
- Darren Woodson, S
Packers Slip Past Win-Starved Panthers
By Eric Goska
Aaron Jones, shown here in a preseason game, rushed for 127 yards against the Panthers. (photo by Eric Goska) |
Over the years, the Packers have played dozens of teams that had
10 or more losses. In most cases, Green Bay prevailed.
This tradition of dispatching bottom feeders continued –
barely –as the Green and Gold staved off Carolina 33-30 at Bank of America
Stadium. The win was hard earned as the Packers had to weather a last-ditch
effort by the Panthers that came within a whisker of forcing overtime.
Teams with 10 or more losses can be ticking time bombs. With little to lose, they can play loose and take chances.
With the worst record in the NFL, the Panthers have embraced
the role of spoiler. A week before hosting the Packers, they dealt a blow to
Atlanta’s postseason aspirations by edging the Falcons 9-7.
Sunday, they did their best to upend Green Bay’s run for the playoffs.
The Packers first encountered a 10-game loser on Nov. 27,
1930 when they, with a record of 8-2, traveled to Philadelphia to face the
Yellow Jackets (4-11-1). Red Dunn threw three touchdown passes as Green Bay
romped 25-7.
A year later, the Pack (11-1) took on the Dodgers (2-10) at
Ebbets Field. Verne Lewellen’s 1-yard scoring plunge proved the difference as Green
Bay escaped with a 7-0 triumph.
With 14-game (or fewer) schedules in effect from 1932
through 1977, the Packers only faced six 10-game losers during those 46 seasons. They went 5-1 with the
lone loss coming in Atlanta where the Falcons (2-11) beat them in the 1974
season finale.
Most of the contests involving 10-game losers have come
after the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978. Green Bay has faced 29 such
opponents in the last 45 seasons.
Overall, Green Bay is 30-7 against teams with 10 or more
losses. The last Packers stumble against a win-starved club occurred on Jan. 9, 2022
when the Lions (2-13-1) toppled them 37-30 to close out the 2021 campaign.
That’s the only time the Green and Gold has dropped a decision
to a team with 12 or more losses.
In Charlotte, Jordan Love’s 5-yard TD toss to Romeo Doubs on
the first play of the fourth quarter gave Green Bay a 30-16 lead. But the game
was far from over as that period is the one in which the Packers have yielded
the most yardage.
Sure enough, Bryce Young, came alive in the final 15
minutes. He completed 13 of 17 passes for 177 yards and two scores (148.4
rating) to pull Carolina into a 30-30 tie with four minutes, five seconds
remaining.
Even after Anders Carlson’s 32-yard field goal put Green Bay
in front 33-30, Young didn’t blink. With 19 seconds and no timeouts
remaining, the rookie from Alabama completed consecutive passes of 22 yards to
D.J. Chark Jr. and Adam Thielen to reach the Packers’ 31-yard line.
But time ran out before Young could spike the ball to stop
the clock. Instead of Eddie Pineiro taking the field to attempt a 49-yard field
goal, the officials declared the game over.
At 7-8, Green Bay still has a chance to reach the playoffs.
To get there, Green Bay will have to defeat the Bears (6-9) who could have 10
losses when the teams meet to wrap up the regular season in a couple of weeks.
Green Bay is 6-0 in games against Bears teams that have had 10 or more losses.
How Green Bay has fared against teams with 12 or more losses.
0-15 Lions Dec. 28, 2008 GB won, 31-21
1-14 Cowboys Dec. 24, 1989 GB won, 20-10
2-13 Lions Dec. 15, 1979 GB won, 18-13
2-13 Buccaneers Dec. 22, 1985 GB won, 20-17
2-13-1 Lions Jan. 9, 2022 GB lost, 30-37
0-12 Browns Dec. 10, 2017 GB won, 27-21
2-12 Buccaneers Dec. 12, 1983 GB won, 12-9
2-12 Buccaneers Dec. 14, 1986 GB won, 21-7
2-12 Buccaneers Dec. 21, 2014 GB won, 20-3
2-12 Panthers Dec. 24, 2023 GB won, 33-30
3-12 Vikings Dec. 16, 1984 GB won, 38-14
Saturday, December 23, 2023
John Abraham—Hall-of-Fame Worthy?
Thursday, December 21, 2023
Ed Budde—RIP
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
TUESDAY TIDBITS: "You Play to Win the Game"
Sunday, December 17, 2023
Baker Mayfield: A Perfect Gentleman at Lambeau Field
By Eric Goska
(photos by Eric Goska) |
Sunday was a perfect day for
football. Ask Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield shredded the Packers
defense as only a handful of quarterbacks have throughout the years. The top
pick in the 2018 draft proved virtually unstoppable, throwing for more than 300
yards and four touchdowns as his Buccaneers overwhelmed Green Bay 34-20 at
Lambeau Field.
On a rainy, dreary afternoon
with temperatures in the low forties, Mayfield completed 22 of 28 passes for
381 yards and four scores. He compiled a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
Until Sunday, Vince Evans of
the Bears had been the only player to max out against Green Bay. Evans nailed
18 of 22 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns in Chicago’s 61-7 victory in
1980.
Mayfield’s rating never fell
below 112.5. He reached 158.3 for the first time when he connected with Mike
Evans from 19-yards out to put the Buccaneers up 10-7. He got there a second time
on his final pass, a 52-yarder to David Moore that put Tampa Bay up 34-20
with six-and-a-half minutes remaining.
Mayfield completed nine
passes of 20 or more yards. Chris Godwin snagged four of those with Rachaad White (2),
Cade Otton (2) and Moore coming away with the other five.
Since 1921, only two quarterbacks have thrown more 20-yarders while battling the Pack. Matthew Stafford hit on 12 on Jan. 1, 2012 and Ben Roethlisberger had 10 on Dec. 20, 2009. Dak Prescott also had nine in a game in 2019.
Those chunk plays accelerated
Mayfield on his drive to 300. No. 6 needed only 24 attempts to surpass the milestone, getting there on a 22-yard strike to Otton late in the third
quarter.
Only five players – Randall Cunningham,
Vinny Testaverde, Evans, Troy Aikman and Tua Tagovailoa – needed fewer attempts
to reach that benchmark against Green Bay. All but Tagovailoa came away
victorious.
Mayfield became the 87th
player to surpass 300 yards passing aginst the Packers in a regular-season game.
He is the seventh to do so while throwing at least four TDs and no
interceptions.
That Mayfield had his way is somewhat
surprising. Since Matt LeFleur became coach in 2019, Green Bay had permitted
just nine individual 300-yard passing performances, tied with the Saints for
the fewest over that span.
Surrendering 300 yards passing to an individual is not a death knell. The
Packers own a winning record (65-56-1) under those circumstances.
But when Green Bay
fast-tracks quarterbacks as it did with Mayfield, the story is different. The
Green and Gold is 6-25 when opposing field generals lay claim to 300 in fewer
than 30 pass attempts.
To their credit, the Packers sacked Mayfield five times for 28 yards in losses. But it hardly mattered. Because of Mayfield’s hot hand, Tampa Bay wound up averaging 10.7 yards per pass play, the highest by a Green Bay opponent since Christmas 2022 when the Dolphins managed 10.9 in a losing effort.
Fewest pass attempts needed to reach 300 yards passing by an opposing quarterback against the Packers in a regular-season game.
Atts. Quarterback Team Date Result
20 Randall Cunningham Vikings Oct. 5, 1998 GB lost, 24-37
21 Vinny Testaverde Buccaneers Sept. 13, 1992 GB lost, 3-31
22 Vince Evans Bears Dec. 7, 1980 GB lost, 7-61
22 Troy Aikman Cowboys Oct. 3, 1993 GB lost, 14-36
22 Tua Tagovailoa Dolphins Dec. 25, 2022 GB won, 26-20
24 Peyton Manning Broncos Nov. 1, 2015 GB lost, 10-29
24 Baker Mayfield Buccaneers Dec. 17, 2023 GB lost, 20-34
Saturday, December 16, 2023
SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT: "It Burned the Hell Out of Me"
Credit: Merv Corning |
Game-used Lenny Moore Jersey |
Thursday, December 14, 2023
Julius Peppers—Poised to be First-ballot Hall-of-Fame Inductee?
Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Green Bay Chokes on Big Apple Turnovers
By Eric Goska
Keisean Nixon (shown earlier this season) had a fumble that was turned into a TD by the Giants. (photos by Eric Goska) |
Stumbling, bumbling, fumbling!
The Packers lost more than a game Monday night at MetLife
Stadium. In falling 24-22 to the Giants, Green Bay also took a step backward in
the race to reach the playoffs.
In winning 6 of their first 12 games this season, the Green and Gold had all but
eliminated turning the ball over as a result of a fumble. While the team
committed 15, only two wound up in opponents’ hands.
So secure was the team that Green Bay played 11 of its
first 12 games without losing a fumble. The lone exception occurred in early
November when running back Aaron Jones and receiver Dontayvion Wicks each lost
one in a 20-3 victory over the Rams.
This stretch with just two lost fumbles included 732 offensive
plays and scores of special teams snaps. The run remained intact despite road
trips to Chicago, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Denver, Pittsburgh and Detroit.
Only once in the past 100 seasons (1923-2022) has Green Bay
seen something similar. Coach Bart Starr’s 1980 squad lost only two of its
first 15 fumbles as it started out 3-4-1.
On average, the Packers lose about half of their first 15 fumbles in any given year. The 1952 and 1966 editions went above and beyond by coughing up 13 of their first 15.
Coach Matt LeFleur earlier in 2023. |
Gift wrapping fumbles hasn’t been as prevalent under coach
Matt LaFleur. Since 2019, Green Bay has given away 35, the fourth fewest in the
league behind the Cardinals (32), Rams (33) and Saints (34).
How out of character was it to hand over two in one game?
Monday night was just the seventh time in 79 regular-season games under LaFleur
in which the team surrendered more than one.
Jordan Love gave up the first. Taking off on a designed run
from the New York 27-yard line, the quarterback ran into Jason Pinnock and
Kayvon Thibodeaux. The latter forced Love to fumble and Xavier McKinney
recovered for the Giants.
New York did not put up points as the result of the turnover
– Saquon Barkley was held to no gain on
fourth down a couple of minutes later – but the Giants prevented Green Bay from
putting up points of its own had Love not fumbled.
The second fumble was actually two on one play and the miscue
proved more costly. Keisean Nixon muffed Jamie Gillan’s first punt of the
second half, recovered, then fumbled again after attempting to get to his feet and
make a return. Benton Whitley pounced on the loose ball and, three plays later,
Barkley sliced in from a yard out to put New York up 14-10 early in the third
quarter.
Nixon’s bobble was the first time this season that a Packers’
fumble was turned into points.
The Giants also lost two fumbles. Bobby McCain muffed a
Daniel Whelan punt in the third quarter and Barkley led go of the ball without
having been touched late in the fourth.
Anders Carlson followed up the first recovery with a 32-yard
field goal that cut New York’s lead to 14-13, and Love capped the second with a
6-yard TD pass to Malik Heath that put Green Bay up 22-21 with 1 minute, 33
seconds remaining.
The fact that New York turned the ball over twice on fumbles
is less surprising than the Packers’ mishandles. The Giants have given it away
54 times in that manner since 2019, second most in the league behind the
Jaguars (58).
Since 2019, regular-season games in which Green Bay’s opponent scored the most points as the result of Packers fumbles.
Pts. Date Opponent Result
7 Sept. 26, 2019 Eagles GB lost 27-34
7 Nov. 24, 2019 49ers GB lost, 8-37
7 Nov. 15, 2020 Jaguars GB won, 24-20
7 Jan. 9, 2022 Lions GB lost, 30-37
7 Nov. 13, 2022 Cowboys GB won, 31-28
7 Dec. 11, 2023 Giants GB lost, 22-24