By Eric Goska
The Packers were dealt a one-two punch Thursday night unlike any they had absorbed in more than a century of playing professional football.
So effective was the combination that it ranks among the
most productive in NFL history.
The Atlanta Falcons dominated Green Bay on the ground and
through the air in administering a 35-14 beatdown at Lambeau Field. Not only
did the victory halt the Packers string of successful home openers at 13, it left
the Green and Gold with far more questions than answers.
Top of the list: How to tighten a defense that hemorrhaged 498
yards. Also: How to ensure two players – no matter how talented – don’t account
for 80 percent of that total.
Bijan Robinson pounded out 194 yards rushing on 29 carries.
Drake London soared for 194 yards on nine receptions.
The two supplied 16 of Atlanta’s 25 first downs. They
accounted for 11 of the Falcons’ 13 offensive plays of 10-plus yards.
Robinson ripped off a 55-yard run on the Falcons’ first drive
to six points. London snagged passes of 68 and 40 yards on consecutive advances
to set up Atlanta’s final two touchdowns.
Mr. Robinson averaged 6.7 yards a carry. Mr. London averaged
21.6 yards a catch.
The tandem earned those titles of respect due to their superlative
performances.
Over the years, of course, Green Bay has helped many backs extract 150 or more yards rushing (51 instances) at its expense. It has enabled many wideouts to secure 150 or more receiving yards (54 occurences).
What the club has never done is dole out 400 scrimmage yards
to two players in the same game. Robinson (213) and London (194) commandeered
407.
London, selected eighth overall in the 2022 draft by Atlanta, and Robinson, taken in the same spot a year later by the team, have played in 48 regular-season games together. In 18 of those, they combined for more than 200 yards from scrimmage.
Prior to Thursday, they had twice accumulated more than 300.
Their best effort had been a 396-yard outing in a 24-14 takedown of Buffalo last
season.
The Packers, generous to a fault, allowed the duo to crack 400.
In doing so, Green Bay joins seven other teams – Oilers (1963), Giants (1965),
Colts (1972), Dolphins (1976), Lions (2007), Raiders (2015) and Eagles (2018) –
to have permitted such shenanigans and it, like the others, paid the price with
a loss.
Extra Point
The Packers did not rush once in the fourth quarter, opting instead
to pass on all 22 of their offensive plays in the final 15 minutes. Since 1953,
Green Bay is 1-14 in regular-season games in which it completely abandons the
running game after 45 minutes of play.
The 400 Club
The eight times two teammates accounted for 400 or more
yards from scrimmage in one regular-season game in NFL history. (list generated using Stathead at
Pro-Football-Reference)
531 Antonio Brown (306)-DeAngelo Williams (225) Steelers Nov. 8, 2015
481 Art Powell (247)-Clem Daniels (234) Raiders Dec. 22, 1963
442 Kevin Curtis (221)-Brian Westbrook (221) Eagles Sept. 23, 2007
414 Ernie Green (222)-Jim Brown (192) Browns Nov. 14, 1965
410 Ron Jessie (220)-Lawrence McCutcheon (190) Rams Oct. 3, 1976
409 Amari Cooper (217)-Ezekiel Elliott (192) Cowboys Dec. 9, 2018
407 Bijan Robinson (213)-Drake London (194) Falcons Sept. 24, 2026
401 Rich Caster (204)-Eddie Bell (197) Jets Sept. 24, 1972
BW ...
ReplyDeleteI guess Penix picked the right time to start a game. You would think 11 players on defense would be geared to stopping the two best weapons on the Falcons team but maybe they worried about Pitts at TE too much?
LaFLeur is now 1-7 counting postseason in his last eight games for GB. And Kraft wants to criticize the fans for booing? It doesnt help running for only 9 carries throughout the night. At least theyre not 0-3.