Head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters as he prepares for the upcoming game against the division-leading Chicago Bears that his plan to build momentum heading toward the end of the year revolved around making things easier for second-year quarterback Jordan Love. "We're a better team when we get the ground game going," LaFleur stated. "It allows Jordan to read defenses better and progress through his reads quicker and more accurately, and we've got two great backs in [Aaron] Jones and [A.J.] Dillon, and Kylin [Hill] too, so we want to be sure we stay ahead of the chains and let Jordan go to work."
Fresh off an energizing win against the Los Angeles Rams and a bye week to rest up, Matt LaFleur's Packers looked to revitalize their NFC North hopes by picking up a season sweep of their arch-rival Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football. The game started inauspiciously. On the Bears' opening drive, Justin Fields hit Allen Robinson deep down the field for 49 yards, but after getting inside the 10 on a catch by Darnell Mooney, the Packers defense forced the Bears to settle for a 26-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.
After a Packers punt, Fields found his two big targets, Robinson and Mooney, for impressive toe-drag catches along the sideline to help his team get inside the Packers' 30-yard line. Then, on third and 10, Fields used his legs to motor past the Packers' second level for 22 yards and a first down to the Green Bay 6. Two plays later, Mooney found some space in the cramped endzone, settling in next to Adrian Amos for a 2-yard touchdown grab and a 10-0 lead after the first quarter.
On the Packers' next possession, they showed some of the grit that got them to a 6-6 record with wins over teams like Kansas City and the L.A. Rams, picking up two consecutive third downs to start the drive -- a 20 yard grab by Davante Adams and a 7-yard run by Aaron Jones on 3rd and 3. A few plays later, on 4th down and 1, LaFleur rolled the dice and it paid off, with A.J. Dillon taking a handoff for 12 yards into the redzone! Then, on third and goal, Jordan Love scrambled but was tackled just short of the endzone, but LaFleur handed it to his battering ram once more, and Dillon plowed into the endzone to cap off a 17-play, 74-yard drive that ate up nearly 7 minutes of the game clock, cutting the lead to 10-7. A 50-yard field goal by Cairo Santos made it a 13-7 Bears lead at the half.
For better and for worse, the third quarter was a highlight of big plays. The Packers began with the ball, but it was Marquez Valdes-Scantling who coughed it up on third down, allowing Roquan Smith to return the ball to the Green Bay 35! Fortunately, the Bears went nowhere, and Santos knocked through a 52-yard field goal to make it 16-7.
On the next drive, the Bears continued to stop the red-hot Aaron Jones on early downs, but Green Bay converted two more of its 13 successful third-down plays here, including a 14-yard catch by Adams on third-and-10 and a 10-yard scramble by Love on third-and-7. And for the third time in the game, LaFleur went for it on fourth down, and he was yet again successful, as Adams set a key block on a Love scramble for 16 yards down to the Bears' 25. On the next play, Jones finally found some daylight for 19 to the Bears' 6, and he punched it into the endzone on the next play to cut the lead to 16-14!
A couple of drives after the Packers' defense started to heat up thanks to constant pressure and a sack by Rashan Gary, Love diced up the Bears' defense with a 15-yard throw to Adams, a 22-yarder to Allen Lazard, and a post corner route to Jones out of the backfield to take the lead, 21-16! After Gary blew up a screen on third down to force a three-and-out, the quarter ended with the Packers leading by five.
In the final frame, Green Bay leaned on its second-year, 250-pound bulldozer to bring it home in the Lambeau winter. He exploded for five yards through a pile of Bears on third-and-1, and received a few more carries before Jones picked up a receiving first down and a rushing one to the Bears' 21. On the next third down, Valdes-Scantling made up for his earlier error by taking a slant for 14 down to the Chicago 6-yard line, setting up a score by Love on a scramble on the next play!
With a 28-16 lead, the Green Bay defense, which had been swarming for most of the game, finally saw the splash plays pay off -- on the next two Bears possessions, Gary pressured Fields into overthrowing Mooney directly into the waiting arms of Jaire Alexander and then into completely missing former Bear Adrian Amos streaking across the field to step in front of an errant throw to Allen Robinson! After a couple of first downs by Jones and Dillon, capping off a 213-yard rushing day by the home team, Love took a couple of kneeldowns and the Packers sealed it.
FINAL SCORE: Packers 28, Bears 16.
With back-to-back wins against strong NFC competition, the Packers reinserted themselves not only firmly in the playoff race, but firmly in the NFC North race as well, trailing the Bears by only one game and, with the Vikings' loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday night, tied with Minnesota at 7-6. Still in third via their loss to the Vikings a few weeks ago, Green Bay still has work to do, but thanks to big performers like Rashan Gary, Aaron Jones, and yes, Jordan Love, they got the job done against their historic rivals and are right in the thick of things as we head into the final four weeks of the year.
NEXT UP: The grind doesn't stop, as the Packers (7-6) take on their fourth straight opponent with a record above .500, heading to Baltimore to take on the Ravens (8-5) and their former MVP, Lamar Jackson!
Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers
Dec 12, 2021
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
SCORE
Chicago Bears (8-4)
10
3
3
0
16
Green Bay Packers (6-6)
0
7
14
7
28
Team Stats Comparison
CHI
GNB
Total Offense
219
394
Rushing Yards
70
213
Passing Yards
149
181
First Downs
11
23
Punt Return Yards
21
1
Kick Return Yards
0
16
Total Yards
240
411
Turnovers
2
1
3rd Down Conversion
5/12 (41%)
13/22 (59%)
4th Down Conversion
0/1 (0%)
3/3 (100%)
2-Point Conversion
0/0
0/0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
1/1
4/0
Penalties
0-0
0-0
Posession Time
16:32
31:28
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
CHI
GNB
8:46
(CHI) Cairo Santos 26-yard FG
3
0
0:59
(CHI) Darnell Mooney 3-yard pass from Justin Fields (Santos PAT good)
10
0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
CHI
GNB
6:21
(GNB) A.J. Dillon 1-yard run (Crosby PAT good)
10
7
1:45
(CHI) Cairo Santos 50-yard FG
13
7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING
CHI
GNB
10:35
(CHI) Cairo Santos 51-yard FG
16
7
6:42
(GNB) Aaron Jones 6-yard run (Crosby PAT good)
16
14
0:56
(GNB) Aaron Jones 17-yard pass from Jordan Love (Crosby PAT good)
16
21
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING
CHI
GNB
6:13
(GNB) Jordan Love 6-yard run (Crosby PAT good)
16
28
Chicago Bears
PASSING
C/A
YDS
TD
INT
Justin Fields
15/32
169
1
2
RUSHING
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
Justin Fields
4
53
13.2
0
David Montgomery
11
17
1.5
0
Tarik Cohen
1
1
1.0
0
Jimmy Graham
1
-1
-1.0
0
RECEIVING
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
Allen Robinson II
3
75
25.0
0
Darnell Mooney
4
45
11.2
1
Breshad Perriman
2
30
15.0
0
Jimmy Graham
2
11
5.5
0
David Montgomery
4
8
2.0
0
DEFENSE
TACK
SACK
INT
TD
Roquan Smith
15
0
0
0
Eddie Jackson
9
0
0
0
Tony Jefferson II
8
0
0
0
Desmond Trufant
6
0
0
0
Gareon Conley
6
0
0
0
Akiem Hicks
6
0
0
0
Jordan Hicks
5
0
0
0
Bilal Nichols
4
0
0
0
Robert Quinn
3
0
0
0
Jaylon Johnson
3
0
0
0
Khalil Mack
3
0
0
0
Tashaun Gipson
1
0
0
0
Kindle Vildor
1
0
0
0
Ogbonnia Okoronkwo
1
0
0
0
Darnell Mooney
1
0
0
0
KICKING
FG
XP
PTS
LONG
Cairo Santos
3/3
1/1
10
52
KICK RETURN
RET
YDS
AVG
TD
N/A
PUNT RETURN
RET
YDS
AVG
TD
Tarik Cohen
2
21
10.5
0
Green Bay Packers
PASSING
C/A
YDS
TD
INT
Jordan Love
18/32
196
1
0
RUSHING
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
Aaron Jones
30
104
3.4
1
Jordan Love
12
66
5.5
1
A.J. Dillon
10
39
3.9
1
Davante Adams
1
4
4.0
0
Marquez Valdes-Scantling
1
0
0.0
0
RECEIVING
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
Davante Adams
5
63
12.6
0
Aaron Jones
6
48
8.0
1
Marquez Valdes-Scantling
2
25
12.5
0
Allen Lazard
1
22
22.0
0
Marcedes Lewis
1
17
17.0
0
Josiah Deguara
2
11
6.5
0
Devin Funchess
1
10
10.0
0
DEFENSE
TACK
SACK
INT
TD
De'Vondre Campbell
6
0
0
0
Adrian Amos
5
0
1
0
Kevin King
4
0
0
0
Rashan Gary
3
1.0
0
0
Kingsley Keke
3
0
0
0
Za'Darius Smith
2
1.0
0
0
Preston Smith
2
0
0
0
Eric Stokes
2
0
0
0
Krys Barnes
2
0
0
0
Jaire Alexander
1
0
1
0
Darnell Savage
1
0
0
0
T.J. Slaton Jr.
1
0
0
0
Kenny Clark
1
0
0
0
Elgton Jenkins
1
0
0
0
Josh Myers
1
0
0
0
KICKING
FG
XP
PTS
LONG
Mason Crosby
0/0
4/4
4
N/A
KICK RETURN
RET
YDS
AVG
TD
Kylin Hill
1
16
16.0
0
PUNT RETURN
RET
YDS
AVG
TD
Amari Rodgers
2
1
0.5
0
Last edited by SpursFiesta; 02-03-2022 at 09:02 AM.
The theme of head coach Matt LaFleur's press conference this week was situational football. He talked up a lot of the clutch defensive plays made on third down as well as his offense's 13-for-22 performance on third downs and 3-for-3 job on fourth downs as the variables that swung the game in his team's favor. "I'm just proud of how much fight these guys show day in and day out," LaFleur told reporters. "Looking into the bright lights and not flinching is what the best teams are made of."
When asked about the Baltimore Ravens matchup, LaFleur admitted that he hadn't watched much tape yet, especially because they don't meet very often, but stated that he had "a ton of respect" for John Harbaugh, Lamar Jackson, and breakout running back J.K. Dobbins, but that he's going to continue to preach speed and physicality because those are the traits that win out in the NFL.
BYE WEEKS: Indianapolis, Miami, New England, Philadelphia
So I took a decent amount of time off for the holidays, and then went through some game backlog. But with the Packers' playoff implosion and the Rodgers storyline rearing its ugly head again, I figure what better time than now to bring this back? I've already finished the regular season in the game so I've got plenty of content to come.
Looking for a third straight win against a winning team, the Packers entered Baltimore with their playoff hopes firmly alive. In the early going, they looked the part, coming up with an early 3-and-out on defense. Then, continuing their impressive third-down game from last week, Green Bay converted three of them on their opening drive, including a 22-yard grab by Marquez Valdes-Scantling down to the Baltimore 12 yard line. Two plays later, from ten yards out, Aaron Jones carried a Ravens defender into the end zone for an early 7-0 lead! After Kenny Clark picked up his second sack of the first quarter to force another 3-and-out by Lamar Jackson, Mason Crosby added a 50-yard field goal to make it 10-0.
However, the Ravens woke up a bit on their third possession, picking up 21 yards over the middle on a catch by Mark Andrews, followed by a couple of 10+ yard runs by J.K. Dobbins inside the red zone. Jackson capped the drive off with a 3-yard strike to rookie Rashod Bateman to cut the lead to 10-7 after the first quarter.
To start the second, Billy Turner completely missed a block on Justin Houston, allowing him to blow up Jordan Love to force a 3-and-out. On the ensuing drive, the Ravens showed their explosiveness -- the dynamic Andrews ripped off a 25-yard grab down to the Packers' 35, followed by a scramble by Jackson for 25 down to the 10! A couple of plays later, Dobbins walked into the endzone from the 3 yard line, putting the Ravens up, 14-10!
After some big offensive plays by MVS, A.J. Dillon, and Allen Lazard, the Packers faced a third down. Thinking that Marcedes Lewis had snuck past his man downfield, Love took a shot to the endzone for him, but Chuck Clark was able to close the gap and pick it off! Later though, trailing 14-13 with 0:45 remaining in the half at his own 28, Love picked up some ground on a couple of nice sideline throws. On 4th and 3 from the Ravens' 43, Matt LaFleur rolled the dice and drew up a picture-perfect out route to Davante Adams out to the 35 yard line. That set up a 52-yard field goal by Crosby to end the half with a 16-14 lead.
Having deferred in the first half, the Packers got the ball to open the second, and it paid off. On the second play of the half, MVS made a physical catch in the flat, broke a tackle by Marcus Peters, and juked a defender until he was finally tracked down at the Ravens' 31 yard line for a 57-yard gain! After some tough run stops by the Ravens' defense (Aaron Jones averaged 2.3 yards per carry all game), Adams came up clutch on third down with a 29-yard catch to the Baltimore 10! Three plays later, Adams hauled in a 5-yard catch near the sideline for the touchdown, making it 23-14 Green Bay! After Bateman dropped a wide open TD and Darnell Savage made a big stop on Dobbins to force a turnover on downs, the Packers led by 9 heading into the final frame.
On the Ravens' first possession of the fourth, Dobbins continued his strong performance, rushing for 38 of his 140 yards on the drive, and after he got it down near the goal line, the ultimate dual threat Lamar Jackson punched it in on a read option from the 1 yard line, cutting the lead to 2.
Green Bay responded by handing the ball to its bulldozer, A.J. Dillon, who started the drive with a 13-yard run. After Jones picked up a 13-yard grab on third down to extend the drive, Dillon bounced his next carry around the outside for another 14 yards, setting the Packers up with good field position. However, a miscommunication between Love and Adams led to a 44-yard Crosby field goal to make it 26-21 with 6-and-a-half to go.
When the drive started with a 21-yard grab by Dobbins, Joe Barry's defense looked on the ropes, but on the ensuing third down, Dean Lowry picked up a massive sack on Jackson to force a punt! With three more third down conversions thanks to MVS, Dillon, and Adams, Love was able to kneel it out and the gritty Packers, on the road, picked up a third straight victory against game competition.
FINAL SCORE: Packers 26, Ravens 21.
The Packers improved to 8-6 thanks in part to ball control and a balanced offense. Holding the ball for significantly longer than Baltimore, they threw it 34 times and ran it 35 (not including 7 Love scrambles/kneeldowns). While the Ravens were able to put the clamps on the scorching hot Aaron Jones (21 carries for 49 yards and 1 TD), it was the "thunder" back, A.J. Dillon, whose 14 carries for 74 yards proved to be the key in bleeding the clock in the 4th quarter. And despite the defense's inability to stop J.K. Dobbins (25 carries for 140 yards), their four combined sacks kept the former MVP Lamar Jackson from breaking the game open with either his arm or his legs. His 126 passing yards on the day were just one more than Marquez Valdes-Scantling's receiving total of 125.
NEXT UP: On Christmas Day, the Packers' (8-6) grueling schedule continues as they welcome the AFC's top-seeded Cleveland Browns (11-3) to the Frozen Tundra!
Green Bay Packers at Baltimore Ravens
Dec 19, 2021
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
SCORE
Green Bay Packers (7-6)
10
6
7
3
26
Baltimore Ravens (8-5)
7
7
0
7
21
Team Stats Comparison
GNB
BAL
Total Offense
375
272
Rushing Yards
159
181
Passing Yards
216
91
First Downs
23
13
Punt Return Yards
16
12
Kick Return Yards
36
50
Total Yards
427
334
Turnovers
1
0
3rd Down Conversion
11/18 (61%)
4/10 (40%)
4th Down Conversion
2/2 (100%)
0/0
2-Point Conversion
0/0
0/0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
2/0
3/0
Penalties
1-10
0-0
Posession Time
28:21
19:39
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
GNB
BAL
7:04
(GNB) Aaron Jones 10-yard run (Crosby PAT good)
7
0
3:43
(GNB) Mason Crosby 49-yard FG
10
0
0:09
(BAL) Rashod Bateman 4-yard pass from Lamar Jackson (Tucker PAT good)
10
7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
GNB
BAL
9:18
(BAL) J.K. Dobbins 3-yard run (Tucker PAT good)
10
14
1:22
(GNB) Mason Crosby 53-yard FG
13
14
0:00
(GNB) Mason Crosby 51-yard FG
16
14
THIRD QUARTER SCORING
GNB
BAL
8:14
(GNB) Davante Adams 5-yard pass from Jordan Love (Crosby PAT good)
Packers' coach Matt LaFleur opened his press conference this week by praising his defense for figuring things out after letting the Ravens take an early 14-10 lead on Sunday. He said that the team hired Joe Barry because "he's a guy who the players believe in" and who can bring them back when they start to "get in their heads." He also said he was proud of how the offensive line hung in there despite not being able to get Aaron Jones going. "If we're going to make an impact down the stretch, that's what's gotta happen," LaFleur said, referencing the Packers' need to run the ball to be successful.
Regarding the daunting matchup against the Browns (11-3) on Christmas, LaFleur remarked that he'd be hoping to give the Lambeau faithful a nice gift with a big win.
12-24-2021, 12:40 PM
