the-best

Aaron Rodgers

Some might feel that it’s too easy to put Rodgers here every week, but the fact of the matter is that earlier this season Rodgers was far from a lock for the Packers’ best in any particular game. He’s turned things around, however. Rodgers outgunned Brock Osweiler in sloppy conditions, finishing with 209 yards for 2 TDs and 0 INTs. That was good enough for a 108.9 QB Rating. He did have the lost fumble early in the game, but that was just about the only bad moment for Rodgers on the afternoon.

Jordy Nelson

Rodgers turned to his most trusted target on Sunday, hitting Nelson 8 times for 118 yards and a TD. Nelson was wide open on his touchdown catch, but he made some fantastic catches throughout the course of the game.

Morgan Burnett

Burnett was a presence on defense. He was flying around the field making plays. Burnett picked up a fumble early in the first quarter and took it deep into Houston territory. He also lead the team with 9 total tackles and came away with a pass defensed. Burnett is clearly the most unsung veteran leader on defense.

Snow at Lambeau

Is there anything more beautiful?

 

the-wurst-3

James Starks

The Packers continue to search for a running game and it’s becoming increasingly clear that James Starks is not the answer. Starks played a number of snaps on Sunday but received only 4 carries. He accumulated exactly one yard on those carries (good enough for a .3 yards per carry average). Ty Montgomery, on the other hand, rushed 6 times for 40 yards (6.7 yards per carry). The Packers also got Christine Michael and Aaron Ripkowski in the mix to the tune of 9 carries for 19 yards and 3 carries for 14 yards (and a TD) respectively.

This was Michael’s first real outing with the Packers. While he didn’t do anything amazing, he did show some good burst on a few carries. Ripkowski continues to have a nose for the end zone and even rattled off a nice 10 yard gain on one carry.

Going forward, it certainly seem as though Green Bay should lean on Montgomery as a “starter”, bringing in a combination of Michael, Ripkowski, and Starks in a relief capacity only.

Third and Long Defense

Give the Packers defense credit. Yes, they were at home and playing against a bad quarterback in sloppy conditions, but they held Houston to 13 points. It was a definite improvement over all of their performances in the month of November. Still, one area of embarrassment was third down defense. It seemed that, the further away from a first down that the Texans were, the more likely they were to convert. A couple of times Osweiler simply slipped up the middle of a collapsing pocket and ran for the first down. On one 3rd and 10, the Packers gave up a first down on a routine draw up the middle. Dom Capers is going to have to shore up this situational defense and their ability to keep the QB in the pocket before the Packers have to meet Russell Wilson next week.

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Taylor O\'Neill is a Packer fan born and raised in Oshkosh, WI. He currently lives in Florida and is pursuing his PhD. Taylor is a writer with PackersTalk.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @TaylorONeill87 for more Packer news.

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