The Green Bay Packers headed to Seattle to take on the Seahawks in a Thursday night match-up and looking for their first road win of the season. In a game that the Packers knew the margin of error was already small, the Packers came out swinging. Rodgers had a good first half and the offense looked like it might finally be getting on track. Aaron Jones continued to show why he is the best running back on the team. The defense continued to give the offense opportunities during the course of the game. The second half was a completely different story. The offense only had one scoring drive in the second half, after having three in the first half.
Here’s the full recap:
1st quarter
What a start! The defense set the tone from the start. On the first play from scrimmage, Clay Matthews hit Seattle running back, Chris Carson, and jarred the ball out for Tramon Williams to recover. This gave the Packers offense the ball on the Seattle 29 yard line. It only took Rodgers and company three plays to punch it into the end zone. The drive started with a 13-yard reception by Jimmy Graham, then back-to-back 8 yard runs by Aaron Jones to score the touchdown. The defense continued to set the tone. They forced the Seattle to punt after a three and out. After a 41-yard pass play from Rodgers to Adams, the Packers offensive drive stalled out at the Seattle 29 and McCarthy was forced to bring on the field goal unit. Mason Crosby’s struggles continue as he missed the field goal attempt. Russell Wilson then leads the Seahawks on a 4:46 drive that resulted in a field goal. Rodgers than answered with a score of his own. With all the receivers covered, Robert Tonyan beat his defender down the left sideline, he then crossed the middle as Rodgers escaped pressure, rolled to his right and let the ball fly for a 54-yard touchdown to Tonyan. This was Robert Tonyan’s first NFL reception. Packers 14 – Seahawks 3
2nd quarter
The second quarter started off all Seattle. Russell Wilson went on a 14 play 7:31-minute drive to score a touchdown. The Packers offense then went 13 yards in 5 plays and were forced to punt. The momentum was starting to shift in Seattle’s favor in this quarter. It only took Seattle 3 plays to score on their next drive. This was helped by a pass interference call on Raven Greene that put the ball on the Green Bay 22 yard line. Two plays later they were in the end zone. Rodgers and McCarthy then answered with a five play drive of their own, featuring Aaron Jones. The drive started off with a Jones run for 15 yards and then a pass from Rodgers to Jones for 22 yards. The drive concluded with a 24-yard pass to Aaron Jones along the right sideline for the touchdown. A quarter that was dominated by Seattle, ends on a high point for Green Bay. The Packers were led by Aaron Jones and Davante Adams, as they dominated offensively. Packers 21 – Seahawks 17
3rd quarter
Neither offense really did anything in the third quarter. After scoring 21 points in the first half, the Packers weren’t able to really add more points to the board. One issue that started to rise in the second half, was Aaron Jones. Nothing with him, as when he touched the ball, good things happened. McCarthy went away from Jones. In the first half Jones touched the football 10 times and only touched the ball 6 times in the second half. It appears they tend to like to keep Jones around 15 touches total. The Packers third down struggles continued into the third quarter and second half. They were terrible on third downs. Whether it was Rodgers missing guys, passing up the short routes, or getting sacked, they offense was brutal on third downs. The defense kept the Packers in this game in the third quarter. They forced the Seahawks to two punts. Kyler Fackrell stepped up, while injuries started to mount on the defensive side of the football. On Seattle’s second drive of the half, he stopped Rashaad Penny for a two-yard loss on first down, and they sacked Russell Wilson on second down. This ultimately forced the Seahawks to punt for the second time in the quarter. Packers 21 – Seahawks 17
4th quarter
The quarter started out with Green Bay and Seattle exchanging field goals. The biggest play offensively, came on the Packers first offensive drive of the quarter. On third down and nine at the Green Bay 26, Rodgers was under pressure, he lofted a deep pass to Davante Adams for a 57-yard reception. It was a beautiful throw by Rodgers and a fantastic over the shoulder catch by Adams. The offense was unable to move the football after that. Rodgers ended up being sacked on third down at the Seattle 12 yard line. This forced the Packers to settle for a Mason Crosby field goal. The Packers defense forced Seattle into a 3rd and 2, but they were unable to get off of the field, as Wilson connected with Tyler Lockett for an 18 yard gain. Wilson continued moving the football downfield, scoring a touchdown to give Seattle the lead. With 5 minutes remaining in the game, Rodgers got the football in hopes of leading a game-winning drive. Instead, the Packers had the ball for 57 seconds and punted the ball away. They would never get the ball back. Packers 24 – Seahawks 27
Next up: Green Bay travels to Minnesota looking for their first road win of the season, in a game that appears to be a must win.
Anthony Haag is a writer for PackersTalk.com. He has been a Packers fan since the day he was born and truly bleeds green and gold. He makes annual visits to Lambeau Field and has attended his fair share of games. You can follow Anthony on Twitter at @anthony_haag
