Here we are, a meaningless week 16 match-up with the New York Jets. After much discussion from fans throughout the week, Aaron Rodgers will be playing. We shall see how long he plays.
Rodgers ended up willing the team to victory and demonstrating great leadership. The overtime victory snapped a 9 game losing streak away from Lambeau Field. The win also prevented the 2018 Green Bay Packers from becoming the first Packers squad since 1958 to go an entire season without a win away from Lambeau. Rodgers threw for 442 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 2 scores. Rodgers was absolutely masterful in the fourth quarter. The team could have quit numerous times throughout the game, the trailed 14-0 early on and were again down by 15 heading into the fourth quarter. This team showed resiliency and a ton of fight. The win was good for the young guys to experience what a locker room on the road after a
Here is the full game recap:
1st Quarter
The Packers won the toss and elected to defer. The bend don’t break defense was in affect from the first drive, as the Jets drove 40 yards but missed the field goal. The Packers offense was essentially non-existent. On the first drive Rodgers took two hits, including one that was low. Plus, two of the throws were off the mark. Just a dismal start for the offense. They had the ball for just under 5 minutes the entire quarter. On the Jets second drive of the game, they went 83 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown. Sam Darnold controlled the clock and had completions of 16 yards, 15 yards and 13 yards. A very effective drive. The Jets had 123 yards of offense in the first quarter compared to the Packers 33 yards. Packers 0 – Jets 7
2nd Quarter
The second quarter started with Rodgers getting sacked for a 10-yard loss on third down and the Packers punting. Sam Darnold that completed his first two passes of their opening second quarter drive to Robby Anderson for 14 yards and 9 yards respectively. The Jets went 76 yards on 8 plays in 5 minutes and 12 seconds. They capped the drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Darnold to Robby Anderson. The scoring was then on. Rodgers and the offense woke up and went to work. Rodgers hit Jamaal Williams in the flat for a 10 yard gain. Then it was Williams up the middle for 13 yards. It was rookie Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s turn, as he took a pass for 12 yards. The highlight of the drive came from UW-Whitewater and preseason standout, Jake Kumerow. Rodgers found Kumerow along the right sideline for a
JAKE KUMEROW!!!
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 23, 2018
49-yard touchdown catch from @AaronRodgers12! #GBvsNYJ #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/5IYWjALtQY
, give this team credit. They were down 14-0 and they kept battling. On the very next kickoff, Pro Bowl kick returner Andre Roberts hit the seam and went 99 yards for the touchdown. He was untouched and Crosby didn’t stand a chance trying to tackle him. The Packers offense continued to resemble a cohesive unit. Rodgers from St. Brown for 34 yards that brought them deep into Jet territory. Four plays later, he hit St. Brown again for 14 yard gain that brought the ball to the Jets 7 yard line. Jamaal Williams then powered his
3rd Quarter
Rodgers comes out to start the second half and engineers a field goal drive, that puts more points on the board. The 64-yard drive consisted of completions of 20 yards to Lance Kendricks, 11 yards to Davante Adams, and 18 yards to St. Brown. The Jets responded, and in three plays they were at the Green Bay 18 yard line. Then four plays later were back in the end zone. The Jets continued to dominate as the third quarter was all New York. Special teams miscues continue to haunt the Packers. Ja’mon Moore took the kick out of the end zone and fumbled the ball the 18 yard line, where New York recovered and took over. Two plays later the Jets were once again in the end zone. Green Bay was unable to get anything going on their next possession and ended up punting. Packers 20 – Jets 35
4th Quarter
Trailing by 15 points, Aaron Rodgers started to make his comeback. A better team may have closed the door on Green Bay, but Rodgers was destined to not be denied on this Sunday. After the Jets punted, Rodgers went to work. On third and 11 from the Green Bay 38 yard line, Rodgers hit Valdes-Scantling for a 42-yard completion that set up a Mason Crosby field goal. The defense then forced the Jets to punt. On the first play of the Packers next series, Rodgers found St. Brown for a 24-yard pass play, they also benefited from a Jets unnecessary roughness call that added another 15 yards. They also benefited from a defensive pass interference on Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Rodgers capped the drive off with a 1-yard touchdown run of his own. The one bright spot on the season has been Mike Pettine’s defense. They were bound and determined to give Rodgers a fighting chance. The forced the Jets to punt again, getting the ball back to Rodgers with just over 3 minutes to play in regulation. Rodgers engineered an 11 play, 83-yard, 2 min drive to give the Packers the lead. The drive was highlighted by a
Overtime
Green Bay won the coin toss and elected to receive, putting the ball back in Rodgers
Next up: The Packers host Detroit at Lambeau Field next Sunday at noon in the finale of their 100th season.
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