- When the Green Bay Packers got the ball back with 1:13 left after the Dallas Cowboys had gone ahead 31-28, all I could hear in my head was Aaron Rodgers post-game quote from the last time he stomped on the hearts of the Cowboys faithful. Back in January, he was asked what he was thinking when Green Bay got the ball back with 0:35 in the Divisional Playoff game, and Rodgers responded:
- My only regret regarding this game is that it fell on the day before a holiday, so I didn’t get to gloat in front of all my coworkers while the wound was still fresh.
- The game got off to a bit of a bumpy start, with the refs gifting the Cowboys four points on a dismal unnecessary roughness call in the endzone that gave Dallas a new set of downs on the two-yard line on their opening touchdown.
- Plus the Packers missed not one, but two extra points! Listen, I don’t want to call out long snapper Taybor Pepper because he’s young, hasn’t played much, and his name is Taybor Pepper, so his life is probably hard enough as it is… but COME ON, DUDE. You literally have one job. All’s well that ends well (for now), as there were no more missed kicks after the first two.
- The wide receiver besties busted out yet another coordinated celebration, which feels strange to see with the Green Bay Packers. On Sunday, they were an Olympic bobsled team.
- Um five times weirder than the actual sight of the celebration is this tidbit:
- Rookie Aaron Jones had a very, very nice game, gaining 125 yards on 19 carries, with a touchdown. It’s so exciting and refreshing to see a running threat in the Green and Gold! (Also, he seems totally sweet and adorable.)
- Martellus Bennett has been something of a disappointment thus far, but he had a couple of big-time catches, including a 33-yarder and a huge first down on the game-winning drive.
- I want to take a moment to say a big thank-you to Jason Garrett, Dak Prescott, and the Dallas Cowboys for not running the ball -- and the clock -- on second down prior to the Packers’ game-winning drive. Thanks to you, Green Bay didn’t not have to use their final timeout on defense, and they got the ball back plus-35 seconds or so. I raise my glass to you.
- Sure, I was jumping up and down and screaming and pacing the floor and what-not during that final drive, but 1:13 with Aaron Rodgers and a timeout? Come on. We all knew what was going to happen.
- There were a lot of ups and downs during the game: Dallas jumping out to a 21-6 lead in the first half; Damarious Randall’s pick-six at just the right moment (and his stupid unsportsmanlike penalty); Green Bay’s successfully challenging of Dallas’ third-down “conversion” and forcing a 4th-and-one, then appearing to stop Ezekiel Elliott on 4th-and-one, only to have replay show that he got the first down -- so many emotions!
- What is it with teams not covering Jordy? He leads the league in touchdowns (despite missing a game) -- he’s an #EndzoneNinja and defenses keep on seeming to forget about him!
- Speaking of, winning the game was great and all, but WHERE WAS JORDY ON THE FINAL DRIVE??? Attempting a game-winning drive without your go-to receiver is nerve-wracking. And after the game, even in the midst of my excitement, I was so worried! Here’s everything I could find on the sitch:
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| This is remarkably unhelpful. What was it? A concussion? What happened? When did it happen? How did it happen? Who's "we"? |
- I’m a little worried about HaHa Clinton-Dix. He seems really … bad thus far this season. (Also, why does he always wear long sleeves, even when it’s really hot out?) (I’m not suggesting the two are related, by the way. Just two discrete observations.)
- I hope Dallas running back Ryan Switzer remembered to get his mom to sign his permission slip so he could play in the game Sunday.
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| Aren't there child labor laws? |
- Jeff Janis returned one kick on Sunday for for 17 yards, bringing Green Bay’s season total for returns -- for both kicks and punts -- to a grand total of … 17 yards.
- The Pack got one of their offensive tackles back Sunday, but were still down their starting left tackle, as well as their (now former) starting running back. They also lost cornerback Kevin King to a concussion and Morgan Burnett to a hamstring injury. Hopefully they’ll all heal up soon! For right now, all that matter is we beat the Cowboys!
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) October 8, 2017
- I feel like I can’t really complain about Packers injuries when the 0-5 New York Giants lost four receivers on Sunday, two for long-term, including star wideout Odell Beckham Jr, who broke his ankle.
- On top of that, my beloved JJ Watt suffered a bone break in his knee (here’s a pic of where the tibial plateau is), which sounds just horrible. It’s even sadder when it comes after a 2016 season in which Watt played just three games, and an injury-filled 2015, as well. The Texans also lost linebacker (and current holder of the Best Name for a Defender title) Whitney Mercilus for the year to a torn pectoral muscle. Here’s hoping both come back stronger next year!
- It was a real barn-burner up in Chicago on Monday night. Here's how the first half between the Bears and the Minnesota Vikings went: punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, safety, punt, punt, punt, punt, fumble, field goal, punt. Yep, totally worth jeopardizing Sam Bradford’s safety.
- I think the stat tracker in the Carolina Panthers’ win over the Detroit Lions wasn’t paying attention or something. He noted 11 penalties against the Panthers, but it felt like double that. And it somehow showed Stafford only being sacked 6 times, but it felt like 16.
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| And here you can see his hand injury gushing. |
- I’m glad the Lions lost, but I was really impressed with Stafford leading a near-comeback all while barely being able to walk.
- What’s the etiquette when you’re an offensive lineman and your man beats you and sacks your quarterback and then you have to help him up? I’ve always wondered. Do you mumble an apology? Do you just keep your mouth shut because he’s probably pretty mad? Do you curse to show how angry you are at yourself?
- Here’s a clip from Eli Manning’s Visa commercial to prove that the Manning Face never takes a play off, not even when playing a pick-up game with the local kids for Visa.
- It’s never good to throw a red-zone interception, but it’s particularly bad to throw a red-zone interception in overtime when you’re eight yards from victory, as Jacoby Brissett did for Indianapolis. Luckily for the Colts, they were playing the San Francisco 49ers, who did absolutely nothing with the turnover, and the Colts were able to win on a field goal on their next possession.
- Not a good day for Ben Roethlisberger against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Pittsburgh Steeler threw zero touchdowns and FIVE interceptions, including two pick-sixes in the span of three minutes. Ouch.
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| Umm, yeah. Not exactly throwing himself on a sword... |
- The Jaguars are super trendy right now. Part of the reason they look so good is that last year, their turnover ratio last year was -16; this year, they’re +10 so far.
- This is so much better than any trash talking. This is Jacksonville running back Leonard Fournette beckoning, mid-run, the defender to come at him.
- Argh! The New England Patriots should be 1-4! Thanks to chokes by the Houston Texans and now the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Patriots are 3-2. On Thursday night, the Bucs missed not one, not two, but THREE field goals. And lost by five points.
- Poor Kansas City Chiefs. There is nothing they can do to make me take them seriously. They're the last undefeated team and, through 5 games, Alex Smith has 11 TDs and 0 interceptions, but I'm still like:
- The New York Jets are 3-2 and oddsmakers give them the same chance to win the Super Bowl as the 0-5 New York Giants. That’s offensive. But also totally understandable.
- At first, when Jay Cutler threw an interception in Sunday’s game, I thought the Miami Dolphins fans were calling for backup quarterback Matt Moore when they started chanting, “We want Moore! We want Moore.” But on second thought, perhaps they were saying, “We want more,” with “Jay Cutler” being the implied completion of the chant. Hard to say.
- Up next: the Vikings!
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