The new Green Bay Packers regime: Much more than the Aaron Rodgers pass game
After last week's game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the NFL world once again viewed the Green Bay Packers as a good team but not a Super Bowl contender. After all, we saw the same script of some of the team's failures in the past.
"Can't run the football", "can't stop the run", "it is Aaron Rodgers or bust once again", I've heard these before and so did you. In fact, some of us might have started to believe these words once again. However, 10 days later, the Packers showed that they are a different team this year as they destroyed the Cowboys in their own building, without their star wide receiver Davante Adams, by the way.
If somebody told me that the Packers would win this game without a big game from their star quarterback, I would have probably laughed. If somebody also told me that the Packers would be winning 31-3 at some point, I would have called this person insane. Nevertheless, that was exactly what happened.
The defense, even though the final stat line says that it gave up 563 yards and the final score was 34-24, was stout. Cornerbacks Jaire Alexander, Chandon Sullivan, and Kevin King combined for 3 interceptions, that could have been more if not for drops or penalties.
The Smiths, as in Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith showed once again why GM Brian Gutekunst went out of his way in free agency to acquire them. They combined for 3 sacks and made Dak Prescott's life miserable through the whole game. But that is not all that they provide. They provide a spark and some leadership to that defense that we haven't seen in a while in Green Bay.
The defense is clearly playing with a different attitude this season, but that is not all that might have changed. Even though it is early to tell, the Packers offense showed a glimpse of a running game this week. One Aaron was the star of the night, but not the one that usually has to be in order for Green Bay to win. This time it was running back Aaron Jones who was the hero. He had 4 TDs, 107 rushing yards on 19 carries and 7 receptions for 75 yards. He had a spectacular game, breaking tackles left and right and also making defenders miss tackles with different moves.
But what about Aaron Rodgers, how did he perform? Well, he was good when he needed to be. He threw the ball 34 times, completed 22 passes for 238 yards and didn't have a single touchdown. It wasn't a brilliant performance, but his ability to extend plays and make some difficult throws helped the Packers secure the win.
There will be games that Rodgers will need to play better so that his team can win. Nevertheless, in the NFL, the more ways you can win, the better. The Packers can win in many ways this year as we have seen so far. That is why these are not the same old Packers and if they keep this up, they will be a dangerous team in January.