Speaker 1: M Hi, everybody, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: I am Mike Spofford, joined alongside my trusted colleague Wes Hodkowitz.
Speaker 1: We're coming to you here from our studios at lambeau Field,
Speaker 1: back from another late night flight west from US Bank
Speaker 1: Stadium in Minneapolis, where the Packers unfortunately still could not
Speaker 1: put together a road victory to seventeen the final score,
Speaker 1: this time against the division rival Minnesota Vikings. And in
Speaker 1: a lot of ways, uh, a repeat of the game
Speaker 1: in Seattle in terms of the offense starting quickly, putting
Speaker 1: points on the board early in the game, and then
Speaker 1: things just became this monumental struggle to add to what
Speaker 1: you what you had done and alter really the home
Speaker 1: team prevails. Yeah. One of the quiet things that's sort
Speaker 1: of changed after the bye week is the fact that
Speaker 1: the Packers have gotten off to some really strong starts
Speaker 1: when you look at l A to some extent New England,
Speaker 1: but the last two weeks against Seattle and Minnesota, really
Speaker 1: firing out of the gate right away, but just not
Speaker 1: able to sustain that. And that's almost in stark contrast
Speaker 1: to the first half of the season where it was
Speaker 1: sort of the slow starts were the slow starts were
Speaker 1: bogging the team down, and then you're trying to make
Speaker 1: these rallies in the fourth quarter and everything. It's it's
Speaker 1: been a it's been a shift in in the way
Speaker 1: these games have gone. But certainly since the bye week,
Speaker 1: a lot of the same story keeps happening, and a
Speaker 1: lot of guys in the locker room afterwards, as I'm
Speaker 1: sure you heard with Mike McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers at the
Speaker 1: podium just lamenting the fact that they're just really can't
Speaker 1: have they haven't been able to put their finger on
Speaker 1: what they need to do to be able to sustain
Speaker 1: that momentum throughout four quarters. Because when you look at
Speaker 1: that first quarter in a vacuum, Mike, you know, Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers six of eight for seventy one yards and a touchdown.
Speaker 1: You get down Davante Adams involved early on, he catches
Speaker 1: his tenth touchdown of the year, Aaron Jones had I believe,
Speaker 1: forty three total yards. Everything seemed to be pointing up
Speaker 1: for them, and then you get to that second half
Speaker 1: and I believe the stat I dug up in my
Speaker 1: locker room report was that they had I think it was,
Speaker 1: oh man, was it sixty total yards in the next
Speaker 1: sixth series or something like that. What I remember looking
Speaker 1: at and writing on the plane as we were coming
Speaker 1: back is they had six consecutive possessions where they did
Speaker 1: not cross Minnesota's forty yard line, basically six and none
Speaker 1: of the possession started any worse than the twenty five
Speaker 1: than your own twenty five. So sixth straight possessions not
Speaker 1: in bad field position, but nothing gets across the opponent's
Speaker 1: forty yard line. So they never really six straight drives,
Speaker 1: never even threatened to score. And that's what's gonna happen.
Speaker 1: And you look at the Minnesota Vikings. It was so funny, Mike,
Speaker 1: because you know, I was watching that first quarter developed
Speaker 1: and you know, Kirk Cousins and the Vikings offense just,
Speaker 1: you know, it looked, it looked difficult. I mean, they
Speaker 1: just were not in sync at all. Yeah, those first
Speaker 1: two possessions from Minnesota, they look like they were struggling. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Alexander Jay Alexander ends up blocking Adam Feeling like three
Speaker 1: yards back into Stefan Pigs on what was a bubble
Speaker 1: screen for a ten yard lost in overall, it just
Speaker 1: looked like, Okay, well, maybe this is finally the Packers
Speaker 1: day to be able to put one of these things
Speaker 1: together and get a much need to win on the road.
Speaker 1: But I give a lot of credit to Kirk Cousins
Speaker 1: and Adam Feeling did get going eventually. Stefon Diggs has
Speaker 1: been a big possession receiver against the Packers for the
Speaker 1: last three years. I mean, that's been his game. And
Speaker 1: while green Bay did one of the things that you
Speaker 1: and I talked about in the lead up to this
Speaker 1: and being able to make sure that the thirty first
Speaker 1: ranked rushing offense looks like the thirty first rank rushing offense.
Speaker 1: Kirk Cousins had another big day through the air three
Speaker 1: two yards, three touchdowns, dy nine point five passer rating,
Speaker 1: and with the Packers struggling to get anything going until
Speaker 1: the final drive of that game, just wasn't enough. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean, if you want to look at this game,
Speaker 1: in a game that there were no interceptions and no fumbles,
Speaker 1: and we had talked all week long about how the
Speaker 1: Packers really needed to win the turnover battle, and winning
Speaker 1: the turnover battle in Minneapolis is how you beat the
Speaker 1: Vikings in their place. Neither team had a fumble or
Speaker 1: an interception. Statistically, the game came down to third down West.
Speaker 1: The Vikings were seven out of fourteen they converted, the
Speaker 1: Packers were two out of ten. You look at the
Speaker 1: first the Packers first two touchdowns, they scored on two
Speaker 1: of their first three possessions. On the opening touchdown drive,
Speaker 1: they had one third down, it was a third and one,
Speaker 1: it was converted. Then they had a third down they
Speaker 1: didn't get and they punted. And then on the second
Speaker 1: touchdown drive, no third downs at all. Everything was either
Speaker 1: first and tent or second and short. So you have
Speaker 1: fourteen points on the board, but you've only faced two
Speaker 1: third downs. You converted one of them. The Packers then
Speaker 1: went on this run of seven consecutive third downs that
Speaker 1: they did not convert, and that has been the problem
Speaker 1: on offense all season long. Only one of them, if
Speaker 1: I recall, was a was a third and long after
Speaker 1: they took the delay a game on a third and eight.
Speaker 1: It was third and thirteen and they took a sack.
Speaker 1: But other than that one, they were all you know
Speaker 1: in that third and seven, third and eight, you know
Speaker 1: or less, you know, those those manageable down and distances,
Speaker 1: and for whatever reason, and I can't answer it. I'm
Speaker 1: not an excess nose guy. I've never designed a football play,
Speaker 1: I've never coached the game. I don't know what is
Speaker 1: wrong on third down, but it's what is killing this
Speaker 1: offense because you can't just rely on scoring touchdowns by
Speaker 1: never getting in third down. They've done it a couple
Speaker 1: of times. They've had some nice drives where you don't
Speaker 1: even get the third down. You're moving smoothly, but if
Speaker 1: you cannot convert at least on a semi consistent basis
Speaker 1: on third down in this league, you will lose. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's tough, and I think the thing that stood out
Speaker 1: to me the most in this game was the fact
Speaker 1: that it was in more third and manageable situations, much
Speaker 1: like the Seattle game right, and prior to that, it
Speaker 1: was that, Okay, you're getting in third and deep and
Speaker 1: you know the probability as as you go a yard
Speaker 1: back it continues to fall. So, I mean, it's too
Speaker 1: somewhat understandable. But when you get into those third and fourth,
Speaker 1: third and five situation, yes they're not you know, I
Speaker 1: don't want to say automatic, but typically those are where
Speaker 1: you have to find a way to be able to
Speaker 1: push the football. The thing I think that surprised me
Speaker 1: the most about this performance is seventeen carries for seventy
Speaker 1: two yards with Aaron Jones four point two yards per
Speaker 1: carry against the fifth point run defense in the league.
Speaker 1: Aaron Jones had been effective and they fed him. Davante Adams,
Speaker 1: while he did have a lull in the middle of
Speaker 1: that game, had some big plays, ends up going over
Speaker 1: a thousand yards late in the fourth quarter. Equinimius st.
Speaker 1: Brown steps up in the first half, had three catches
Speaker 1: for fifty three yards. They had individuals rise to the
Speaker 1: challenge in this game. But I just think of that
Speaker 1: second and third quarter in particular, especially in the third
Speaker 1: quarter when they got the ball and a chance to
Speaker 1: potentially march down the field and reclaim the lead after
Speaker 1: Dan Bailey had two mess field goals of the second
Speaker 1: quarter and they just they weren't able to get to
Speaker 1: execute them. Yeah, I mean, obviously the game the game
Speaker 1: turned on the possession in the third quarter where the
Speaker 1: Packers are on their own forty four yard line. They
Speaker 1: have third and one. Aaron Jones gets stuffed on third
Speaker 1: and one. Packers decided to go for it. It It was
Speaker 1: that he actually got what three quarters of a yard
Speaker 1: or whatever on third and one, so it's fourth and inches.
Speaker 1: Packers decided to go for it. There's a little bit
Speaker 1: of a of a snaffoo with the play clock, and
Speaker 1: McCarthy thought the officials should have reset the play clock,
Speaker 1: and they didn't do it. So the Packers burn a
Speaker 1: time out, but they still stick with going for it
Speaker 1: there on fourth and one, and and Aaron Jones gets stuffed.
Speaker 1: Minnesota has a short field and that actually then becomes
Speaker 1: the first of two consecutive short fields, two possessions in
Speaker 1: a row from Minnesota that started in Green Bay Territory.
Speaker 1: The second one then because of a you know, the
Speaker 1: sack on third and thirteen, the good pump return a
Speaker 1: special team's penalty adds five yards. Minnesota, with those two
Speaker 1: possessions in Green Bay Territory, gets ten points, a field
Speaker 1: goal and a touch down, and um, you know it's
Speaker 1: a it's a two score game at that point, and
Speaker 1: and the Packers just they never closed it within one
Speaker 1: score until there were two minutes left in the ballgame. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it was interesting listen Aaron Jones talk in the locker room,
Speaker 1: because it almost sounded like he lamented more, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: the fourth down play than the third down one, even
Speaker 1: though he did have some positive yards on third down.
Speaker 1: The fourth down one, it just was the one where
Speaker 1: he felt like there was a chance to be able
Speaker 1: to penetrate that line and just wasn't able to get there,
Speaker 1: whereas the third down one. You know, he just you know,
Speaker 1: he credited them for making a good defensive play to
Speaker 1: be able to bottle that up. Be that as it may. Yeah,
Speaker 1: when when you look at being able to give the
Speaker 1: short field there to the Vikings, what they're able to
Speaker 1: do off of it, I thought the Packers defense responded
Speaker 1: pretty well to adverse situations once again. Certainly they still
Speaker 1: have not been able to get that takeaway or at
Speaker 1: least that string of takeaways. And I think, you know,
Speaker 1: you and I were discussing are almost required to be
Speaker 1: able to beat the Vikings in that venue. But you know,
Speaker 1: they got a couple of three notes early on, They
Speaker 1: got one after the break and halftime. Uh, Kenny Clark
Speaker 1: had a big sack on third and seven. Then obviously
Speaker 1: there was the muff punt. They get the ball back
Speaker 1: and actually hold their ground there with the Vikings going
Speaker 1: you know, on fourth down instead of kicking the field goals,
Speaker 1: so there were in Dean Lowry also had a sack
Speaker 1: that knocked him out of field goal range as well
Speaker 1: at one point, so in a vacuum, the defense was
Speaker 1: able to step up again in the face of some injuries.
Speaker 1: But you know, it is what it is. You know,
Speaker 1: the Vikings are playing in their venue. They have those
Speaker 1: perimeter weapons that they have. I think Jr. Alexander did
Speaker 1: an exemplary job for the most part against theland, but
Speaker 1: there's still things that they're gonna be able to scheme
Speaker 1: up with him to free him up. And and obviously
Speaker 1: him and Diggs both had a big day for them
Speaker 1: and Kirk Cousins through the air. Yeah, already, West, a
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Speaker 1: be remiss here, West if we didn't mention a little
Speaker 1: bit of history being made by Packers wide receiver Davante
Speaker 1: Adams in this game. As disappointing as the final result was,
Speaker 1: but as you mentioned earlier, he goes over a thousand
Speaker 1: yards for the first time in his career. Um He
Speaker 1: also gets his tenth touchdown reception of the season, which
Speaker 1: gives him three consecutive seasons now with double digit touchdowns,
Speaker 1: and he becomes the first Packers receiver to do that
Speaker 1: since Sterling Sharp back in the early nineties ninety four,
Speaker 1: those first three years with Brett Farve at quarterback and
Speaker 1: Davantae Adams still has five games to go. I'm I'm
Speaker 1: very interested to see because of where his numbers are
Speaker 1: and with with five games remaining to play and knock
Speaker 1: on what he remains healthy this year so far, certainly
Speaker 1: where this season for him as a Packers receiver might
Speaker 1: end up in the team's record books, because it's got
Speaker 1: a chance to rank way up there. Yeah, it's gonna
Speaker 1: be up there, you know, assuming he stays on the
Speaker 1: field one way or another. He's just been that consistent
Speaker 1: out the course of the season. The Packers have needed
Speaker 1: that too, you know, with Randall cob now missing six
Speaker 1: of the last eight geron way Allison ended up on
Speaker 1: I R and then having a lot of rookie receivers
Speaker 1: and Jimmy Graham dealing with the thumb injury. Davante Adams
Speaker 1: has been the constant through all of that. Seventy seven
Speaker 1: catches now on the season, a d and twenty two yards,
Speaker 1: ten touchdowns. As you explain, Mike, but I know it's
Speaker 1: gonna be a very little consolation to him. If you
Speaker 1: know him, he is an incredibly competitive individual. The wins
Speaker 1: and the losses are ultimately the thing that are going
Speaker 1: to drive him. But what he's doing to try to
Speaker 1: give this offense a chance. You go to that fourth quarter, Mike,
Speaker 1: the thirty six yard catch along the sideline against Savior Roads.
Speaker 1: That's what gave them that explosive play they needed, got
Speaker 1: him over a thousand yards on the season. Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: also had him open in the end zone on the
Speaker 1: play that they ended up having to settle for the
Speaker 1: Mason Crosby field goal. Just not able to connect. His footwork,
Speaker 1: ability to gain separation and any portion in any version
Speaker 1: of the road tree is impressive. And seeing where he
Speaker 1: takes this thing in the final month of the season.
Speaker 1: He's just such a big part of this offense. Now
Speaker 1: he is the playmaker of this offense. He saw Jordy
Speaker 1: Nelson do it for a number of years. Davante Adams
Speaker 1: is the guy now, he is the man and for
Speaker 1: him now to be one of nine guys I think
Speaker 1: over a thousand yards on the season. I believe the
Speaker 1: only receiver in the NFL with ten touchdowns in each
Speaker 1: of the past three seasons. Now, if I have that correct,
Speaker 1: it's impressive what he's done in all facets of the
Speaker 1: game and all you know, areas of the field. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you mentioned the thirty six yard catch down the sideline
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter. That could end up being an
Speaker 1: incredibly costly play for the Minnesota Vikings because we saw
Speaker 1: Xavier Rhodes, a great cornerback, really impressive player, and a
Speaker 1: guy that that I have a lot of respect for
Speaker 1: and I enjoy watching him. I enjoyed watching that Davante
Speaker 1: Adams Xavier Rhodes matchup. They were going head to head
Speaker 1: all game long, but Rhodes came up with what looked
Speaker 1: like a pretty bad hamstring injury, you know, not really
Speaker 1: able to walk off the field. Um, all that smoothly
Speaker 1: after that happened, and I talked about it last year West,
Speaker 1: I mean, I really felt in the playoffs for Minnesota.
Speaker 1: I know they got the great miracle play to beat
Speaker 1: in New Orleans, But in that NFC Championship against Philadelphia,
Speaker 1: when Xavier Rhodes was kind of in and out of
Speaker 1: the game with an injury, and then ultimately when he
Speaker 1: left that game, at like, Minnesota's defense just didn't look
Speaker 1: the same. And you just wonder. Minnesota is six four
Speaker 1: and one, they're right in the thick of it here
Speaker 1: for the playoffs. But if Rhodes is out for any
Speaker 1: extended period of time, that's gonna make it a lot
Speaker 1: tougher on this defense because he he really really is
Speaker 1: a top notch player. So I used to cover preps,
Speaker 1: you know what the press is that I did too,
Speaker 1: And I was young at that time, and I didn't
Speaker 1: really fully understand what it felt like to have a
Speaker 1: soft muscle injury. So, you know, somebody in track and
Speaker 1: field or something like that would sustain a hamstring injury,
Speaker 1: and I would always be like, oh, you know, they'll
Speaker 1: people look tape it up and wrap it up and go.
Speaker 1: And over the years, as you get older and as
Speaker 1: you but you're around more of these things, you understand
Speaker 1: how difficult those injuries are particularly in the lower body.
Speaker 1: The thing that's scary as far as Rhodes, and this
Speaker 1: is obviously just speculatory at this point, but speculator of
Speaker 1: is the fact that his how much he struggled to
Speaker 1: get off the field. Guys can have a strainer, tear
Speaker 1: their hamstring and walk fine off the field. They just
Speaker 1: can't explode when they're trying to get in and out
Speaker 1: of the routes or when they're trying to come off
Speaker 1: a break as a cornerback. Rhodes really looked rough in
Speaker 1: that moment, So we'll have to see exactly what he did.
Speaker 1: I have a lot of respect for him. He was
Speaker 1: phenomenal on the conference call talking about that match up
Speaker 1: with Davante Adams last week. The excitement there for both
Speaker 1: of those parties matching up with each other basically every
Speaker 1: single play. So yeah, you definitely don't want to see
Speaker 1: a go down like that. Yeah, alright, West, Well at
Speaker 1: Homer here in the stands, we all know that Green
Speaker 1: Bay fans give it their all and then that takes
Speaker 1: a lot of energy. So grab a warm bowl of
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Speaker 1: Here's where the Packers are four six and one after
Speaker 1: eleven games. The Chicago Bears, after their win on Thanksgiving
Speaker 1: with their backup quarterback, give them credit. They are eight
Speaker 1: and three. So for all practical purposes, the division is
Speaker 1: out of reach. Your three games back in the lost
Speaker 1: column to the division leader. With with five games to go,
Speaker 1: the Packers essentially to have any shot at the playoffs,
Speaker 1: they have to win out. They have to win all
Speaker 1: five games. They have to get to nine six and one,
Speaker 1: And the math is pretty simple in the sense that
Speaker 1: if you look at it right now, there are four
Speaker 1: second place teams, including the Vikings, there are four second
Speaker 1: place teams in the NFC that have six victories. If
Speaker 1: two of those teams get to ten victories, it's over
Speaker 1: for the Packers because that's two wild card spots that
Speaker 1: the Packers can't break into. With the nine six and
Speaker 1: one record, now, it's crazy to talk about winning five
Speaker 1: straight with a team that hasn't won on the road,
Speaker 1: and they haven't won two games in a row all
Speaker 1: season long, let alone thinking about trying to win five
Speaker 1: in a row. But the reality is, that's all as
Speaker 1: Packers fans that anybody has to hang onto right now.
Speaker 1: That's all the locker room has to hang onto. It
Speaker 1: is one week at a time. But if that's all
Speaker 1: you have to hang onto, then you might as well
Speaker 1: hang onto it and look at the situation for what
Speaker 1: it is. And the Packers have to run it here
Speaker 1: and they're gonna have to get some help so that nine,
Speaker 1: six and one will be good enough. I did if
Speaker 1: you go back a couple of weeks ago, I actually
Speaker 1: did say. I thought, with the way that this wild
Speaker 1: card was shuffling out with and how much parody there is,
Speaker 1: that nine and six and one could potentially, you know,
Speaker 1: get in over a nine and seven team. I think
Speaker 1: it's possible there's a nine win team in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: But the problem for the Packers right now is coming
Speaker 1: off of that loss to Seattle, then you lose to Minnesota,
Speaker 1: take away the division implications. That's a team right now
Speaker 1: that's the fifth seat. If the playoffs ended today or
Speaker 1: the playoffs started today. The season ended today. Um, the
Speaker 1: Cowboys have pulled themselves back into this thing. At six
Speaker 1: and five, you have the Carolina Panthers at six and five,
Speaker 1: the Eagles scratching and clawing their way past the Giants
Speaker 1: to go to five and six on the season. So
Speaker 1: there's a lot of bodies in front of them. At
Speaker 1: the point, I thought Brian Brian Blaga was phenomenal in
Speaker 1: the locker room after the game, and it took a
Speaker 1: lot of ownership and you know, I thought, really explain
Speaker 1: where this team is at and that you know, there's
Speaker 1: still belief, there's still hope, there's still confidence in locker room.
Speaker 1: But it is what it is. And the focus for
Speaker 1: the Packers now, as much as it hurts to not
Speaker 1: have a win on the road, yet everything goes into
Speaker 1: the Arizona Cardinals. The reality is your four zero and
Speaker 1: one at home, whatever the record is on the road.
Speaker 1: If you don't win these two games over the Cardinals
Speaker 1: in the Falcons and keep that momentum going going forward,
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter what the outlook of the season is
Speaker 1: going into Soldier Field in two weeks, so three weeks.
Speaker 1: But be that as it may, Packers are what they are.
Speaker 1: The record is what it is, and now they need
Speaker 1: some help and they need to find some victories. They
Speaker 1: need to get on a winning streak. Yeah, they need
Speaker 1: to put together a winning streaky back to back home games. Now,
Speaker 1: this is the opportunity to do it. And if you
Speaker 1: win these back to back home games, then the next
Speaker 1: time you go on the road, you still got a
Speaker 1: fighting chance. And to make another point here, and we'll
Speaker 1: talk about the Cardinals later this week. But as I
Speaker 1: said before, the frustrating thing for the Packers as they've
Speaker 1: been in every single one of these games, six road losses,
Speaker 1: four of them within one score. The Cardinals got blown
Speaker 1: out of the water on Sunday by the by the Chargers.
Speaker 1: And that's not the first time this year that's They've
Speaker 1: been really battling this season with some you know, some
Speaker 1: big things. So for the Packers perspective, you've got to
Speaker 1: be able to flush it here these next two days,
Speaker 1: see who you have available from a health perspective, and
Speaker 1: pick up a win over Arizona Cardinals team that you
Speaker 1: should beat. Yeah, that's where things are right now. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and there are some injuries to deal with with the Packers,
Speaker 1: and we'll get to those if we get some updates
Speaker 1: for our next show. But with that, we're going to
Speaker 1: call it a day on this edition of Packers un Scripted.
Speaker 1: Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the
Speaker 1: team on packers dot com on Twitter. He's still at
Speaker 1: west Hod, I'm still at Mike Spofford, and at Packers
Speaker 1: is still the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody,
Speaker 1: See you next time.