WEBVTT - #471 Packers Unscripted: Game of inches 0:00:00.920 --> 0:00:20.680 Hi everyone. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:23.919 I am Mike Spofford sitting next to my trusted colleague 0:00:23.960 --> 0:00:26.320 West Hodkowitz. We're coming to you here from our studios 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:28.800 at Lambeau Field and West We are here to talk 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:32.680 about another Packers victory. I think the phrase game of 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:36.839 inches originally was attached to the game of baseball, but 0:00:37.080 --> 0:00:41.320 there are days it applies to football, and it certainly 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:46.640 did on Sunday at Lambeau the Packers stopping Christian McCaffrey 0:00:46.800 --> 0:00:50.519 inches shy of the goal line to preserve a twenty 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:53.320 four to sixteen victory, right down to the final play. 0:00:53.400 --> 0:00:56.080 My friend, yeah, it was something else to watch and 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:57.960 you know, talking to guys in the locker room about 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:02.000 it afterwards, the snow is coming down. Jamal Williams said 0:01:02.040 --> 0:01:04.080 that line about he felt like he was in Frozen too. 0:01:05.520 --> 0:01:08.559 But I mean, it's just this is what this team 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:11.640 has done so well, and I know you can look 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:13.319 at it defensively and be like, there were too many 0:01:13.400 --> 0:01:16.720 yards again, you know, there's too many times where you 0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:19.800 know they were able to convert. But man of life, 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:22.800 when they get down to the nitty gritty, gotta have 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:26.280 the moments this defense finds a way, and they did 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:28.760 it once again. And in watching that play, and I 0:01:28.760 --> 0:01:31.280 wrote an entire story about it for our Locker Report 0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:34.600 to see how that played out. I mean, Mike Patton's 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:37.520 keeping his dime personnel on the field there two yards 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:40.120 away from the end zone, and Truman Williams said it. 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:42.520 A lot of these guys said it. They didn't know 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:44.240 if it's gonna runner past, but they knew the ball 0:01:44.280 --> 0:01:47.080 was going to Christian McCaffrey. That's the MVP candidate for 0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:49.760 the Panthers. That's the guy you want to have the football. 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:53.840 And the Packers with Kyler Facro being readjusted moments before 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:56.040 the play is snapped and he breaks through and get 0:01:56.120 --> 0:01:59.560 some you know, hesitation the backfield from McCaffrey and then 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:02.600 press the smith a two sack performance day makes that 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:07.280 final tackle, and despite Greg Van Rowton's best efforts trying 0:02:07.280 --> 0:02:10.240 to pull McCaffrey into the end zone illegally, I might add, 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:13.919 the Packers hold their grounds and are eight and two 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:15.840 going to the bye week. What a start. Well, you 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:19.520 and I both were thinking in the press box four 0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:22.800 seconds left final play. You and I were both thinking run. 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:26.880 I actually thought the Panthers might try to cross the 0:02:26.919 --> 0:02:30.079 Packers up and do a quarterback draw with their rookie quarterback, 0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:32.800 because as you say, the Packers were in the dime defense. 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:35.400 It wasn't like they were in a goal line set 0:02:35.560 --> 0:02:39.920 up front. But they went with their guy McCaffrey. You 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:42.520 can't fault him on the call. And uh yeah, the 0:02:42.560 --> 0:02:46.320 Packers shifting guys right at the last second and not 0:02:46.440 --> 0:02:49.720 even really setting their stances as the ball is snapped. 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:52.600 But Factor was able to slip the block from Van Rotten, 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:54.800 which is why he ends up trying to drag McCaffrey 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:56.480 into the end zone because he missed his block on 0:02:56.560 --> 0:03:00.239 the play, and Preston Smith comes crashing from the other side. 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:03.000 They don't block him on the back side. He comes 0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:05.680 crashing into to get there, and then Blake Martinez is 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:09.520 there to try to, you know, keep that surge from 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:12.680 getting across the goal line. Just an incredible finish. As 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:15.160 you said, the scene with the snow falling at Lambo 0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:19.040 kind of that snow globe scene. It only still early November, 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:22.079 not even really mid November, just yet early for that, 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:25.160 but uh, but quite the scene and the Packers at 0:03:25.200 --> 0:03:27.080 eight and two, they stay a game ahead of the 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:29.600 Minnesota Vikings. We'll talk about this a little bit later. 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:31.960 They got a big win down in Dallas on the 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:36.040 road to stay one game behind the Packers. But you 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:40.960 said it West. This defense, somehow, more often than not 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:44.920 this year, when the unit's back is up against the wall, 0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:48.160 they find a way the end zone interceptions that we've 0:03:48.200 --> 0:03:53.520 seen in crucial moments this year. Yesterday basically two stops 0:03:53.520 --> 0:03:55.520 at the end zone. You get one interception in the 0:03:55.560 --> 0:03:57.760 third quarter in the end zone that takes points off 0:03:57.760 --> 0:03:59.720 the board for the Panthers, and then you get the 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:02.120 stup at the end of the game. Yeah, this defense 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:05.680 still has a lot to work on, but but boy 0:04:05.720 --> 0:04:09.240 they are Um they're right in a story of clutch 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:12.640 plays in nineteen. Yeah, and Kenny Clark, a guy that 0:04:12.720 --> 0:04:14.200 I don't think you look at his box score, I 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:15.960 don't think it really tells the story of the game 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:18.440 he had with four tackles. I mean, he was much 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:22.440 more effective than that. Showed the same thing for Zadarius Smith, Yeah, 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:25.240 no question. Talking to Clark in the locker room efforts, 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:27.000 he said, I mean this is an emotional way to play. 0:04:27.040 --> 0:04:29.360 It's a dangerous way to play, and they don't want 0:04:29.360 --> 0:04:32.719 to play that the entire season. But that being said, 0:04:33.400 --> 0:04:36.080 you have to look at it where the last you know, 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:40.039 sixteen points allowed Carolina. You can move the ball as 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:42.840 much as you want. No game in NFL history has 0:04:42.839 --> 0:04:46.080 been decided by who has more total yards. It's not 0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:49.880 a tiebreaker. So for them to be able to come 0:04:49.960 --> 0:04:52.200 up in those situations, I think that's been the biggest difference. 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:54.240 You and I've talked about it in here before. But 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:56.280 the other thing I think, you know, you're gonna look 0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:57.840 at this game, You're gonna see that the Panthers have 0:04:57.920 --> 0:05:01.400 fourner one total yards. What doesn't really tell you the 0:05:01.440 --> 0:05:04.840 story there is, by the traditional definition, the Packers did 0:05:04.839 --> 0:05:08.240 not allow an explosive play to Christian McCaffrey. I thought 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:10.960 that was a big difference in this game. Yeah, he 0:05:10.960 --> 0:05:13.200 had a hundred yards rushing, he had thirty some odd 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:17.080 yards receiving, but he didn't have that breakaway moment that 0:05:17.120 --> 0:05:19.520 can be backbreaking that has allowed the Panthers to win 0:05:19.560 --> 0:05:21.320 a lot of these games. Yeah, you never felt like 0:05:21.400 --> 0:05:24.279 Christian McCaffrey was the guy controlling the game, which is 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:26.200 what he has done in a lot of the games 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:28.640 that the Panthers have won this year. Yeah, And regardless 0:05:28.640 --> 0:05:30.440 of whether or not was the base personnel or whether 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:32.720 or not I was that dime personnel in the final stage, 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:35.520 when the Packers were between the hashes, really on both 0:05:35.560 --> 0:05:38.240 sides of the ball, they won this football game. They 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:41.680 did it offensively. Aaron Jones another three touchdown performance, first 0:05:41.680 --> 0:05:44.640 time that's been accomplished in a single season since nineteen 0:05:44.760 --> 0:05:47.400 sixty two with the great Jim Taylor. Him and Jamal 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:50.320 Williams both were gashing them in the middle of the field. 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:52.680 And when the Packers were largely successful, and you and 0:05:52.680 --> 0:05:54.320 I talked about this after the game. There were a 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:57.320 few moments where McCaffrey slipped out, but for the most part, 0:05:57.360 --> 0:05:59.920 when Carolina tried to play the rough and tough nor 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:03.159 the south football, the Packers won those battles. And that 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:05.280 was one area where they've really been lagging behind the 0:06:05.360 --> 0:06:07.640 last few weeks, and it's set them up to be 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:10.560 able to make some critical stops at important junctions of 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:13.040 that game. Well, that final drive, as I wrote about 0:06:13.120 --> 0:06:16.120 in my game recap story, the final drive was just 0:06:16.279 --> 0:06:19.160 full of all kinds of ebbs and flows. Emotionally, ended 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:23.000 up being eighteen plays in all the Panthers started at 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:26.520 their eleven yard line. They get credit for eighty eight yards, 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:29.000 but not the eighty nine they needed for the touchdown. 0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:32.360 But you look at that final drive. JayR Alexander has 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:34.640 a shot at an interception right away early in the 0:06:34.720 --> 0:06:37.560 drive to end the game, can't hang onto it. Then 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:39.839 later on you get him in fourth and ten. You 0:06:39.880 --> 0:06:42.560 get pressure on Kyle Allen. You're thinking, okay, this is it, 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:44.719 and then somehow a floater that he throws up to 0:06:44.760 --> 0:06:47.480 the left side, DJ Moore is open and is able 0:06:47.520 --> 0:06:50.880 to catch it, falling to the ground to convert fourth 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:52.520 and ten for the first down. Then you get him 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:54.520 in fourth and one. You think you have them stopped 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:57.640 at Preston Smith is flagg for offside. So there's eight 0:06:57.640 --> 0:07:00.120 seconds left, they have first down, they've got two our 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:04.640 place to try to score. The the emotional roller coaster 0:07:04.720 --> 0:07:06.919 of that, And that was the phrase that Matt Lafleur 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:09.159 used when I asked him after the game in his 0:07:09.240 --> 0:07:11.520 press conference, you know what was that final drive like 0:07:11.640 --> 0:07:14.440 for you coaches and everybody on the sideline. He said, Hey, 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:16.960 it's life in the NFL. It's a roller coaster ride, 0:07:16.960 --> 0:07:19.920 and and that's what that final drive was. And you know, 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:22.560 just credit to the Packers. I mean, it's one of 0:07:22.640 --> 0:07:26.080 those things. Obviously, if the Panthers get the touchdown, they 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:28.240 still need to get the two point conversion. And the 0:07:28.280 --> 0:07:30.840 Packers had stopped a two point conversion earlier in the 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:34.040 fourth quarter, which was a very curious call, I thought 0:07:34.040 --> 0:07:37.320 by Ron Rivera. But regardless, the Packers had two chances 0:07:37.360 --> 0:07:39.360 to win this game, stop the drive or stop the 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:41.760 two point play, and it didn't get It didn't come 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:43.840 down to the two point play. Yeah, it was funny too. 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:46.320 I was asking Kenny Clark about this after the game 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:48.120 as well. I was like, you know, what did you 0:07:48.160 --> 0:07:50.120 see on that play that you know you almost had 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:53.080 Alan He's like, well, which one are you talking? Because 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:55.560 there was so many instances in Saidarius Smith talked about 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:57.760 it too. Smith estimate. He's like, I might have had 0:07:57.800 --> 0:08:00.440 twelve third team pressures in this game. I'm really interested 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:02.720 to see when Pro Football Focus gets done with this 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:04.520 film review to see how many he gets credited for 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:08.160 because he was so elusive. Jimmy Graham said afterwards, it 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:10.600 was like he was doing some Ben Roethlisberger's stuff out there. 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:13.240 Truman Williams said, it was like Harrison Wentz the way 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:15.840 he was getting away from people. But Allen for a 0:08:15.840 --> 0:08:17.920 backup quarterback who was twenty three years old, I thought 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:19.880 he showed a lot of poise and you know, three 0:08:19.920 --> 0:08:22.520 year and seven yards. But as one of the points 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:25.000 you and I illustrated going into this game, like they 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:27.320 need to pressure him, they did an overall better job 0:08:27.320 --> 0:08:29.960 of pressuring the quarterback. They got home three times. I 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:32.000 think all of them were critical to the outcome of 0:08:32.040 --> 0:08:34.720 this game. And then also Truman Williams gets his first 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:37.959 interception nearly two years in the end zone off of 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:40.199 the tip from Adrian Amos, who was very close to 0:08:40.240 --> 0:08:43.360 having a pick in his own right. The gyre Alexander 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:46.439 one could have ended everything. He had nothing but daylight 0:08:46.440 --> 0:08:49.480 and snow drifts in front of him. But you know, 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:52.320 you had to come back, You had to persevere. The 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:55.480 Panthers convert two fourth downs, one off of play, one 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:58.360 off a penalty on that series, so many things. You know, 0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:00.640 Preston Smith did not really is not a fan of 0:09:00.679 --> 0:09:03.920 that offsides call that he got flagged for. He flint 0:09:04.040 --> 0:09:06.800 He flinched, and there's a question as to whether he 0:09:07.000 --> 0:09:10.240 really entered the neutral zone or not. And if anything, 0:09:10.280 --> 0:09:12.360 it was almost like his if you look at it closely, 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:15.640 his hand when he flinches, goes forward and kind of 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:17.600 goes into the neutral zone. It wasn't like his whole 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:20.920 body lunged into the neutral zone. But they throw the 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:23.120 flag and the Packers had a savage had a nice 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:26.160 pass breakup there that you thought was going to end 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:28.959 the game. But the flag gives UH the Panthers new 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:30.800 life and UH and the Packers have to come up 0:09:30.800 --> 0:09:33.119 with another stop to win that. But that's what adversity 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:35.840 defense is all about. And we can talk forever about 0:09:36.040 --> 0:09:39.600 total yards and sacks and points, so all the Packers 0:09:39.600 --> 0:09:42.080 have been pretty good in that area this year. Adversity 0:09:42.120 --> 0:09:45.760 defense is not it's manageable tangible stat but it's so 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:49.760 important critical to the overall success of a team. This 0:09:49.840 --> 0:09:52.360 defense hasn't man and they were able to. They got 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:55.760 Ibraham Campbell back. I thought they looked better in their rotations. 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:58.800 There were some yards, some plays, some some breakdowns that 0:09:58.840 --> 0:10:00.439 they got to clean up, and that's stuff that they're 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:02.240 gonna have an extra week to kind of rest up 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:05.760 for now. But they put their offense in a position 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:07.840 to win this game with what they had done in 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:10.840 the third quarter, and you know you can't argue with 0:10:11.000 --> 0:10:13.760 eight and two. Yeah. Well, with Kyle Allen, I was 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:16.200 asked an insider inbox, what I thought in my first 0:10:16.320 --> 0:10:19.600 response was he belongs. He showed he belongs in the NFL. 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:22.640 The elusiveness you talked about was certainly impressive. I thought 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:26.880 he made some really pinpoint throws, especially the over route 0:10:26.880 --> 0:10:31.120 to Greg Olsen on that final drive eighteen yards. I 0:10:31.160 --> 0:10:34.160 thought that was a tremendous throw given the conditions and 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:36.920 the circumstances. But here's the thing, West, and this is 0:10:36.920 --> 0:10:39.959 what we talked about a lot the difference with Kyle 0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:42.160 Allen made three mistakes in this game. He fumbled a 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:44.559 snap which the Packers recovered and they turned it into 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:47.000 a touchdown. He tried to force the ball into the 0:10:47.040 --> 0:10:49.439 end zone on second down from the eleven yard line 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:51.440 when he didn't really have to force it, and Tremon 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:54.800 gets the pick off the deflection, and then he threw 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:57.040 the ball that Alexander should have picked off. So the 0:10:57.040 --> 0:10:59.959 Packers made him pay for two out of the three mistakes. 0:11:00.480 --> 0:11:03.040 On the flip side, Aaron Rodgers doesn't throw any touchdown 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:07.680 passes has a quarterback rating basically equivalent to what Alan's was. 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:10.400 But the only mistakes that Rogers made is he missed 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:12.920 a couple of open receivers. He didn't make any of 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:15.400 the mistakes that that turned the game that are the 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:19.160 backbreaking type of mistakes. And the Packers rode their running 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:22.200 game here to a victory. Jamal Williams Aaron Jones combining 0:11:22.200 --> 0:11:24.280 for a hundred and fifty six yards. As you said, 0:11:24.360 --> 0:11:29.120 Jones with the three touchdowns to outproduce Christian McCaffrey the 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:31.640 way the Packers backfield did. That's what I talked about 0:11:31.720 --> 0:11:33.800 last week. I felt if that was going to happen, 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:37.280 I fully expected the Packers to win the game. And uh, 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:41.120 and they did. And credit to the offensive line up front, 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:43.920 the tight ends and wide receivers being involved in the 0:11:43.960 --> 0:11:47.960 blocking as well. For the running game, Packers just gash 0:11:48.080 --> 0:11:51.280 the Panthers up the middle with the run. The irony 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:55.199 being that the only run between the tackles the Panthers 0:11:55.240 --> 0:11:57.440 stopped all game was the one right at the end 0:11:57.440 --> 0:11:59.839 of the first half on the one yard line when 0:11:59.840 --> 0:12:02.080 the Packers decided to punch it in instead of kick 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:05.640 the chip shot field goal, and uh, but honestly, that 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:08.120 was like the only run between the tackles the Panthers 0:12:08.280 --> 0:12:10.640 put up any kind of resistance because the Packers were 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:13.000 controlling the line of scrimmage in this game. Yeah, and Mike, 0:12:13.040 --> 0:12:14.480 it was one of these things too. And I went 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:16.520 back and looked at this thing and getting a chance 0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:19.160 to review it a little bit. You know, Aaron Rodgers 0:12:19.160 --> 0:12:21.080 after the first game in Chicago, he said we got 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:23.160 a defense right after the ten to three win over 0:12:23.240 --> 0:12:26.400 the Bears. The feeling I got when I look at 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:28.960 this game in particular is not that I'm trying to 0:12:28.960 --> 0:12:31.800 be Aaron Rodgers here anything, but you know, if if 0:12:31.840 --> 0:12:34.920 it was him, you know, we have a team and 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:39.040 this doesn't have to be just the Aaron Rodgers show anymore. Uh. 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:42.680 The structure of this game called four more runs. Packers 0:12:42.720 --> 0:12:45.360 talked all week long about needing to run the ball more, 0:12:45.400 --> 0:12:48.040 needing to get the ball in Jamal Williams and Aaron 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:51.080 Jones hands more often, and Mike they both touched at 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:54.880 thirteen times as far as carry's combined for a hundred 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:58.920 and fifty six rushing yards in three touchdowns. You your 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:01.800 biggest key to victory going into this game was outproduced 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:04.240 Christian McCaffrey because it wasn't just about making sure that 0:13:04.320 --> 0:13:06.480 you had more yards than him, it was the defensive 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:11.120 responsibility to contain him. And Aaron Rodgers said it. You know, 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:13.560 for a couple of weeks there, we're focused on Rogers 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:16.640 being in the m v P conversation. He's throwing Aaron 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.480 Jones name in the hat now because this young man, 0:13:19.600 --> 0:13:22.720 for as humble as he is and as unsung as 0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:25.800 he was coming from Texas al Paso, you know, his 0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:29.679 hometown school and being a fifth round pick and people 0:13:29.679 --> 0:13:33.600 wondering if he's just a scatback. Well, suddenly he's already 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:36.720 surpassed his career high for a single season in rushing attempts. 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:40.640 He's tied with McCaffrey with fourteen total touchdowns and scores 0:13:40.679 --> 0:13:43.959 on the year. This guy's a playmaker and he's doing 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:47.720 it in different ways each week. And when you think 0:13:47.720 --> 0:13:49.880 of the greatest, you think of the Alinde Greens of 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:52.520 the Green Bay Packers history. You think of the Ladanian, 0:13:52.559 --> 0:13:54.480 Tomlinsons and some of these other guys that have really 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:57.600 separated themselves on that upper echelon over the last fifteen 0:13:57.600 --> 0:13:59.640 to twenty years. It's that they can beat you to 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:01.760 number of different ways, and the Packers have found a 0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:04.280 ground game that can do that with these two backs 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:06.800 and with Aaron Jones, you know, kind of playing the lead. Yeah. Well, 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:10.440 you mentioned the statistic with Jones getting his second three 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:12.920 rushing touchdown game of the season. He had the four 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:15.959 rushing touchdowns in Dallas. That's the first time that a 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:18.720 Packers running back has had two of those types of 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:22.080 performances in the same season since Hall of Famer Jim 0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:24.920 Taylor in nineteen sixty two. Taylor had three of them 0:14:24.960 --> 0:14:27.320 that year. A couple other things I'll throw out there 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:30.560 for you. Aaron Jones now, with eleven rushing touchdowns on 0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:33.120 the year, he's the first Packers running back to hit 0:14:33.160 --> 0:14:36.520 double digits in rushing touchdowns since Eddie Lacey was a rookie. 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:41.760 And and Jones is fourteen total touchdowns right now, and 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:44.080 we're talking just after ten games, with six more in 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:47.640 the regular season to go. His fourteen total touchdowns the 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:50.480 most buy a Packers running back in a season since 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:54.240 Amon Green had twenty in two thousand and three, when 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:59.200 Green had fifteen rushing and five receiving touchdowns. So definitely 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:03.160 some history being made here in UH in the franchise 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:05.440 record books as far as Aaron Jones is concerned. And 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:07.920 I thought it was great when uh when Rogers, he 0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:10.120 didn't expound on it at all. It was a very 0:15:10.200 --> 0:15:13.560 quick answer to UH to one of the questions in 0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:15.720 the press conference about Aaron Jones. But he said, hey, 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:19.080 you know, Christian McCaffrey, really talented player. He's being talked 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:21.120 about as a potential m v P. Maybe it's time 0:15:21.160 --> 0:15:23.760 to start talking about Aaron Jones in the m v 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:27.160 P conversation. It's it could end up being an interesting 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:30.400 discussion here depending on how the last six regular season 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:32.240 games go for the package. And you were talking about 0:15:32.240 --> 0:15:35.200 on on Green most rushing touchdower, most overall touchdowns whatever 0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:37.760 since two thousand and three, with the twenty Jones right now, 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:40.400 total touchdowns on pace for twenty one, the way that 0:15:40.440 --> 0:15:43.280 this thing is going from seventeen rushing as far as 0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:46.280 what the trajectory says so far, I would be remiss, Mike. 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:48.920 We have to talk about it. Though with Davante Adams 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:51.080 it didn't make it into either of our stories or 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:54.280 any of our stories, but his quote was fantastic after 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:57.520 the game because the storyline keeps being you know, Davante 0:15:57.520 --> 0:16:00.360 Adams doesn't have a receiving touchdown and commiseration to your 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:02.640 fantasy team if you have Adams and you know it's 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:05.000 not working out for you in that regard. But he 0:16:05.040 --> 0:16:07.160 had such a great line about how he doesn't care 0:16:07.520 --> 0:16:08.960 if you're eight and two. He doesn't care if Aaron 0:16:09.040 --> 0:16:12.240 Jones has eighty two touchdowns. He's getting a workout being 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:14.640 the one running down to celebrate with him on these things. 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:20.280 That shows you one the team aspect to all this. 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:24.240 But too, why Davante Adams is so darn good because 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:26.680 he had seven catches for eighteen yards in this game. 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:30.320 He had to game breaking catches over thirty five yards. 0:16:30.360 --> 0:16:34.600 That's set up Jones touchdown runs. Touchdowns are touchdowns, bro. 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:37.480 I mean, it's great, and I know these guys wanted. 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:40.240 Adams is in the second year of a four year extension. 0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:42.680 He's not looking at it contracts or money or anything 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:45.800 right now. He needs to play well for this football team, 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:48.920 to perform well on the field, and he's filling that role. 0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:52.240 And I thought this game was a beautiful embodiment of Okay, 0:16:52.280 --> 0:16:54.840 how you can marry those running backs but still have 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:58.680 Davante Adams making plays. And Adams was you know, he 0:16:58.760 --> 0:17:02.120 lamented afterwards he wanted that downfield catch off the shot play. 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:04.359 I was gonna say, that's the only thing Davanta Adams 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:06.840 was worried about after the game was the was the 0:17:06.920 --> 0:17:09.000 deep shot that he had it in his hands, the 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:11.439 defender knocked it away at the last second, and you 0:17:11.480 --> 0:17:13.840 know he wanted that one. He gets that one. We're 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:16.560 talking about Davante Adams having maybe a hundred seventy five 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:19.280 yard day out there. Yeah, and you think about it, 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:23.480 those are the type of plays that they're not gimmes 0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:25.840 by any means. But Adams playing at the level he 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:28.720 wants now, he expects those. But Mike, we're the thirty 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:30.800 eight yard or down the sideline against I think it 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:34.120 was Cockerell. The It reminded me a lot of that 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:38.040 Alan's art play from a last month where it's there's 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:41.359 such a small window there and Davante Adams laid hands 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:44.560 whatever it is, he pulls up with it and that's 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:47.879 such a shot of adrenaline. And when that game really 0:17:47.920 --> 0:17:50.160 got late and you're not able to you know, pass 0:17:50.200 --> 0:17:52.399 the ball as much anymore. And you know there's the 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:56.040 conditions are you know, flurrying up. Davante Adams is still 0:17:56.040 --> 0:17:59.280 there and he's still making plays. And I just as 0:17:59.320 --> 0:18:02.000 good as Joe was. And obviously that the runs that 0:18:02.000 --> 0:18:05.080 that Jamal Williams had on their last scoring drive, those 0:18:05.119 --> 0:18:07.200 are so noteworthy. But I just I thought this was 0:18:07.240 --> 0:18:09.600 a great reflection of Davante Adams and what he does 0:18:09.640 --> 0:18:12.840 for this offense. Well, I thought offensively for the Packers, 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:17.960 Davante Adams had the one key play that flipped the 0:18:18.000 --> 0:18:20.119 game in a sense. And what I'm talking about is 0:18:20.200 --> 0:18:22.920 right at the beginning of the third quarter, the Packers 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:24.520 get stuffed at the goal line at the end of 0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:26.199 the first half when they decided to go for the 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:29.879 touchdown instead of kicked the field goal. That kind of 0:18:29.880 --> 0:18:33.840 wiped out a very questionable roughing the pastor call in 0:18:33.880 --> 0:18:37.040 the end zone that kept that Packers drive alive very early. 0:18:37.080 --> 0:18:39.240 And then they ended up killing the rest of the 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:41.640 first half clock. But they come out. The Packers get 0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:43.840 the ball to start the second half. It's only fourteen 0:18:43.840 --> 0:18:47.640 to ten. Aaron Rodgers gets sacked on the first play 0:18:47.880 --> 0:18:50.040 box tr gets flagged for hands to the face on 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:53.080 the second play. It's second and twenty six on your 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:56.400 own nine yard line in a fourteen to ten game, 0:18:56.640 --> 0:18:59.840 when you have just blown a scoring opportunity to end 0:18:59.880 --> 0:19:03.840 the first half. And what happens. Aaron Rodgers finds Davantae 0:19:03.880 --> 0:19:06.400 Adams open on a deep over route to the left 0:19:06.440 --> 0:19:10.160 sideline thirty plus yards converts on second and twenty six. 0:19:10.760 --> 0:19:14.000 Three plays later, with two of those being Aaron Jones runs, 0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:16.880 the Packers are in the end zone. They go ninety 0:19:16.880 --> 0:19:20.919 one yards in four plays after the two negative plays 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:24.360 to start that drive, and suddenly it's twenty one to ten. 0:19:24.640 --> 0:19:27.320 That passed to Davanta Adams on second and twenty six. 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:30.000 If you're gonna if you're gonna pick one offensive play, 0:19:30.000 --> 0:19:31.560 in my mind, that's the play of the game. That's 0:19:31.600 --> 0:19:34.639 the one. Yeah, because it's just those those type of plays. 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:36.400 And it wasn't that, you know, it was just all 0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:38.600 yak or anything like that. I mean, it was the 0:19:38.640 --> 0:19:42.080