Aaron Rodgers leads Green Bay Packers to memorable win
Aaron Rodgers did it again … and what was even sweeter is that his moxie and abilities were highlighted on national television against the faux “America’s Team,” the Dallas Cowboys, 35-31
Aaron Rodgers engineered a drive of nine plays and 75 yards that took all of 50 seconds and was capped by a touchdown on a repeat play to Davante Adams that nailed the coffin shut – leaving the Packers at 4-1 and the Cowboys reeling from two straight losses at home.
It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns for the Packers, however. This week the Packers overcame two missed extra points, as well as a missed opportunity on a fourth quarter try for a two-point conversion.
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In this back-and-forth affair, the Cowboys scored with one minute remaining in the game to go up 31-28.
But with a minute left in the game, the Cowboys left too much time on the clock for Aaron Rodgers.
That final drive, one of the best in recent memory, given the stakes, started at the Packers own 25.
On first down, Rodgers connected with Davante Adams along the left side line before getting out of bounds, moving the ball out to the 39 yard line.
Rodgers followed that with a 14-yard catch and run to Martellus Bennett.
Rodgers threw incomplete before handing off to running back Aaron Jones, who ran for 15 yards to the Cowboys’ 32 before getting out of bounds and stopping the clock.
An incomplete pass in the direction of Geronimo Allison was followed by one of the plays of the game – an 18-yard run by Aaron Rodgers down to the Cowboys’ 12 yard line.
With 21 seconds left, Rodgers threw incomplete to Adams in the end zone, but it was the same exact play that Rodgers came back with, this time hitting Adams with the eventual game-winning touchdown, leaving just 11 ticks on the clock.
As in every NFL game, there were so many plays that led to the final drive – the bogus personal foul call against Packers’ linebacker Blake Martinez on the Cowboys’ first drive. It was third down and gave the Cowboys another shot at the end zone. They converted on the next play to take a 7-0 lead.
There were the missed extra points, the missed two-point conversion, the fourth down stop that was overturned in favor of the Cowboys when the overhead camera showed Ezekiel Elliot extending the ball for the first down. That play extended the Cowboys’ drive that eventually led to their shortlived fourth quarter lead.
And how about Damarious Randall with his pick-six that turned the game and momentum toward the Packers?
How about rookie running back Aaron Jones, the third string running back last week, and his 125 yards on 19 carries and touchdown?
What a debut.
How about the play-calling by coach Mike McCarthy today? He was innovative and took chances that we haven’t seen in a while.
The Cowboys started this game fast and took a 21-12 lead at halftime, but this game was all Packers in the second half as Green Bay scored 20 fourth quarter points to earn their fourth win, while Dallas fell to 2-3.
Other items of note were the injuries.
Kevin King went out early with a concussion, Davon House was in and out of the game, Morgan Burnett injured his leg in the second half, and most importantly, Jordy Nelson didn’t play in the final drive of the game, standing on the sideline.
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We’re waiting to hear about the extent of all these injuries.
All in all, this was one of the most entertaining games in a long time for Packers fans.
Not only was it a huge win on the road, but Aaron Rodgers continued to build on his legacy and the Packers took control of the NFC North after the Detroit Lions were beaten at home today and fell to 3-2.