Top five performers for Packers in Week 13 loss vs. Cardinals
By Jesse Fry
The Green Bay Packers’ top five performers in their Week 13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Cue the opera, get the fork out, the Green Bay Packers are done.
The Packers are still mathematically alive, but for all intents and purposes, they will not be making the playoffs this year.
In a shocking defeat, the Packers lost to the Cardinals, at home, in the snow. What should have been a get-right game for the Packers was a season-ending loss.
Aaron Rodgers and the offense continued to look out of sync and the team only put up seven points in the second half. That’s a grand total of 13 over the past three games.
The Packers’ players and coaches should be embarrassed by this loss. The Cardinals were playing for nothing while the Packers were still playing for their playoff lives. The Cardinals rallied around each other and put forth a winning effort.
Meanwhile, the Packers sleepwalked through the game and gave away a chance to keep their hopes alive. It is unbelievable a team with Aaron Rodgers could only muster seven points in the second half of this game against a 2-9 team.
The Packers had everything going for them in this game, at home against a dome team starting a rookie quarterback who has never played in these conditions. Prior to this game, the Cardinals had not beaten the Packers in Green Bay since the 40s.
After the game, the Packers wasted little time in dealing with the outcome and fired head coach Mike McCarthy.
The pressure will now be squarely on Aaron Rodgers’ shoulders. There will be no more excuses for him once a new coach is in place.
The Packers are still technically alive this season. Many of the outcomes they needed to happen, happened. But if they come out with the same effort for interim coach Joe Philbin, then it won’t matter much.
Here are the top five performances from this week’s loss. Much like last week, the performances will be mostly based on what happened in the first half due to most of the team not showing up for the second.
1. Davante Adams
Davante Adams had another stellar game and did it against an All-Pro cornerback, Patrick Peterson. Adams finished the game with eight catches for 93 yards and a touchdown.
Adams may have also had the Packers’ catch of the year. With the team trailing by seven points late in the fourth quarter, Aaron Rodgers scrambled around the field looking for anyone to get open. With all the time in the world, Rodgers kept looking and directing traffic and put a pass where only Adams could catch it.
Adams dragged his toes, getting both feet in bounds and completing the catch at the eight-yard line, setting up an Aaron Jones touchdown to tie the game.
What Adams has done this season is nothing short of spectacular. He has not had much help on the perimeter with Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison missing most of the season with injuries. Adams has stayed healthy and productive despite facing double teams and being the primary focus of opposing defenses.
The contract Adams signed at the end of last season is looking more and more like bargain with each passing game.