The Good, The Bad And The Ugly: Week 16

There wasn’t a lot of good to be found in the Green Bay Packers 38-8 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Before we start, I’d like to say that I hope everyone had some great time off celebrating the holidays, and hopefully for all of those who exchanged gifts, you got what you wanted. If you wanted the Green Bay Packers to go into Arizona and make a statement, you got what you wanted … sort of.

The Packers definitely went into Arizona and made a statement, but the statement was totally wrong. Fresh off a victory over the Oakland Raiders, the Packers got absolutely steamrolled by a final score of 38-8.

There is absolutely no other way to describe this game aside from incredibly embarrassing. Aaron Rodgers was sacked an astounding 8 times, and when he had time in the pocket there was simply nothing to be found.

The Cardinals’ defense scored two touchdowns (that’s more than the offense from the Packers) and was in Rodgers’ face so much that he was eventually pulled in the fourth quarter. Despite the terrible game, the Packers have clinched a playoff spot and will be playing Minnesota this Sunday night for the NFC North title.

Before we get to that later this week, we have to try and dissect what happened last week.

The Good: 

• Mike Daniels: Coming off the heels of a big contract extension, Daniels was nursing an injury that kept him out last week. While there wasn’t much that was good this week, Daniels certainly stood out from everyone else. Earlier in the game, Daniels snagged a pretty bad screen pass attempt deep in Arizona’s territory to give Green Bay a chance at making a game out of it. Unfortunately, it led to zero points, and he’ll have to live with just being the one good thing during the game.

• Aaron Rodgers’ Health: While we’ll get to Aaron Rodgers a little later, it is a good thing that he managed to leave this game without any major injuries. At one point in the game, the Packers were playing with an offensive line so patched together, a center was playing right tackle. As noted above, the Cardinals sacked Aaron eight times and were attacking him all game, so it’s a wonder he didn’t get hurt on any of the plays. Thankfully though, he’s alright, and can still (potentially) provide a vital boost to the team going forward.

• Tim Masthay: To level with everyone, I had a really hard time coming up with any bright sides to this game aside from Mike Daniels. For that reason, I’m going to put Tim Masthay on here, if only because of his fourth-down conversion during a fake punt. At the time, the game was still close, so it could have provided a spark for the offense. Instead, nothing. A valiant effort nonetheless.

The Bad: 

• Aaron Rodgers: I understand that Rodgers was under duress for most of the game, and I understand that when he wasn’t, his teammates didn’t exactly help him out. But the fact still remains that Aaron Rodgers was flat out bad last week. When he was able to get plays off, he continued to make uncharacteristic throws that we’re not used to seeing from him. Overthrown balls on the sideline, three fumbles, and a rare red zone interception give me no choice but to put QB1 here.

: Coming out of halftime, the Packers were down 17-0, but not necessarily out of the game. The defense was playing well, and a good drive then could have provided a much needed spark. Instead, James Starks fumbled (yet again) right near Green Bay’s 10-yard line, essentially gifting Arizona a touchdown.

I understand that Starks is a key to the offenses success, and is of a much different style when it comes to rushing than Eddie Lacy, but what I cannot fathom is why he’s given so many chances. This was Starks’ fifth fumble on the year, and yet he continues to get snaps that you’d think would be better suited giving to Lacy, or even John Crockett. 

: This has been a year to forget for the offseason MVP. While I won’t blame him for not getting two feet down on an early catch (it was nearly impossible), what I can blame him for is his careless penalty later on in the game. Catching a huge play that converted a first down, Adams proceeded to spike the ball, drawing a delay of game that backed Green Bay up five yards. Towards the end of the third, we saw Adams get a shot at a jump ball in the end zone and simply watched as it floated through his hands.

This is becoming all too common for the player, and it’s time to ask if he should be getting the majority of snaps at this point. There aren’t many people left on the Davante Adams bandwagon, and yet I still find myself a fan of his. This is a terrible year for the receiver, don’t get me wrong, but I think there’s potential there, and I can only hope he snaps out of his funk sooner rather than later. 

The Ugly: 

Offensive Line:

We had to save the worst for last, and this group was definitely the worst last week. From the beginning of the game, it didn’t look like they stood much of a chance;

didn’t start, and by the end of the game,

,

, and

would also be gone with injuries. What was left was a patchwork of backup linemen who got absolutely manhandled.

With the starters of the offensive line injured, there wasn’t much hope for the offense the rest of the game. While I could have easily just put “injuries” as the ugly for this week, it was still tough to watch players we know are capable of playing well get crushed so easily. The Packers are locked into the playoffs and still have a big game coming up, so it’s going to be interesting to see how the team deals with both the injuries, and very ferocious players on Minnesota’s defense.