Green Bay Packers v. Seattle: 8 Quick Observations

Here are the eight quick observations from the Green Bay Packers’ performance in the divisional round against the Seattle Seahawks.

Despite the Green Bay Packers jumping out to an 18 point lead at half time, I’m sure as many expected, the Seattle Seahawks were able to muster a comeback as they often times do with Russell Wilson.

And by chance did that fourth quarter conjure up any bad memories for anyone? Yeah, me neither.

Fortunately, behind a third down sack by Preston Smith and two huge third down conversions on beautiful throws and catches from Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams and Jimmy Graham, the Packers were able to secure the win. They will now move on to the NFC Championship Game as they’ll have to once again, face the San Francisco 49ers.

However, before we begin to look ahead – and we will do plenty of that this week – let’s take a look back at last night’s performance as I have my eight quick observations from the game.

Green Bay took advantage of matchups

Coming into this game there were plenty of matchups that favored the Green Bay Packers and they took advantage of a number of them. Seattle has really had issues covering tight ends as well as the opposing team’s No. 1 receiver, and we saw Jimmy Graham have three huge third down conversions while Davante Adams had perhaps the best game of his career.

Meanwhile, since losing Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny, Seattle has had issues running the ball and the Packers were able to stifle Marshawn Lynch. Lastly, despite Russell Wilson scrambling all over the place, Green Bay did get good pressure and came away with five sacks against a poor pass-protecting Seattle offensive line.

Let’s hope Allen Lazard is all right

The wide receiver production from those not named Davante Adams and Allen Lazard has been sporadic this season, to say the least. And once again, with Lazard injured, it was Adams who had to shoulder the burden. Of Rodgers 243 passing yards, 209 of them went to either Adams or Jimmy Graham. To beat San Francisco this offense will need to firing on all cylinders, so let’s hope Lazard is all right and good to go.

There were some vintage Aaron Rodgers throws last night

Much has been made about Aaron Rodgers’ production this season and granted, the last two games against Minnesota and Detroit, he was off a bit. But last night he put together a very nice game, particularly on third down, and we also saw a few Rodgers-esque throws that we’ve grown so accustomed to seeing over the years.

Overall he would finish 16/27 for 243 at an average of nine yards per attempt with two touchdowns. And while there were others, those two beautiful throws on that final drive to convert two 3rd downs to close out the game are what will stick out.

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Jimmy Graham came up big

Jimmy Graham has been a hot-button topic among Green Bay Packers fans with his down production and occasional drops being the reason why. Although last night he didn’t put up huge numbers, he showed up in big moments. Graham caught three of the four passes thrown his way for 49 yards, but all three catches came on third downs to extend the drives. Including the game-clinching first down.

They put good pressure on Russell Wilson

While it didn’t always seem like it, given Russell Wilson’s ability to get out of the pocket and extend plays, the Green Bay Packers’ defensive front did a very good job at pressuring him. According to Next Gen Stats, Wilson was pressured on 42 percent of his drop backs and Green Bay was able to sack him five times as well. If it wasn’t for him being so elusive, that sack number very easily could have been eight or nine.

Third down efficiency

For most of the season, the Green Bay Packers have been ranked in the 15 to 20 range in terms of third down efficiency. But against Seattle they were excellent going 9-14 and I’ve already highlighted how impressive Rodgers and Graham were in those situations. Without a doubt, this was a huge reason that they won.

Mid-season additions paying off

While at the time they may have seemed like inconspicuous signings, the mid-season additions of Tyler Ervin and Jared Veldheer have already paid dividends. From the special teams stand point, anyone can see how much better this return unit is with Tyler Ervin back there. But he’s also been effective on offense when given the opportunity and adds a skill set that Green Bay really didn’t have before.

Meanwhile, as the flu bug ran through the Packers’ locker room this week, it hit Bryan Bulaga on Sunday morning. However, as he did when Bulaga missed some time earlier in the season, Jared Veldheer stepped in and didn’t miss a beat. Ervin and Veldheer are just two more reasons that Brian Gutekunst should be named Executive of the Year.

Emphasis on the run game

There were a few times this season where the Packer run game struggled early and Matt LaFleur moved  away from it. Which as you’d expect, hurt the offense even further. And despite Aaron Jones averaging just 3.0 yards per carry against Seattle, LaFleur stuck with him as Jones totaled 21 carries on the night. This included two trips inside the Seattle five yard line when it could have been easy to give up on the run after going nowhere initially.

It’s no secret that this offense isn’t just better but it looks much different when going through Aaron Jones, so even if it is tough sledding for him, I am always of fan of getting him touches.