Green Bay Packers: Week 6 MVP and other awards

The Green Bay Packers took a tough 38-10 loss to the Buccaneers this week so let’s find some silver linings and maybe a little comedic relief from the game with some awards.

Offensive MVP – A.J. Dillon

Awarding an offensive MVP award for the week is a tough proposition when there were only 201 yards of total offense for the Green Bay Packers. This could’ve gone to Davante Adams, who had 61 yards on six catches, or Jamaal Williams, who had four carries for 34 yards. Instead, I’m going with A.J. Dillon, who had some nice runs at the end of the game and maybe sparked a little hope for the future.

There has been a lot of negative talk about the Green Bay Packers’ draft class, and in time we’ll see how warranted those concerns are, but on Sunday, while people talked and tweeted, Dillon quietly went about his business and did what he could running the ball.

He carried the ball five times for 31 yards, a 6.2 yard average. After watching the run game be mostly stagnant for the entire game, seeing Dillon break a few good runs was a breath of fresh air for me and Packer fans everywhere. It would still be nice to see him on the field during goal-line situations because that seemed to be what they drafted him for. However, end of game performances like this gives the Packers more of a reason to let go of Aaron Jones next offseason if they decide to put their money into other positions.

Defensive MVP – Krys Barnes

I don’t care that Pro Football Focus gave Krys Barnes a 30.2 grade for Sunday’s game; he was a bright spot for this Green Bay Packers’ defense. He totaled ten tackles, seven of them solo, and was in on a tackle for loss. Most of these tackles, unlike Blake Martinez’s last season, were for short gains while the Packers defense as a whole was not on their games against the run. While the rest of the Packers rookie class that was drafted has done a lot of standing on the sidelines, the undrafted linebacker has made an impact on defense in every game.

Barnes is far from an All-Pro, but at the very least, he’s a lateral move from Blake Martinez for a lot cheaper. I’ll also give an honorable mention to Montravius Adams, who finally showed some ability to play this week. In the second half, he was consistently shedding his blocks against the run and winning his gap, which resulted in four tackles and one for a loss.

Busy Bee Award – J.K. Scott

Up until this week, J.K. Scott could have been the frontrunner for the lazy leg award, but this week the Green Bay Packers’ offense made sure he got plenty of work in. He doubled his total punts for the year by punting seven times on Sunday, shattering his previous season-high of three.

In his seven attempts, he punted the ball pretty well, averaging 46.4 yards per punt and two inside the 20. That totaled 325 yards of total punt yardage for him. When your punter has over 100 yards of yardage more than the offense, that’s probably a bad sign.

Biggest Surprise – Josh Jackson Run Defense

On the first defensive possession of the game, Jackson came screaming off the edge and tripped up Ronald Jones in the backfield on third down to force a punt. He continued to make plays like that up at the line of scrimmage all day for Green Bay, and it was encouraging to see him making some plays after a few disappointing years. He was the Packers’ second-leading tackler with six tackles, including five solo.

There have been talks of moving Josh Jackson to safety after he’s struggled out wide in Mike Pettine’s defense. In college, he played a lot more zone coverage, and that was where he thrived, but Pettine’s system is much more man-centered. Still, I had my doubts about his physicality playing the position. The game Sunday made me believe that he might have the skillset to make the move to safety, and with how Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage have struggled this season, there’s no reason not to try it out.

Celebration of the Week – Aaron Rodgers

And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the celebration of the week. Faithful readers of this weekly piece probably already knew this would be the celebration of the week before the other three quarters were played. With how big the online reaction was, I’m basically legally required to write about it.

After Aaron Rodgers scored a touchdown that ended up not counting, he pulled out a great spoof of the Key and Peele bit, Hingle Mccringleberry, and his hip pump celebration. If you don’t know about this bit, click here for some clarity.

I’m always a fan of a good celebration doppelganger, and Rodgers’ age and subtleness made it all the better. If one of the wide receivers or running backs had done it, it would have been fun, but Rodgers busting it out was an extra step above. For now, it will take the top spot on the leaderboard.

Celebration of the Year Leaderboard

1. Aaron Rodgers – Hingle Mccringleberry
2. Soul Train Line
3. Za’Darius Smith – Rest in Heaven Breonna Taylor
4. Chandon Sullivan – Lambeau Leap

What were your thoughts on the Green Bay Packers’ loss? Who do you think is most to blame? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter @DairylandXpress.