Green Bay Packers: Week 16 Studs and duds vs Titans

The Green Bay Packers could not clinch the NFC’s first overall seed due to the Rams losing to the Seahawks. However, the Packers were able to make a statement on Sunday Night Football.

The Green Bay Packers have been honest about wanting the NFC playoffs to run through Lambeau Field in January. Although the game against the Tennessee Titans did not help the Packers clinch the first-round bye, it sure showed the rest of the NFC that the Packers are the team to beat. As I do every week, I will recap this game by going through the studs and duds of the game against the Titans.

Studs

This was a dominating performance for the Green Bay Packers against a very good football team in the Tennessee Titans. Therefore I will have to group studs this week as there are a lot of studs from the 40-14 victory on Sunday Night Football.

Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams

The connection between Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams has been phenomenal all season, they even seemed to be on another level tonight. None more evident than the fourth quarter pass down the sidelines from Rodgers to Adams. The ball was perfectly placed against seemingly perfect coverage and Adams makes a great catch to help the Packers win the game. Another play that comes to mind is Adams’ second of three touchdown receptions of the game. Perfect timing, perfect throw, and a great catch, all in the same play, check it out below:

On top of the seemingly perfect connection, these two have the stats to back them up. Rodgers had the same number of incompletions and touchdowns in this game. He threw for 231 yards, four touchdowns, a passer rating of 128.1, and did have one interception.

Adams’ stat line was incredible as well, with 11 receptions for 143 yards and three touchdowns. Adams now leads the league in touchdown receptions with 17 on the season.

AJ Dillon and Aaron Jones

I want to start with Aaron Jones because he will not get all the headlines from this game with just 10 carries but he was great with the ball in his hand in this game. On just 10 carries he rushed for 94 yards which is an absurd 9.4 yards a carry. Jones is obviously RB1 in 2020, his big-play ability continues to be incredible, even if he does step out of bounds 20+ yards before they call him down.

AJ Dillon seemed to be one of the biggest winners coming out of this game. He proved to the Packers and their fans that he can be a feature back at the NFL. The Titans did not look interested in tackling Dillon in the second half of this game like much of the NFL world thought it would be for the Packers defense against Derrick Henry. Not only was he tough to tackle but his vision, the downhill type of running leads to big-time plays like the one for his first NFL touchdown.

Packers Defense

Holding the NFL’s top-scoring offense (30.1 points/game) to just 14 is not easy, this defense was truly great for the majority of the time they saw the field on Sunday night. I wanted to point out a few specific players on this defense that played great today.

First, the edge defenders were very good on Sunday night. Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, and Za’Darius Smith all played a great game. They all affected Ryan Tannehill in some way during this game, whether that be by a sack or multiple pressures. I also noticed on multiple occasions these three setting hard edges in the run game to help keep Derrick Henry contained.

Jaire Alexandar was highlighted many times on the broadcast, and rightfully so, ESPN credits Alexandar with three pass deflections in this game and it really felt like more than that even. He did give up a few completions but overall was his pro-bowl caliber self.

Darnell Savage is becoming the playmaker the Packers thought they were getting when they moved up to draft him in the 2019 NFL Draft. In the second half of the season, he has really shown the kind of playmaker he is, and it continued in this game. Savage had another interception in this game (thanks in part to the pressure by Gary), and really should have had two. The dropped interception could have been returned for 6 had he caught it.

Adrian Amos is the solid player that we were promised when we signed him during the 2019 offseason. In recent weeks, however, he has become slightly more flashy. We have seen him make more plays in the backfield and breaking up more passes. That continued in this game, unfortunately, he was not credited for a tackle for loss, but that is in large part of Derrick Henry always falling forward.

Honorable Mentions

This was a week that I could have put the majority of the team in the studs category but the players already mentioned seemed to make a slightly bigger impact. The entire offensive line was great today, even with Rick Wagner going down during the game. Allen Lazard is an honorable mention for helping AJ Dillon make it into the stands for his second Lambeau leap attempt on the day. Kenny Clark and the rest of the defensive front for holding Derrick Henry under 100 yards rushing. Equanimous St. Brown also deserves a shoutout for finding the endzone in this game.

Dud

There was not much to complain about from the overall dominating performance on Sunday night. I do have one thing that I noticed that could be a problem until there are fans back in full force at Lambeau Field.

AJ Dillon’s Lambeau Leap Ability

Dillon showed that he can be a workhorse and an important piece for this team on the field but without fans or Allen Lazard it does not look like he can complete a Lambeau leap. I know I couldn’t do it either but with those legs, I thought Dillon would have no issues with the Lambeau wall.

Who are your studs and duds from the Packers’ 12th win of the 2020 NFL season? Let us know below or on Twitter @DairylandXpress.