Green Bay Packers: 13 Quick Observations from Wild OT Win
By Paul Bretl
The Green Bay Packers found a way to win–which is what good teams do
It wasn’t pretty. In fact, it was quite ugly at times. But without Jaire Alexander, David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, or Za’Darius Smith, the Green Bay Packers went on the road and beat a 3-1 Bengals football team with plenty of talent.
I know fans want to see dominating performances weekly, but that’s just not realistic. Good teams, even when they are battling injuries and not at their best, find ways to win–and that is what the Green Bay Packers did on Sunday.
The Defense keeps improving
As can often be the case, the stat sheet doesn’t tell the whole story–this Green Bay Packers’ defense played well on Sunday. The Cincinnati offense had six second-half possessions, and the Green Bay defense held them to only eight points and forced two turnovers. This also includes stepping up when the Packers’ offense wasn’t necessarily putting them in the best positions.
With that said, they need to figure out how to keep teams out of the end zone once they enter the red zone, but overall, this unit continues to improve and make strides each week–which, in a new system, is all you can ask for.
Kenny Clark found some help again
Two weeks ago, it was Dean Lowry and Tyler Lancaster who stepped up in San Francisco. Last week it was Kingsley Keke who made some big plays against the Steelers. This week, it was once again Lowry who provided Clark with that needed help.
Once PFF publishes their numbers from this game, I’ll be curious to see where Lowry falls in terms of pressures and stops because there were a number of pass rush reps where he bullied his way into the backfield, disrupting Joe Burrow and batting down two passes. As a team, the Packers held the Bengals to 4.2 yards per rush and tallied three sacks.
We also saw some nice reps from Keke, TJ Slaton, and Jonathan Garvin. Each week, it doesn’t matter who steps up next to Clark, just as long as someone does. And over the last three games, someone has.