Instant Takeaways: Packers keep playoff hopes alive vs. Rams

The Green Bay Packers did what they had to at home and took care of business against an injured and sub-par Los Angeles Rams team–helping to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Now that the clock has hit triple-zero, it’s time to dive into my instant takeaways from the Packers’ performance.

-Not surprisingly, the Rams not having Aaron Donald in the middle of their defense had a huge impact on the game. For the most part, Aaron Rodgers had plenty of time in the pocket, and the Packers running backs were able to average over 5.0 yards per rush against one of the NFL’s top run defenses. Another very good performance by the Packers offensive line.

– I’m sure not having Donald helped balance out Green Bay’s game plan, but I was curious beforehand about what the Packers’ run-pass mix would look like against the Rams. Overall, it was about as balanced as one could hope coming from the Packers. LA has been very good against the run, but the secondary has struggled. In previous games, when the Packers have had to primarily rely on the passing game, moving the ball has been a challenge.

– Things were fairly simple for the Packers’ offense. The Rams wanted to take away the big play and played a lot of cover-2, so Green Bay took the easy completions and ran the ball. It was nice to see.

– Below, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning breakdown what was a head-scratching interception throw by Aaron Rodgers. Also, Allen Lazard was so open because of all the attention on Christian Watson. This is now Rodgers’ first 10-plus interception season in 11 years.

– Between the Rams taking away the downfield shots and Jalen Ramsey spending a lot of time on Watson (and at times grabbing), it was a quieter game from a production standpoint for the rookie. However, Green Bay did manage to get him some matchups off Ramsey in the second half; he also made an impact in the run game, specifically on Aaron Jones’ touchdown, drew a few penalties, and created opportunities for others, as described above.

– Romeo Doubs was on a snap count in his return but made his impact felt when given the opportunity. Doubs finished with five receptions for 55 yards.

– The performance by the Packers’ defense certainly doesn’t mean that they’ve turned things around; they simply did what they needed to do against a struggling Rams offense. Behind a beaten-up offensive line, the Rams have one of the worst rushing offenses in football and are depleted at wide receiver.

– With that said, this defense did a nice job overall defending against screens and misdirections. It was also nice to see Joe Barry dialing up some blitzes to generate pressures as the Green Bay front seven controlled the game. On the flip side, there were still moments where I was scratching my head at how far the cornerbacks were playing off the line of scrimmage, but we saw more press from Barry, and, in general, the secondary held their own.

– Has December Kenny Clark been activated? It’s been an inconsistent season for him so far, but he was a handful for the Rams offensive line Monday Night. Speaking of which, Preston Smith has been on a bit of tear as of late, with four sacks in his last four games.

– Darnell Savage returned from his foot injury and was again a backup, only seeing the field when the Packers were in dime.

– Keisean Nixon is electric. How did he sit behind Amari Rodgers for so long? It makes no sense.

– Playoff scenario: At a minimum, and in addition to winning out, the Packers need another Seattle loss, along with either New York or Washington finishing the season 1-3. And it wouldn’t hurt to root for another Lions’ loss as well.