Green Bay WI. (MyFoxBoston.com) – It was a game that was billed as the "Preview to Super Bowl XXXIX," and it certainly lived up to the hype. It came down to the final possession, but the Green Bay Packers held off the New England Patriots by a final score of 26-21.
Green Bay had their mojo working early, scoring on their first five drives of the game. Despite this, the score at the end of the first half was a manageable 23-14 Packer lead. The Patriots defense was allowing Aaron Rodgers and the dynamic Packers to move the ball down the field in chunks, but as the filed grew smaller, the Patriots defense tightened. On a key 3rd-and-goal from the six yard line in the second quarter, New England stuffed Green Bay when Dont'a Hightower came flying up the middle on a blitz that dropped Rodgers for a loss and forced the Packers into taking one of their four field goals on the day. Overall, the Packers struggled in the red zone, failing to score a single touchdown in their four trips inside the 20.
Rodgers was able to expose the Patriots defense, picking on Logan Ryan and Kyle Arrington most of the afternoon. The back-breaker came at the end of the second quarter when Rodgers burned Darrell Revis, finding Jordy Nelson for a 45-yard strike. This came several plays after Tom Brady and Brandon LaFell had connected for a touchdown, cutting the Packer lead to two points.
The second half saw the two teams combine for 10 total points with the Patriots scoring the half's lone touchdown, a 15 yarder from Brady to LaFell for the second time on the day. In stark contrast to the hours that Rodgers seemed to have every time he dropped back, Brady consistently seemed under duress, especially on the game's most important downs. On 3rd-and-9 from the Packer 20-yard line down five points in the fourth quarter, Brady dropped back and was brought down for his first and only sack of the day. Four plays later, facing 3rd-and-4 on their own 43, the Packers had a chance to ice the game, and the Patriots had a chance to get the ball back and set up a potential game winning drive. The Patriots eventually brought a three man rush, with Vince Wilfork briefly rushing the quarterback before dropping into coverage.
So how does Matt Patricia not bring pressure in that situation? In the worst case scenario, the Packers burn you and win the game anyway. Best case, you force Rodgers to throw the ball away, make a bad decision, or take a sack. To allow Rodgers to sit back and have his way with the defense in that situation is an egregious lapse in judgment.
Aside from my nitpicking of Patriots defensive play calling, this game delivered in every way it was supposed to. Two top-of-the-line teams with future Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks going toe-to-toe in a game that came down to the last possession. We could not have asked for a better Sunday afternoon matchup. And we would all be lucky as hell to see this game replayed in February in Arizona.
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