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GREEN BAY, Wisc. - There was a reason why Bill Belichick went for it on fourth down at the Patriot 49 on the final drive of the game for the Patriots.
After a missed field goal, the Patriots needed a three and out to get the ball back and enough time to try and get a game winning touchdown. The Green Bay Packers were at their own 43, facing third and four, the Patriots out of timeouts, but the two-minute warning would get the Patriots the time they needed to broker a walkoff win.
But you just knew that Aaron Rodgers would get those four yards somehow. Belichick went for it at midfield for a reason.
That reason came true on the critical play of the game. Despite good coverage by the Patriot secondary, Rodgers was able to find Randall Cobb at the 50-yard line to seal a 26-21 win over the Patriots on Sunday at Lambeau Field. Cobb made a leaping grab in double coverage, and three kneeldowns later, this game was in the books.
In this much-heralded first ever matchup between Rodgers and Tom Brady, Rodgers was a bit better and simply made more plays than Brady did. Some of it had to do with good coaching on the part of the Packers, as they called a better game offensively than the Patriots did. Both defenses came up big at times despite zero turnovers in the game. It basically came down to Rodgers versus Brady, and Rodgers got him this time.
If perchance these two teams do meet in Super Bowl XLIX in February in Arizona, Belichick will perhaps design a good defensive game plan to deal with Rodgers and his posse of wide receivers. It was painfully clear that putting Darrelle Revis on Jordy Nelson and Brandon Browner on Cobb was not enough. While both players generally played well, Rodgers showed the Patriots that they have more weapons that need attention that perhaps the Patriots thought, and having so many offensive options makes Rodgers and the Packers much more difficult to deal with than one might have guessed.
Having his best game so far as a pro, rookie wide receiver Davante Adams bedeviled the Patriots for six catches for 121 yards. Early on, Mike McCarthy showed that Adams was going to be the go-to guy, figuring that Nelson and Cobb would be smothered by Revis and Browner. Logan Ryan wound up getting torched by Adams, who dazzled in college catching passes from Derek Carr at Fresno State. Adams was brilliant in a quick screen-oriented offense out in Fresno, but Adams used double moves and terrific route running to throw the Patriots out of whack early with 90 yards on three catches in just the first quarter.
The Patriots gave up way too many big plays all night long. At the end of the first quarter, just after Adams hauled in a 45-yard left sideline pass on Ryan after beating him with a double move, Rodgers found Richard Rodgers for a 32-yard touchdown pass on the very next play. Rodgers floated a beautiful touch pass to Richard, who slipped past Patrick Chung, normally a subpar cover defensive back. It was one of many favorable matchups that Aaron found all night long.
The Patriots made an adjustment in the second quarter, putting Browner on Adams. So what happens? Cobb catches four passes for 55 yards, 33 of them on a right flat pass in which he drew Rob Ninkovich, of all people, in coverage. Ninkovich would later cough up a 28-yard pass to James Starks near the end of the first half.
 Brandon LaFell had two touchdown catches in the Patriots' 26-21 loss at Green Bay on Sunday. (USA TODAY Images) |
The critical play of the first half was simply a great play by the Packers. After the Starks play, the Packers were at the Patriot 45-yard line with 23 seconds left. On third down and two, Rodgers was able to hit Nelson on a quick slant on the right side in front of Revis, who up to that point had smothered Nelson and forced Rodgers to concentrate on the Adams-Ryan matchup instead. Nelson took the pass in front of Revis and simply sprinted right away from him. Devin McCourty nearly ran down Nelson near the goal line, but Nelson hit the pylon for the touchdown as the Packers led at the half, 23-14. The play really deflated the Patriots, as up to that point they had held Green Bay to only field goals when they ventured into the Red Area.
Other than the final drive which ended in kneel-downs, the Packers had the ball for eight possessions and scored on six of them. The Packers punted only once and also had a missed field goal, both of these happening in the third quarter. Otherwise, it was difficult to watch Rodgers surgically carve up the Patriots through the air. The Patriots did do well in the Red Area, but Brady and the offense could not do enough to overcome all the Packer field goals (Mason Crosby did hit four field goals despite the one miss).
Rodgers finished 24 of 38 passing for 368 yards, two touchdowns and a 112.6 passer rating. Cobb still managed seven catches for 85 yards. Nelson was limited to only two catches, but one of them was that long touchdown bomb to close out the first half.
Brady wasn't that bad all game long, but was a little hamstrung by bad play calling and some drops. He finished 22 of 35 passing for 245 yards and two touchdowns. His rating was 102.7. Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman each had seven catches, and Brandon LaFell caught both touchdown passes.
Some experts wonder if the Patriots should have run the ball more. Both Brandon Bolden and LeGarrette Blount averaged over 5.5 yards per carry, and especially Blount had some real decent power runs between the tackles. In the third quarter, there was one curious call where Aaron Dobson, who hadn't seen game action since September, came in on second down and seven in relief of Edelman, who had been injured on the previous drive. Brady tried to hit Dobson on a right sideline lob pass, which naturally was overthrown and Dobson came out of the game with a pulled hamstring.
Gronkowski was targeted 12 times but caught only seven passes. On their final offensive drive just prior to Stephen Gostkowski's missed 47-yard field goal, Gronkowski beat Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix in the end zone and made what looked like a diving catch, but he bobbled the ball as he fell to the ground. Edelman was targeted ten times and made seven catches.
This was one of those games where you simply have to tip your hat to the Packers and hope you get to see them again in Glendale, Arizona in February. The Packers will be in the conversation as NFC Champs, as will Arizona and Seattle. The Patriots remain the top AFC seed as this loss doesn't really hurt them as far as playoff posturing. The loss still stings, but it was a great game between two great teams and the Packers simply came out better this time.
And this was the first look the Patriots had at Rodgers, not counting that relief job in 2006. If you aren't impressed with this guy, you are far too parochial or you are simply a bad sport.
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