Green Bay Packers clear last major hurdle before bye – Packersnews
The big picture
The Green Bay Packers probably won’t go undefeated, but they’re probably not going to lose for a while. After getting by their most difficult game so far — Sunday night’s game at Atlanta — the Packers (5-0) should cruise to the bye without a blemish. They have the winless St. Louis Rams at Lambeau Field this coming Sunday and then a road game at 1-4 Minnesota the following week before their weekend off.
Thumbs up
As soon as Mason Crosby kicked the ball on a 56-yard field attempt in the third quarter, his holder, Tim Masthay, knew it was good. Masthay gave Crosby a shove of affection before the ball even went through the uprights. Crosby’s mighty boot tied the team record for the longest field goal, a record he already held. He hit from the same distance in last year’s season opener at Philadelphia. That broke the record of 54 yards, which had been held by three Packers’ kickers — Chris Jacke, Ryan Longwell and Dave Rayner. Crosby had a banner day inside the climate controlled Georgia Dome. He also made field goals of 32, 35 and 30 yards. His 30-yarder with 1:10 remaining iced the 25-14 victory. He did his job on kickoffs, too. All but one of them went for a touchback.
Thumbs down
The Packers left a lot of points on the field in the first half. Tight end Jermichael Finley dropped a touchdown pass, and Ryan Grant lost a fumble on a nine-play drive that had reached into Falcons’ territory. A week after Finley expressed frustration over not getting much action because the Denver Broncos double teamed him, he had a chance to make a major impact in the first half against the Falcons. On third-and-12 from the Falcons’ 17-yard line in the second quarter, Finley drew single coverage against middle linebacker Curtis Lofton. Finley ran up the seam and stopped a yard into the end zone. With Lofton pinned on his backside, Finley flat out dropped a touchdown that would have pulled the Packers to within 14-10 in the final seconds of the half. Instead, the Packers had to settle for another field goal that left them in a 14-6 halftime hole. The Packers were 0-for-2 in the red zone, settling for field goals both times. The first trip inside the red zone failed when Rodgers was sacked on consecutive plays.
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Play of the game
On the first play of the Packers’ third series of the second half, receiver James Jones ran a post and ran right by Falcons’ safety Thomas DeCoud. Just like that, Jones had a 70-yard touchdown catch, and the Packers had their first lead, 15-14.
Turning point
The Falcons were about to add to their 14-6 halftime lead when a penalty ruined their opening drive of the second half. On third-and-2 from the Packers’ 30, Falcons running back Jason Snelling gained 1-yard. That would have forced Falcons coach Mike Smith to either go for it on fourth-and-1 or kick a 48-yard field goal. But both options were taken away from him when right tackle Tyson Clabo was called for illegal hands to the face against Clay Matthews. The 10-yard penalty put the Falcons in third-and-12, which they failed to covert, forcing a punt, and seemingly their momentum was lost.
Did you notice?
• Coach Mike McCarthy tried the same play-action, shot play that got Jordy Nelson open for a 50-yard touchdown pass the previous week against Denver. This time, he ran it for James Jones in the first quarter, but Rodgers overthrew his receiver.
• Brad Jones took two snaps at left outside linebacker in place of Clay Matthews on the opening drive. Matthews appeared to have an equipment problem.
• Randall Cobb failed to get to the 20-yard line on any of his first three kickoff returns.
By the numbers
• 72.7: Third-down conversion rate by the two teams combined in the first half. The Falcons were 4-of-5 and the Packers 4-of-6.
• 167: Yards passing by Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who completed 18-of-32 passes with one touchdown and two interceptions
• 396: Yards passing by Rodgers, who completed 26-of-39 passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions.