The snowy weather at Lambo Field Sunday night may have suggested a big night for the Tennessee Titans, who rely too much on a hasty attack led by Derek Henry. Instead, host Green Bay Packers ran away with the show – literally. With significant contributions from both Aaron Jones and rookie A.J. Dillon, not to mention a near-perfect outing from MVP favorite Aaron Rodgers, Matt LaFleur’s team had little trouble overtaking South Asia’s rivals at prime time. With the NFC top seed in mind, players scored early and often, then easily made their lead in crisis time, taking a 40-14 win to improve to 12-3 in the season and drop Tennessee to 10-5 before Week 17.
With the victory, NFC North-Champion players are now on the verge of winning one match to close the top seed – goodbye first round – in the post-season period. Meanwhile, the Titans have yet to formally qualify for post-season with the Colts still alive in the South.
Here are some quick points from the big win at Green Bay Sunday night:
Why did the Packers win
Aaron Rodgers is the best player! True. I heard it here. Perpetual Wonder, which some inexplicably crossed out in 2019, deserves the award. Sunday night was one of many examples of why. With the exception of his ill-advised fourth quarter throw of only greed and giving Tennessee a turnover, Number 12 was pure magic under a snowfall in Lambo. His distinct pocket poise was evident throughout the night, as was his chemistry with the predictably dominant Davante Adams.
It helped that Matt LaFleur’s ground game also celebrated the Titans, with Aaron Jones running as if he’d fired from a cannon (including in a side race over 40 yards that Tennessee had to challenge reversing) and AJ Dillon fixing all the draft Today’s naysayers mistake a painful night perfect for cold weather. Don’t forget to give the credit to Mike Peten’s defense as well, which was especially muddled in high school, deflecting quite a few from Ryan Tannhill’s main passes and getting two.
Why lost the titans
Two reasons: No. 1, Mike Frabell’s defense had no answers for Aaron Rodgers and Aaron Jones. Few teams do this, but this was a particularly ugly show for Tennessee, which had given up far too many easy throws, including at the crucial points, early on. Malcolm Butler had a lovely diving choice to throw the wayward Rodgers off late, but other than that, the Giants simply found themselves playing catch-up all night.
Number 2, On a night when Derek Henry was doing well despite the snowy weather indicating he would be in a heavy and steadily controlling workload, Tannhill often seemed flustered with his shot on the field. The 45-yard TD was such a thing of beauty, but the air production was not there, with Jair Alexander and Green Bay knocking off a night where he needed to be nearly perfect for a Rodgers match and a victorious return.
turning point
You might say Tannehill’s first pick, which allowed players to jump to an early lead with two scores. But the Titans fought back, with Tannehill’s surprise TD race pulling Tennessee within five early in the third.
After only a few plays, things changed forever: At first, Aaron Jones walked 39 yards down the left sideline, evading all kinds of titans to bring Green Bay back into the red. Replay revealed that Jones had knocked out of the bounds early in the race, but the Packers sped up the streak before Tennessee could challenge, and kept the big match and proceeded to score a Rodgers match to Adams TD, never looking back from there.
Play the game
It didn’t matter to the Titans in the end, but Tannehill’s cute QB goalkeeper was a great display of his underrated athletic performance:
What’s Next
The Packers (12-3) will conclude the 2020 season against rival Bears (8-7), who has scored a huge win over Jaguar. NFC top-ranked Green Bay will book it with a win next week.
Meanwhile, the gigantic team (10-5) will finish off their South Asian rival, Texas (4-11), who just lost to the Bengals team in Week 16. They are in a battle for the South Asia title but could slip away from the competition. All qualifiers with a loss, as four other AFC teams also have 10-5 records.
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