#384 Packers Unscripted: Working overtime

to get the sixth win of the season. I don't know where you want to start as far as this comeback, because there was a lot that went into it on both sides of the ball. Bottom line was the Packers were down thirty with one order to play, and they came back and got the job done. Here's what I really liked about this win for the Packers. They out offensed the Jets. The Packers defense, I think, as Joe Films said, they made some plays when they needed to. But at the end of the day, you go back

a tale as old as time. It's Aaron Rodgers making plays and it's guys around him. The skill position players doing their part. Was talking to Corey Linsley after the game, and he said, you know it was it was I'm not gonna use his exact terminology, but it was frustrating where they were at in the middle of the third quarter because they felt like they've done some good things, but they just didn't have that juice they needed juice.

And with Rogers playing the way he did in the final I guess if you call at the overtime, probably final five minutes of that contest, you had Jamal Williams step up a hundred and fifty six total yards and

a touchdown. You had, for the first time ever in franchise history, five different guys have sixty receiving yards in this contest, each one of them playing a part in addition to that, drawing some defensive pass interfere its penalties that ended up being really important when the Packers needed

to rally. This team rallied, and I think it was kind of a heat check on Rogers and and everybody you can talk forever about wanting to play out the season and in pride and jersey and everything like that. When you're down fifteen points, Mike and everything's going against you against the team that's four and ten that's the ultimate gut check, and the Packers were able to pass

that test. I think what was perhaps even more impressive than when you say down fifteen and the fourth quarter, as we've been talking about here, after the Packers had the early fourth quarter drive, kicked a field goal, they

got it to thirty five to twenty three. But then the next time they got the ball only about nine minutes on the clock, down by twelve and on their own six yard line when the Jets pinned him deep with a punt nine minutes left, twelve point deficit, and you're ninety four yards from the first of two touchdowns that you need, and the Packers came through. Now, yes, the Jets had their share of past interference penalties, but hey, the bottom line is they weren't They didn't defend very well.

I mean, I mean, I know Todd Bowles had a bunch of complaints and everything about the calls, but there was a heck of a lot of contact there, and I thought the game was pretty much called that way all along. So the fact that the Jets didn't adjust and they continued to just grab and bump and everything else with the Packers down the field, that's their own

fault that the flags kept flying. But Aaron Rodgers, he found that level of his game that is so fun and so exciting to watch in terms of the passing, the scrambling, the checks at the line of scrimmage, even a little read option there on two point conversion and all of that. A lot that went into this and uh um, and as you said, all these different guys

for the Packers that had sixty plus receiving yards. You know, Davante Adams comes now he's just two catches away from breaking Sterling Sharp single season franchise record of a twelve. A lot of fun stuff in this one. Yeah. And the other thing I like too is a lot of guys that I think some people counted out played well in this game, starting probably with Aaron Rodgers himself for forty two passing yards, thirty two rushing, two rushing touchdowns

for him after he didn't have one. The entire season really was dynamic in that way with moving the chains. But Jamal Williams, Jamal Williams, if you ever talked to him, he's always such a jovial, playful personality. But you really in the locker room afterwards, you could get a true

sense for how much this game meant to him. And you know the fact that he went from week ten to week fourteen had twenty total touches, didn't complain, was still doing his dancing routine before the games and that, but he felt really confident in what he could do if he got the opportunity to play. He stepped up. Equinimius st Brown, Markquez Veldez, scantlink Um, you know, Justin McCrae has to pop in there at left guard after

Lane Taylor leaves. And you know Jake Kumerou who you know, everyone's favorite w water receiver forty nine yard catching touchdown yea. And early in the game, it was guys that I think, I don't want to say you necessarily didn't think could step up in those instances, But I think a lot of people had sort of counted out throughout the course of this season that made plays for Aaron Rodgers, especially

down this you know, down the stretch of that football game. Yeah, I really liked what Jamal Williams did in this game. And as we're sitting here in the studio, I've been spending a portion of the day going through the offensive game film, finding not just the times Jamal Williams touched

the football. He had fifteen rushes ninety five yards, six catches another sixty one yards, had the one rushing touchdown, which was a tremendous display of of just grit and balance and everything that went into that seven yard score. But finding all these other things on film that he did that will be I think a really interesting piece for my what you might have missed this week. The way he carried out play fixed, the way he picked up blitz is, the way he just occupied linebackers as

as a safety valve type of receiver. All these things that went into some significant plays that the Packers made in the game. So my hat's off to Williams. You talk about his jovial personality, is dancing and everything like that between the whistles, so to speak, from the snap to the whistle, I guess I should say, and when that helmet is on, this is a different breed of cat. He really plays hard, but then after the whistle it's like he's smiling and dancing and you know, kind of

hopping around. He's a he's he's a different kind of guy. But boy, he's been he's been really fun to watch here. This is where I get kind of frustrated with Packer fans because it was and I'm not trying to single anybody out or rip on anybody here, but you know, they were midway through the season there was a lot of people wondering why the Packers, you know, just aren't

going full time to Aaron Jones. But if you really break it down, like with with Williams being a fourth round pick last year, Jamal Williams fits this offense as well as any running back I think the Packers have had during my time on the beat. Jones is really explosive. Eddie Lacey was a phenomenal power back. But the about Williams is I was thinking about this during the game on Sunday. This is no disrespect whatsoever to James Starks, but he is a more durable, better pass protecting version

of Starks. Now, Starks eventually got there in his career. He became a better pass catcher and became a better pass protector. But Jamal Williams has done that from day one, in addition to the fact of being a prototypical between the tackles power rusher in a lot of ways, as much as Aaron Jones is a phenomenal runner. Is gonna be really is going to be successful in this league.

You know, Davante Adams made a comment after the game, and it's somewhat hyperbole saying that, you know, Jamal Williams, for other teams could get the snaps. We know how the league is structured now, but he is that type of running back. So if he needs to play eight five snaps or whatever it ended up being in this contest, he can do that. So that's why I've never really understood this reputation he's gotten with some fans is that, you know, Jamal Williams is exactly what the Packers have

looked for historically from the running back position. Yeah, he's a tough son of a gun. That's I mean. When I watch when I watch him play, I just it just speaks toughness to me. Whether he's blocking, whether he's got the ball in his hands, there's a there's just a way he plays the game that that you can really appreciate. Um, I want to get to a couple of things on the defensive side of the ball as

far as this comeback was concerned. But first West, the Green Bay Packers get ready for game day with the powerful noise canceling technology of Bo's Quiet Comfort thirty five headphones. To learn more at www dot bos dot com. Slash Packers Bows the official headphones of the Green Bay Packers, and at home or here in the stands, we all know that Green Bay fans give it their all and that takes a lot of energy. So grab a warm bowl of Campbell's Chunky Soup. It's meaty goodness fuels the

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Campbell's Chunky Soup. Official sup partner of the Green Bay Packers. Okay, as I look back through some of the film and looking at the play by play of this game, I give a lot of credit to the Packers defense, not only the sack by Blake Martinez early in the fourth quarter that got a stop and then led to the first of those points in the eighteen straight points the Packers scored when it was thirty five to twenty, and then the defense did take advantage of some Jets penalties

that got them off schedule some long down and distances. But after the Packers take the lead thirty eight thirty five. A breakdown on special teams. Packers had a lot to overcome on special teams in this game. Andre Roberts with the long returns, the fake punt, all of that. Roberts returns that kickoff with the Jets trailing now thirty five returns at fifty one yards gets it inside Green Bay's forty yard line. There's still over a minute on the clock here, Wes and the Packers defense has to take

the field just protecting a three point lead. Sam Donald was having a great game, maybe one of his best games of his rookie season. Completes two eight passes. It's first down on the fifteen yard line with thirty six seconds to go. Sam Donald has three cracks to win

this game for the New York Jets. The Packers defense, playing without Jairo Alexander, the top cover corner who left the game in the first half with a groin injury, rises up, get some pressure, gets forces three straight in completions, and the Jets have to settle for the tying field goal. First down on the fifteen yard line with thirty six seconds left and three shots at the end zone to win the game. That's a that's a tough situation for any defense to be in. And uh and the Packers

defense did what it had to do. A couple of

things to this one. I just want to read you some stuff off the you know, possession and drive chart the Jets after they missed that field goal early on touchdown touchdown, touchdown punt and then they kneeled out the half touchdown touchdown on the third quarter, the fourth quarter punt punt, punt field goal in that field goal only came after as you mentioned, that lengthy return three and out, four plays for thirty two yards, seven plays for I'm sorry,

four plays for seventeen yards, seven place for nineteen yards, six place for twenty three in the field goal. You know, I think one of the underrated heroes in this with what they did that stood out to me was Tyler Lancaster Um. And I know we've been talking about him

for a while now. There was a couple of weeks ago where Kenny Clark I was talking to him about Lancaster and he said that he is farther ahead of where Clark was during his rookie season going into the month of December, and I thought that was a really nice compliment, and I questioned my mind. I was like, is that actually true? But then as we've seen him play down the stretcher And now, mind you, Tyler Lancaster is older now than Kenny Clark was when he was

a twenty one year old rookie. But they found something in him, and they found a guy that isn't just going to be a player this year. He looks like he could be a featured person in those run packages going forward. The Jets did go super conservative there at the beginning of the fourth quarter. They ran the ball a lot, but Lancaster dean lowery that front. Even Montrevia's Adams did not give up any room there. And then you also had guys like Tony Brown making plays on

the edges. Uh, a cornerback that is not expected to tackle for a loss for three yards, stopped him on another force them into those punch situations. And yeah, they didn't get the takeaways that I said they would need. Uh And and Sam Donald's passer rating was higher than I'm sure they wanted it to be. But when it came down to crunch time, they made the big plays that they needed to to get the ball back to the offense. The Packers can't come back from that deficit

if they don't get the ball back. Taron Rodgers and the defense fulfilled its job in that way. Yeah, and even if you take out obviously, one of the touchdowns early in the game was the ninety nine yard kickoff returned by the Jets. But looking defensively, the Packers allowed three touchdown drives within the first three quarters of the game of seventy five plus yards. Donald was having his

way at certain times. The absence of Alec Xander was a factor, and for the way the Packers were shutting down the run, I thought playing the run really really well. One of the things you do miss when you have Lancaster in the game. For example, as opposed to a Kenny Clark Mike Daniels, you don't get quite as much of the pass rush because he's just not a natural

pass rusher. He really is a prototypical run stopper. But those last four possessions that you rattled off sixty total yards over four possessions with the game on the line, when they had to get a stop every single time, and in fact, they kind of stopped him an extra time because the fake punt. You know that the Jets ran on fourth and inches after after those guys stacked

up the third down quarterback sneak. Then the Jets lined up in punt formation but snapped it to the up guy and and converted anyway, so the defense had to get another stop. Beyond that, I just I give that unit a heck of a lot of credit because when you look at you look at the personnel that was out there compared to where the Packers were personnel wise at the start of the season, and all these guys who were not in the game and on injured reserve

and everything else. Um, that was a that was a really commendable down the stretch defensive performance on a day when things weren't necessarily going all that wealth for the first three quarters, you know, and Mike Petton, this defense will probably finish somewhere in the teens, I think in terms of total defense, however you want to measure that. But again, I just don't think there's any statistics that really tell you the true story of how this team

played this year. For my money, and I love Dom Capers, I hope at some point be able to sit down and have a cup of coffee with them again someday. But one of the things that kind of had gotten away from the Packers the last couple of seasons was their adversity defense in their explosive plays. Those are two areas this specific group has been exemplary in this season. It even hit me during when Robby Anderson caught the

thirty three yard touched on. There was the breakdown I think that was after right after Alexander's right after Alexander left the game, and then it was a coverage bust where two guys went to cover the same guy in the flat and then Anderson was kind of running all alone down the sideline. The safety didn't have enough time to get over there. And it hit me then I was like, gosh, we just have not seen a lot

of those plays this season. The communication, whether that's pett and whether that's Blake Martinez, but the way that calls have been relayed this year. You haven't seen a lot of instances where the Packers are getting caught. For twelve men on the field, it's been really impressive. And then for them to respond in those moments, Packers could have really easily gotten down on themselves going to that fourth quarter. Could have continued to wilt, could have continued to get

gutted for yards. They didn't do that. They stopped. They got the stops when they needed and Aaron Rodgers was as solid as I've seen him be. Yeah, there was still some plays that they missed. There was a couple of receivers that were open they didn't get the ball to. But in crunch time, when you need to move the chains, he made the right reads. He made the right choices, and he also scampered in for that read option, which

I loved on that two point conversion. They've run that on a on the two point play, Uh, you know a few times over the last few years, and uh, he's gone in untouched for the two points more often than not. And if you think about it, how many times this year, Mike, have the Packers put that read option on film? The quarterback has never carried it out. It's always been given into the running back. You haven't

seen Rogers fulfilled that place. So for him to scamper in the end zone, get the score and then to come back with the read option again, I just I thought this performance again, Joe Philbin said it perfectly. Was it the best performance in history of football. No, no, but for them to win it in the way that they did, I think says a lot about that entire locker room. Yeah, and that's what I was going to get at, is this Packers locker room. There were discussion

outside the building all week long. You know, well, why is Rogers gonna play? And why don't the Packers just shut down? You know, they're high priced players. Why risk any injury and stuff like that. You look at how this game went was You can't tell these guys that any NFL game is meaningless to them. Tremont Williams takes a shot to the face on trying to feel the punt, goes off, gets checked for a concussion, gets cleared, goes

back in the game. David bak tr trying to chase down Darryl Roberts on the interception on the first two point play, which ended up getting called back because of a penalty. Anyway, but he's chasing him down the field and you know, comes up kind of lame, so to speak, not look not looking like he's walking all that. Well, something might have happened. He goes and finishes the game

without complaint, and the Packers win this thing. And and when the Packers think they have it won, Aaron Rodgers runs it in for a six yard touchdown and overtime gets called back on a holding penalty. You've got to score from the sixteen yard line, and boom, he throws a pinpoint pass to Davante Adams, his eleventh catch of the game, and the Packers win it. These guys, I know they're not going to the playoffs, but they played this, They played this game, and they're playing out the season

the right way. Yeah. Absolutely. And the thing of a box Tr too, he gets injured on a play because he's he's he's a three pound offensive tackle trying to run down the field because of the pick six. I mean, that's the kind of heart to pick two. Sorry, that's the kind of hearty showing on that play. I think David box tr knows in his heart of hearts he's not going to be able to catch the cornerback, but

he wants to fulfill the play. Marcus Velde Scantling Corey Lindsley praised him after the game because on that twenty three yard run that Rogers got to the one yard line, veld Is Scantling fulfilling a blocking assignment down field to help spring him for a couple of extra I mean held that block for for multiple seconds to turn what maybe was a ten yard scramble into a twenty plus yards. And nobody's going to remember that play ten years from now because it isn't going to show up in a

box score. It's not going to be a big explosive that's gonna get you on ESPN. But it's the things that allowed the Packers to win this game. And I gotta say a quick word about Truman Williams here. He's thirty five years old, Mike. He's played like point one percent under the total snap counts here, maybe a couple of plays of everything he's done on defense going into this game. He's sitting there in his locker room. In his locker afterwards, he has stitches above his right eye.

And he was asked about that hit. He didn't even call it a dirty head. He's like, that's football. He even kind of put it on himself for not fear catching it, saying I've kind of, you know, lived that way throughout my career as a returner, and sometimes it bites you, and it bit him on that head, you know, on the head a little bit. But this is a guy that doesn't need to be out there either. I mean, he could have just called it a game. He passes

a concussion protocol, he gets back out there. I mean, I think that tells you everything you need to know about this team and what it means to them to play this thing out. I get the frustration at times with fans. I understand they want to top ten pick. But the realistic thing is, and Joe Philbin said it as well and as eloquently as I think you ever could on Monday morning, the future is the future. It's going to get there. Whether he's the coach, whether these

players are here, it doesn't matter. There's an number on your on your pads, there's a name on the back of your jersey. In that name and in that that number has been the same, you know, since the beginning of time, regardless of who the players, there's a way you play, there's a way you finish. The Packers they're they're right there right now. They have one more game

to go. They want to make it count. Yeah, one more game to go and one more game to go in the regular season in the NFL, there was a lot that happened in Week sixteen. I want to get to some of those results in our shows later in the week because some interesting playoffs scenarios taking place. But we're up against it right now. We're going to call it a rap on this edition of Packers un Scripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the

team on Packers dot com on Twitter. He's at west Hot I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, and Merry Christmas everybody. We'll see you next time.