Green Bay Packers 38, Seattle Seahawks 10
These are the highest-graded players and top takeaways from the Packers’ 38-10 win over the Seahawks in Week 14:
Quarterback grade: Aaron Rodgers, 85.8
Spectacular game from Rodgers ends in worry
It’s safe to say that Aaron Rodgers is back. He has graded as the best QB in the NFL since Week 7, which has boosted his season rank to fifth overall. Against Seattle, Rodgers was off-target on just one pass deep left, and was phenomenal under pressure, completing 6 of 8 passes for 143 yards and 2 TDs, with a passer rating of a nearly perfect 156.3. Rodgers and the Packers are poised for a postseason push, but with uncertainty around the two-time MVP’s calf injury, fans will be worried until there's an update.
Top offensive grades:
QB Aaron Rodgers, 85.8
WR Davante Adams, 81.4
RT Bryan Bulaga, 77.9
RG T.J. Lang, 74.1
WR Jordy Nelson, 72.9
Offense hits its stride, while Adams is living up to the hype
With Rodgers clicking on all cylinders, the receivers have followed suit, with Jordy Nelson grading as the fifth-best wide receiver since Week 7, and Davante Adams playing the best football of his young career. Adams was excellent against Seattle, catching four of his six targets for 104 yards and 1 TD, while Nelson was efficient catching six of seven for 41 yards and 2 TDs. The offensive line did what it normally does, protecting Rodgers incredibly well and accounting for just six hurries.
Top defensive grades:
DI Mike Daniels, 88.8
S Morgan Burnett, 88.3
CB Damarious Randall, 87.4
CB Quinten Rollins, 81.1
ED Datone Jones, 80.2
Green Bay defensive backs turning it around
If anyone watched Week 11 of “Sunday Night Football” against Washington, the Packers’ defense was disastrous, with the top five corners (in snaps plays) all allowing a passer rating of 121.1 or worse in that game. Since then, cornerback Damarious Randall has allowed a passer rating of 89.7, which is the worst of the Packers CBs. While playing the Eagles and Texans will cure a lot of secondary issues, shutting down Russell Wilson is another story. Randall was stellar in this one, allowing 7.5 yards per target and intercepting two passes, while Quinten Rollins was also great, allowing 9.4 yards per target and recording one interception and one pass breakup. With Rodgers back in form, if the Packers defense can keep playing at a high level, Green Bay will be extremely dangerous if it makes the playoffs.
Quarterback grade: Russell Wilson, 38.9
Wilson puts together a very poor performance
A stat line that has a 56.4 completion percentage and ends with five in the interceptions column is never good, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Sure, Wilson was not good against Green Bay, and struggled badly under pressure, but four drops and one throwaway taken into consideration puts his adjusted completion percentage at 68.4. That is not a great number, but surely better than missing almost every other pass. Coming into the game, Wilson was the NFL's second-best QB under pressure with an adjusted completion percentage of 73.3 and a passer rating of 87.6. Against the Packers, his passer rating under pressure was a paltry 30.5, dropping his season rating to 80.7.
Top offensive grades:
RB Thomas Rawls, 73.1
TE Jimmy Graham, 72.0
RB Alex Collins, 66.5
TE Luke Willson, 61.7
WR Tyler Lockett, 55.8
Offense collapses in cold weather
With kickoff temperatures in the low- to mid-20s, the Seahawks struggled on the road in the cold weather. When a top-five player on your team grades in the mid-50s, the outcome is usually not good. The offensive line was poor as usual, with RT Bradley Sowell (43.6) allowing seven pressures, including one sack and three hits, while LT George Fant (41.9) allowed three pressures, including one devastating blindside sack. WR Doug Baldwin (48.8) had a rare poor game, grading below-average for the first time since Week 6 of 2015. He caught just six of 11 targets for 46 yards and dropped one pass.
Top defensive grades:
LB Bobby Wagner, 87.3
S Kam Chancellor, 82.9
DI Tony McDaniel, 81.8
ED Michael Bennett, 77.6
S Steven Terrell, 77.0
Defense put in tough position, can’t stop Rodgers
With 38 points put up by the opposing team, it would be easy to assume the defense was a disaster. Missing free safety Earl Thomas (out for the year due to injury) hurts, but the defense was hurt more by having to continually start with short fields. Seattle CB DeShawn Shead was picked on by Rodgers, and Jeremy Lane was torched by Davante Adams for a 66-yard touchdown. On the positive side, linebacker Bobby Wagner racked up nine tackles and three stops, and Tony McDaniel logged six stops and two hurries. Cornerback Richard Sherman was largely avoided, as he allowed just one catch for 11 yards on two targets.
PFF Game-Ball Winner: Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers
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