The national game of the week did not disappoint. Billed as a bout between two NFC heavyweights, the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks went blow-for-blow in what became a hard-fought win for the Packers. Points were tough to come by, and the Packers rope-a-doped their way into an important victory.
The Seahawks do not play as well on the road as they do at home, and this win could be a big one in the coming months. Each team established themselves as Super Bowl contenders, but the Packers were able to eke one out, winning by eight points and covering the spread in a game in which they were favored by three.
It wasn’t always rosy, but as the late Al Davis once said, “Just win, baby.”
1. Week 1 victory may be crucial come January
The Packers are 1-0. Regardless of how they played (and they played well), a win over a tough opponent gets the Packers on the right foot towards securing the top seed in the NFC. Seattle’s defense is legitimate, and the Packers will not want to play them at Seattle in the playoffs. Today’s win was a key first step in ensuring they don’t have to.
Russell Wilson has not played well at Lambeau Field in his career; the Packers have his number in Green Bay. More importantly, the Packers now hold the tiebreaker in what will surely be a tight NFC race. Seattle will contend for it, but so will Dallas and Atlanta.
2. The defense was down-right electric
Minus a few lapses, the defense played its best game in recent memory. Russell Wilson went completed only 14 passes for 158 yards. The Packers sacked Wilson three times. Mike Daniels and Nick Perry each produced 1.5 sacks.
Some of Wilson’s yardage (and a field goal) could have been negated had McCarthy not gotten cute at the end of the first half, foolishly using timeouts to give Seattle a chance to drive down the length of the field for a quick three points in under 40 seconds.
The Packers set the tone early on the defense with multiple three-and-outs. After opening with a three-and-out, Rodgers threw an interception on the ensuing drive, forcing the defense to play on their own side of the field. Led by Daniels’ consistent domination, the Seattle offensive line couldn’t give Wilson the requisite time to make a play, ultimately ending the drive without points.
While Daniels got the headlines, Nick Perry cashed in a nice game for himself, too, sacking Wilson 1.5 times all while setting a hard edge in the run game. Frankly, it wasn’t fair along the line of scrimmage for most of the afternoon. Green Bay’s pressure aided the young secondary, who played fast and aggressive.
In the fourth quarter, Wilson led his team down the length of the field, hoping to catch a quick touchdown to narrow the lead to three. In multiple instances, Wilson was forced to dispatch the ball earlier than he wanted, giving the Packers secondary better looks to attack the ball. Kevin King got beat down the sideline on a ball throw toward the pylon, but Ha Ha Clinton-Dix’s closing speed ushered Amara Darboh through the air and out of bounds. If the defense is to keep this up, it’ll be imperative the defensive front continues to collapse the pocket without having to blitz as much.
In the battle between weaknesses (Seattle’s offensive line Seattle versus Green Bay’s secondary), it was Green Bay’s weakness that prevailed. Damarious Randall battled frequent cramping, but he played stickier coverage than he did most of last year. The one deep ball he surrendered to Paul Richardson was well-covered.
The defense played with speed and tenacity. When Eddie Lacy had a chance to bounce a run outside in the first quarter, Jake Ryan and company pursued in a hurry. Seattle surely likes the north-south, pounding style Lacy can offer, but they just found out how little lateral game he has. Swarming, 11-hats-on-the-ball defense evaporated any chance the Seahawks had to put up big numbers. It’s rare that the defense anchors a victory for the Packers, but this week they did.
