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Green Bay starts slow and then pulls away for a first round bye

At first glance it might have looked that today’s game in St. Louis didn’t mean too much for the Packers. However, a win would give them a first-round bye and keep them in the running for home-field advantage. A loss would all but guarantee the Cowboys would have the home-field edge.

Green Bay started out with great field position after Koren Robinson returned the opening kickoff 43 yards to put the ball at Green Bay’s 48. The offense started out in the Fab Five package and Favre completed his first pass to Robinson for 6 yards. After two straight Ram penalties, Green Bay had the ball on St. Louis’ 36. Ryan Grant gained 7 yards on his first carry. Favre then hit Ruvell Martin for 10 yards. After two straight short gains by Grant, Green Bay faced a 3rd and 6 on St. Louis’ 15 yard line. Favre hit Vernand Morency for 9 yards to give Green Bay a 1st and goal. On 3rd and goal, Green Bay was finally able to get the ball in the end zone when Grant scored from 1 yard out. It was Grant’s 6th touchdown of the season.  Green Bay once again gets an early lead, 7-0.

St. Louis started with the ball on their own 23. Stephen Jackson rushed for 6 on his first carry. On 2nd down, Nick Barnett sacked Rams’ quarterback Marc Bulger. Charles Woodson just missed an interception on 3rd down and St. Louis quickly went three and out.

After a poor punt, Green Bay started their second possession from their own 44. Favre hit James Jones for 21 yards on the first play to move the ball down to the 35 of St. Louis. On the next play, Favre hit Ryan Grant for a screen pass, but Grant fumbled and gave the ball back to St. Louis.

Stephen Jackson picked up 5 on the first play of St. Louis’ second possession. After a Green Bay holding penalty, Jackson picked up 7 more yards to move the ball into Packers’ territory. Bulger then hit Torry Holt for 10 yards and another St. Louis first down. Rookie running back Antonio Pittman then gained 13 for yet another first down. St. Louis converted a 3rd and 7 after a Dane Looker first down reception. St. Louis finished the drive when Bulger found Holt for a touchdown and the game was tied at 7.

Koren Robinson’s 89-yard kickoff return was called back by a holding penalty. After the penalty, it turned into a 66-yard return and Green Bay still started in St. Louis territory. Grant picked up 4 yards and then Favre hit Donald Driver for 37 yards as the first quarter came to an end. Driver caught the ball at the line of scrimmage and then worked his way through the St. Louis defense down to the Rams’ 4. Favre found Donald Lee from 4 yards out for Green Bay’s second touchdown of the day. Green Bay pulled ahead, 14-7.

The Packers had good kick coverage and only allowed St. Louis to return the kick to the 16 yard line. After Jackson gained 4 yards on the ground, he picked up 16 on a pass from Bulger. Torry Holt picked up a first down on 3rd and 5 to keep the chains moving for St. Louis. Bulger then hit Drew Bennett for 8 yards. Jackson then cut through the Packers’ defense for 46 yards and a St. Louis touchdown. Despite having a 3-10 record, St. Louis is as talented at the skill positions as any NFL team.

Green Bay started at their own 32. Favre found Morency for 8 yards on 3rd and 10 and Green Bay was forced to punt for the first time and momentum was definitely in the corner of the Rams.

St. Louis did just as little on their next possession. Jackson rushed for 2 yards on first down but then two incomplete passes by Bulger and the Rams punted once again.

Will Blackmon returned the punt for 16 yards and once again Green Bay started in St. Louis territory. Favre hit Greg Jennings for a loss of 3 to start the drive. St. Louis committed and offsides penalty on the next play to make it 2nd and 8. Favre missed a pass to Donald Lee but then found James Jones for 8 yards and the first down. Grant rushed for 3 yards and then Favre hit Driver for 6 yards to create a 3rd and 1. Favre overthrew Morency at the goal line to set up a Mason Crosby field goal attempt. Crosby converted the 44-yard attempt and Green Bay led once again at 17-14.

A fumble and holding penalty gave St. Louis awful starting field possession. The Rams started at their own 5. The Rams quickly got out of trouble when Bulger hit Isaac Bruce for 37 yards. Jackson then picked up 9 yards and St. Louis was suddenly in Green Bay territory as the 2-minute warning struck. After Jackson picked up another first down, Bulger hit Drew Bennett for a first down that moved the ball to the Green Bay 35. St. Louis was called for a false start penalty, but Bulger was then picked off by Atari Bigby after the ball was tipped by Drew Bennett. It was Bigby’s third interception of the season and the Packers’ 22nd game in a row with a takeaway.

Favre hit Jennings for 14 yards and put the ball at the St. Louis 46. Jennings then caught another ball for 11 more yards and another Green Bay first down. Favre was intercepted by Oshiomogho Atogwe and gave St. Louis huge momentum as the half ended and Green Bay was unable to widen their lead.

Favre finished the half 13-17 for 134 yards with a touchdown and interception. Ryan Grant led the team with only 24 yards on 11 carries. He scored a touchdown but also fumbled once. Eight different receivers caught passes in the half. Jennings led the team with 3 catches.

St. Louis started the second half with the ball on their own 19. The Rams picked up a first down on a short Bulger pass to Jackson on 3rd and 2. Atari Bigby made his second interception of the game on another tipped ball.

Green Bay took over on the St. Louis 36. Favre hit Driver for a gain of 4.  Favre was unable to hit Driver on the next two passes and it set up a 50-yard Mason Crosby field goal attempt. Crosby nailed it and Green Bay led 20-14. It was Crosby’s third field goal of at least 50 yards this season.

St. Louis picked up a first down before a 15-yard face mask sent them backwards. Jackson picked up 4 yards, but then Nick Barnett sacked Bulger for the second time in the game. The Rams weren’t able to pick up the 3rd and long and punted the ball back to Green Bay.

After starting the drive with two incomplete passes, St. Louis brought an all-out blitz on Green Bay. Favre was able to unload the ball to Greg Jennings for a 46-yard touchdown pass. Green Bay led 27-14. With that pass, Favre sat 1 yard shy of breaking Dan Marino’s all-time yards record.

St. Louis picked up a first down on 3rd and 4 when Bulger hit Bennett for 13 yards. Isaac Bruce dropped a pass on 3rd and 2 to set up fourth down and put St. Louis in a situation to go for it. Jackson picked up the first down by gaining 8 yards. St. Louis picked up 16 on a 3rd and 14 for another Rams first down. The St. Louis drive stalled out and Jeff Wilkins attempted a 48-yard field goal. He came up short and Green Bay took over at their own 38.

Favre hit Donald Driver for 7 yards. The pass put Favre ahead of Dan Marino as the all-time passing leader. Ryan Grant then broke off a 24-yard run to move the ball into Rams’ territory. The Packers picked up a gift first down as the Rams were penalized for both pass interference and unsportsmanlike conduct. The penalties put the ball at the St. Louis 11. Green Bay was unable to get the ball across the goal line and Mason Crosby came on for a 25-yard field goal attempt. Crosby hit it and Green Bay led 30-14.

St. Louis took over at their own 20. Bulger hit Randy McMichael for 18 yards and then Jackson for 7 more. Bulger missed his next two passes and it set up at 4th and 3. St. Louis couldn’t convert and the Packers took over on downs at the St. Louis 45.

Favre was picked off a second time, again by Atogwe, giving the ball back to the Rams on their own 3.

The Rams gained a first down off of a Packers’ holding penalty. Antonio Pittman gained 12 for another Rams first down. Bulger then hit Isaac Bruce for 20 yards. Aaron Kampan picked up his first sack of the game on the next play to create a 2nd and 18. Bulger was then sacked by AJ Hawk and KGB for the fourth Packers’ sack of the day. Bulger hit Bennett for 18 yards, but his 4th down pass came up incomplete to give the ball back to Green Bay.

The Rams were flagged for a personal foul on a horse-collar tackle on Ryan Grant. Koren Robinson picked up 10 yards but still came up 2 yards short of a first down. Mason Crosby hit his fourth field goal of the day, this time from 46 yards to make the score 33-14.

St. Louis’ offense made a quick three and out appearances and punted it back to Green Bay.

Favre hit Driver for 26 yards on a 3rd and 10 which enabled the Pack to kneel on the ball to end the game. The Packers scored their 12th victory of the season with the 33-14 triumph over the Rams. Along with a Seahawks loss, the win guaranteed Green Bay a first-round bye in the NFC Playoffs.

Favre finished the game 19-30 for 227 yards. He threw two touchdowns and two interceptions. Both interceptions came when Favre threw into double coverage with the safety coming over to make a play. Ryan Grant scored a touchdown but finished with only 55 yards on 18 carries. Donald Driver led the receiving corps with 5 catches. Donald Lee and Greg Jennings caught the touchdown passes.

The defense had an up-and-down game. Although they sacked Marc Bulger 4 times and picked him off 2 more times, they allowed Stephen Jackson to rush for 143 yards. I think part of the problem is the injuries that are piling up on the defensive line. Earlier in the season the Packers had a nice rotation going to keep healthy and fresh bodies always on the field. Now that a few players have been lost to injury and the fact that Justin Harrell is getting more playing, the D-line isn’t able to hold up for an entire game against good running backs as well.

12-2 with two games left looks pretty darn good though. Back in August, I thought 9-7 would be a great season for this team. At least one home playoff game now awaits in January and expectations just keep getting left by the wayside with this team. I don’t see any way that Mike McCarthy doesn’t win Coach of the Year. No team has surprised as much as the Packers have. Two Cowboys’ losses might still be asking too much, but it’s still possible, so hope is alive.

Bears week is no upon us and there is no doubt the Bears would love to be the ones who cost the Packers the number 1 seed in the playoffs.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 16th, 2007 at 5:19 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.