BILLS COOL OFF RED HOT PACKERS

Stunner as Buffalo D Rises to Stifle Rodgers, Offense

Last week after the Packers held off a furious second half comeback attempt that fell just short Mike McCarthy said he “…wouldn’t apologize for winning in December…” Well, December is here and no apologies for winning were anywhere to be seen. After a huge win over New England and a huge lead that evaporated against Atlanta was rescued by an Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson bomb the Packers bombed on Sunday in Buffalo against the Bills.

There will be no apologies coming forth although they would not be warrantless. After Sunday’s shocker the Bills put it to Green Bay by a count of 21 – 13. Don’t look for any apologies from or for the defense after this game. The Packers defense was the only thing that even remotely showed any signs of life. If any apologies are to be issued start right with the gold standard of the NFL with the Packers offense. It was an uninspired, lackluster performance but the offense was not alone in the barrel. The Special Teams play was horrendous and allowed the game’s only touchdown.

Don’t blame the defense or point fingers at Dom Capers after this one. The defense showed up in earnest and played a full 60 minutes of hard-nosed, rugged play. Granted, the Bills aren’t the Patriots but this is no fluke either. Buffalo managed to run then table against the NFC North going 4 - 0 against a division with two very likely playoff competitors in Green Bay and Detroit. For anyone following the Packers or the NFL knows if the Packers defense can limit an opponent to zero touchdowns the certainty is the official scorer will need an extra set of pencils and some tabs of paper. The defense gave up no TD’s and only 4 field goals. The offense gave up 2 points on a strip sack safety at the very end. But it was the 75 yard punt return by Marcus Thigpen in the first period that was the backbreaker. If the D can stand tall as they did against Buffalo and give up 12 points turning it over to the offense has just about automatic this year.

But not Sunday. In one word the offensive play of the 2104 Green Bay Packers against Buffalo was awfulterriblehorriblelousysuckedstinkodoodoocaca.

The Packers had been dominating for so long they may have forgotten how to gut it out on offense. Last week we openly questioned whether Green Bay’s level of confidence of late had crossed the line from confidence to arrogance.  The Packers style has been one of swagger and bravado since week 3. Aaron Rodgers is currently just the best quarterback on the planet and the frontrunner for the league MVP. After Sunday’s performance Rodgers stock may have a plummet that is exceeded only by the stock crash that launched the Great Depression. Many Packer fans and McCarthy are experiencing their own Great Depression. The resounding thud being heard is the sound of the bandwagon jumpers hopping off.

Buffalo is a stout, well-built unit on defense. The loss last year of S Jarius Byrd has not slowed them. In almost every important defensive statistical category the Bills are in the Top 10 and flirting among the Top 5. The front line anchored by Mario Williams, Marcel Dareus and Jerry Hughes had a monstrous day in smothering the NFL’s leading scorers and the top rated QB. For the second straight week the Bills D rose and kept two Hall of Fame QB’s out of the end zone. Last week it was Peyton Manning and on Sunday Rodgers had the worst professional day of his career. He was only 17 of 42 attempts with 0 TD’s and 2 picks and a QB rating of 34.4, by far the worst Rodgers has ever seen. Don’t blink – you read that right. Aaron Rodgers, the man who tosses a pick as often as heat wave in Buffalo in December had no touchdown passes and threw 2 *gulp* interceptions.

In any other city in any other state when the headlines read your star QB threw for 0 TD’s a 2 INT’s there’s a shallow grunt. But not Green Bay. This is news.

Hopefully Rodgers won’t have to take to the airwaves to tell everyone to R-E-L-A-X. While Rodgers was uncharacteristically off his receivers did him no favors. Jordy Nelson was hit by the SI Cover Jinx and had 2 key drops, one late that looked for all the works Rodgers and Nelson had struck again. The futility of this game can be summed up in the slow motion replay of Rodgers’ pass late in the 3^rd quarter coming down into Nelson’s outstretched hands, a play that has become routine member of ESPN’s highlight reel but bouncing awry and falling away from Nelson’s grasp. This one was one of the few that hit Rodgers’ target dead on the money. Coming from their own 6 yard line Nelson had nothing but a mile of real estate in front of him, but the sure handed receiver saw the ball, the lead and the game fall from his grasp. "We had exactly what we wanted. We just didn't make the play," Nelson said afterwards. "I short-armed it and I dropped it."

Nelson wasn’t alone. Rookie Davante Adams looked like a rookie with his gaffes. The only players of merit on Sunday were Eddie Lacy who banged for 97 yards and 1 TD. WR Randall Cobb was used in a variety of positions, formations and motion plays. At one point Cobb even took a handoff from Rodgers to rush up the right side. Cobb posted 98 receiving yards and was one of the few on the offensive side of the ball that could be excused from the corner and a dunce cap.

Rodgers’ majesty has been in his simple approach. Put the ball where his and only his receiver can make a play on it. Keep it out in front of them. Hit the tight window. Rodgers was uncharacteristically off on the vast majority of his throws. Can anyone name a time when Rodgers missed 25 attempts in a game? The throws that Rodgers usually displays were nowhere to be seen. If there was a theme it was in Rodgers throwing behind his receivers. Once again a deflection led to an interception. As forgotten WR Jarrett Boykin cut over the middle a Rodgers bullet bounced high off Boykin’s hands and into the hands of S Baccarri Rambo who also undercut a late throw to pick off Rodgers twice in one game.

How bad was Rodgers’ day? It was by far the worst of his career. It was his first game with 0 Pass TD and more than 1 INT. In fact, it was just his 2nd career game with 0 Pass TD and an INT. His paltry 40.5 completion percentage was his worst ever in a start as was his QB rating of 34.4.  His 25 incompletions were a career high - 6 more than any other game in his career. For the record and giving credit where it is due the Bills have held Manning and Rodgers to a combined 358 passing yards, 0 TD, 4 INT’s the past 2 games. That’s a total combined between the two sure-fire Hall of Famers, a fact not so easily dismissed.

The Packers managed 158 yards on the ground while limiting Buffalo to 113. The irony of the defense stepping up while the offense stepped out won’t be missed by the rest of the league. The Packers defense gave the offense everything the offense needed to win the game. But this is the NFL. Bad games are going to happen. Good teams are going to lose and can look pretty lousy in the process. Before anyone starts heading out to the ledge this could be a blessing in disguise.

There won’t be much air time dedicated by McCarthy this week about the failings in Buffalo. The loss coupled with yet another last second Detroit nail-biting win sets up the last game in Lambeau as a classic in waiting. The amnesia needed to survive in the NFL will be ordered all around. The best and maybe the only good thing to come out of this is it is only 1 game and the Packers are far too talented on offense for this to become a trend. As high and as hot as the Packers were during their most recent 5 game streak hit the wall face first. The air of invincibility was knocked out of them and yet all is not lost on this loss.

Rodgers did not flinch afterwards either. “I have to play better for us to win” he said in his post-game interviews. For Rodgers and McCarthy this game is not the norm and as soon as the next game Rodgers and the offense can reclaim the magic again. There is too much firepower for the lights to stay out for too long.

McCarthy won’t need a whip and a chair to get the message across. Nelson knows what happened and as a professional he already knows, just like Rodgers and Adams and everyone else knows that yelling, screaming or complaining about it won’t change it. What can McCarthy or anyone else say that the individuals themselves don’t already know? Hey Rodgers… you were behind your receivers. Or hey Nelson – why’d you drop that ball? They already know. To paraphrase Rodgers – R-E-L-A-X. They got it. This is one set of game films that can be disposed of quickly.

When a team wins as much and is as successful as the Green Bay Packers have been under McCarthy’s watch the losses, though few and far between, tend to overshadow the W’s. Put it in perspective – teams like Chicago, Minnesota, Jacksonville and Oakland would sell a kidney to have even one of the past 5 years the Packers have enjoyed. It’s only 1 loss and other than the ’73 Dolphins nobody is perfect –ever. The hard work begins now in the push to the playoffs. The hard work of climbing back up begins and with that a renewed sense of focus could come about. That’s what a professional does. He moves on quickly to the next game regardless of the outcome.