RADIO
Prior to Sunday Night’s game against the Denver Broncos, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers had been in the lead for nearly 80 percent of their games this season. Needless to say, that wasn’t the case on Sunday Night.
The Broncos—captained by aging quarterback Peyton Manning—scored first and never looked back, wrapping up their Week 8 contest with a convincing victory over the previously undefeated packers. While Manning clearly had his best performance of the season, the real star of the game was Denver’s tenacious defense. In fact, so effective was the Broncos’ defense that, when all was said and done, Rodgers—widely considered the league’s best quarterback—was held to a career-low passing output of just 77 yards.
Said Packers head coach Mike McCarthy of Denver’s swarming defensive presence, “I haven’t had my [backside] kicked like that in a long time. They did a heck of a job covering us. They were clearly a better team.”
According to Rodgers, his team’s lack of aerial success—or any offensive success, for that matter—came from the Bronco’s stellar play in the secondary.
“They were covering well. That’s what you can point to. We didn’t get open enough. We tried some different things, but we didn’t execute what we wanted to do. We were just inefficient on offense,” he said.
Before the start of Sunday’s game, statistically speaking, Rodgers was by far one of the strongest quarterbacks in the league with an average passer rating of 108.2. Smothered receivers and constant pressure from DeMarcus Ware and the rest of the Broncos' defensive line caused Rodgers to feel uncomfortable throughout the course of the game.
By the end of the first half, the talented quarterback out of Cal Berkeley had completed just 8-of-12 passes for 37 yards. Unfortunately, for fantasy owners hoping for a booming result, he was only able to add 40 more in the second half. The icing on the proverbial cake came when Rodgers and the Packers took to the field during in the fourth quarter on their own 13, trailing 27-10. After taking the snap from under center, DeMarcus Ware managed to burst through the right side of the line and force a fumble that would lead to a safety. At that point, the game was completely out of reach.
Though a bit of a gut-check moment for Rodgers, fantasy owners shouldn’t just assume that things will be back on track next week when the Packers travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to take on the Panthers. Carolina has the second best pass defense in the league, right behind—you guessed it—Denver. Only time will tell if the Packers can adjust.
