The Green Bay Packers improved to 8-2 and successfully bounced back from last Sunday’s loss in Kansas City by shutting out Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
While not the most aesthetically pleasing game in terms of offensive performance, the Packers dominated on defense and got two late touchdown runs from A.J. Dillon to win comfortably while snow fell in Green Bay.
Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from the 17-0 win over the Seahawks.
The Good
(AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)
The ascending defense: What a run for Joe Barry’s group. After holding Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson to 34 combined points, the Packers now rank third in the NFL in points allowed per game. Sunday’s shutout was the team’s first since 2018. Wilson got 10 possessions but couldn’t score. In all, Murray, Mahomes and Wilson created only six scoring drives but turned the ball over five times in 29 total possessions. Can the Packers keep it going against Kirk Cousins and Matthew Stafford over the next two weeks? The defense looks championship caliber for the first time in a long time.
A.J. Dillon: His 23 touches created 128 total yards. He powered through tacklers on both of his touchdown runs, and he helped create his second touchdown with a 50-yard catch, his new career long. He’s breaking tackles at a high rate and creating value in the passing game. With Aaron Jones likely to miss games, Dillon is going to be the workhorse running back in Green Bay, and he looks ready for the opportunity.
The Bad
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Offense for three quarters: The return of Aaron Rodgers wasn’t able to jumpstart the Packers offense. While Dillon eventually scored a pair of touchdowns in the final 10 minutes of the fourth quarter, the Packers managed only three points during the first 50 minutes of play and struggled to finish drives. A missed field goal, a turnover on downs in Seattle territory and an interception thrown into the end zone took away points. Not having Aaron Rodgers for two weeks of practice time played a factor, but so did the continued struggles of the offensive line. Getting back David Bakhtiari – and letting Elgton Jenkins move back inside to guard – could be huge for stabilizing the starting five.
The Ugly
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Injuries: All wins are great, but this win could be costly. The Packers just can’t catch a break with injuries. Edge rushers Whitney Mercilus (biceps) and Rashan Gary (elbow) and running back Aaron Jones (knee) all exited with injuries that could keep them out of future games. Testing on all three will reveal the severity, but there’s some early optimism that Gary and Jones avoided the worst-case scenario of a season-ending injury. The Week 13 bye is still two games away, but it can’t come soon enough for Matt LaFleur’s team. It’s certainly possible the Packers will get back a bunch of key players following the week off.
