Packers Were There, But Fall To Patriots 31-17

New England won without tight end Rob Gronkowski, running back Sony Michel and guard Shaq Mason. Is it a championship defense -probably not.

The main attraction, of course, will be the two pivots, as Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady will share the same field as combatants for just the second time in each of their soon-to-be Hall of Fame careers.

But it was Brady – with one TD and 294 yards – who looked more composed at shotgun.

Gronkowski wound up playing against the Buffalo Bills in Week 8. In recent years, at times it has broke.

The Packers came charging back and tied it, 17-17, early in the second half. Pass-rush breakdowns against Chicago.

On the ensuing drive, Rodgers was sacked by Flowers and Clayborn to force a three and out. Patriots punt. Packers take over at their 21. That has been the case most of this season.

The numbers against the run don’t look great, but the Pats played light fronts and seemed willing to cede yards on the ground. More practice periods for the offensive situations have been added, and the Packers did go 6-for-13 on third down and 2-for-3 in the red zone against the Patriots, but those conversion rates must continue.

“Whether I’m missing a throw or we’re not in the spot I think we’re going to be at, it’s happening in the worst times”. It was time for Green Bay to finally have a big win this season. Their top priority was getting interior pressure, which is why Adam Butler outsnapped Malcom Brown, Lawrence Guy, and Danny Shelton (and why Flowers played so much inside). Mike McCarthy’s team had a number of excellent opportunities to take control of Sunday night’s game, but once again, their own errors proved costly.

The final in Foxboro was 31-17.

It took the defense to get the offense rolling. Tom Brady says he’s day-to-day.

“We made some plays in the fourth quarter when we needed to”, Brady said. “You know, that’s a tough offense to defend”. I mean, I had no idea.

The Patriots’ defense tightened on Green Bay’s next drive.

The Patriots got the opening kickoff and went on a blistering pace where they were moving faster than Han Solo when he did the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

Stephon Gilmore: Didn’t hear much from Davante Adams in this one. Although his snap share has been low due to the addition of Josh Gordon and Julian Edelman‘s return, Patterson has 11 receptions on 15 targets for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Aaron Rodgers has an idea about how the season – one that’s slipping away by the week – can be saved. They connected on six of them, including a touchdown, but they totaled just 40 yards. “The big thing about it not just knocking the ball out, it’s recovering the ball”.

Belichick was impressed with the play of Rodgers thinking that his defense had flawless coverage on the great plays to Valdez-Scantling. I’m just mad that James didn’t get in [the end zone]. “I would’ve had a better stat line”.

“Being a great player, he made plays”.

“Every time we step on the field we have to get a stop”, said Guy after the game. “He has such a presence in the pocket”.