The Good, Bad And Ugly From The Green Bay Packers’ Win Over The Jacksonville Jaguars

Two touchdown underdogs almost never win in the NFL

Since 1995, there have been just 13 times where a team lost when it was favored by at least 14 points. The last time it happened was in 2018, when Buffalo was a 16.5-point underdog, then went to Minnesota and whipped the Vikings, 27-6.

The Jacksonville Jaguars — who were 14-point underdogs at Green Bay Sunday — put quite a scare into the host Packers.

The Jaguars led, 20-17, early in the fourth quarter. Green Bay rallied back, though, and prevailed, 24-20.

The Packers improved to 7-2, and for the time being, have the best record in the NFC. The Jaguars dropped their eighth straight game and fell to 1-8.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly from Green Bay’s victory.

THE GOOD

A WIN IS A WIN: Sure, the Packers won’t get any style points for struggling to beat one of the NFL’s worst teams. The bottom line, though, is Green Bay found a way to win.

For the time being, the Packers are the NFC’s No. 1 seed with a 7-2 record. Both New Orleans (6-2) and Seattle (6-2) play tonight.

When the postseason arrives in two months, no one will ask what the score of this game was. All that will matter is Green Bay found a way to win.

MARQUEZ VALDES-SCANTLING: MVS may never become the complete receiver many hoped he would. But he has developed into one of the best big play receivers in football.

Valdez-Scantling whipped Jaguars corner Sidney Jones for a 78-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. Amazingly, that marked the third straight catch by MVS that went for a touchdown.

One week ago in San Francisco, Valdes-Scantling had two catches — a 52- and a 1-yard touchdown. Since the start of 2019, MVS has six touchdowns and five have been 40 yards, or more.

MVS finished the game with four catches for a team-high 149 yards.

CLOSING TIME: Jacksonville reached the Green Bay 36-yard line with 1:37 left and trailing just 24-20.

After an incompletion, though, Green Bay outside linebackers Rashan Gary and Preston Smith both notched sacks. Then on fourth-and-26, Za’Darius Smith and Gary pressured quarterback Jake Luton into an incompletion.

IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS: Packers wide receiver Davante Adams posted his 489^th career catch in the second quarter and passed Don Hutson for fifth place in team history. Donald Driver is the franchise leader with 743, while Sterling Sharpe (595), Jordy Nelson (550) and James Lofton (530) round out the top five. … Aaron Rodgers moved into the top 10 all-time in completions (4,124). Rodgers also passed Warren Moon for the 11th most passing yards in NFL history.

THE BAD

RUN GAME: Green Bay entered the game ranked 10^th in the league in rushing offense (126.6) and ninth in yards per carry (4.6). The Jaguars entered ranked 27^th in rushing yards allowed per game (138.1) and 17^th in rushing yards allowed per carry (4.5).

The Packers couldn’t get anything going, though, on the ground.

Green Bay ran the ball 25 times, but managed just 80 rushing yards (3.2). Aaron Jones, one of the NFL’s leading rushers, had just 13 carries for 46 yards.

TURNOVERS: On the Packers’ first offensive play of the second half, Aaron Rodgers hit Davante Adams on a quick slant. Adams raced for 26 yards when rookie cornerback C.J. Henderson reached in and stripped the ball away.

Jacksonville linebacker Myles Jack recovered and returned it 18 yards to the Packers’ 16-yard line. Three plays later, Jaguars quarterback Jake Luton hit wideout Keelan Cole with a 12-yard touchdown that tied the game, 17-17.

Later in the quarter, the Packers had a third-and-8 and quarterback Aaron Rodgers tried hitting Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a shallow cross. Instead, Jaguars cornerback Sidney Jones undercut the route and intercepted Rodgers.

It was just the third interception of the year for Rodgers.

BILLY TURNER?: Green Bay’s right tackle has had a solid season, even playing some left tackle along the way. But Turner had a pair of crippling penalties Sunday.

Turner was a called for a chop block in the first quarter that wiped out a Green Bay first down. Then late in the first half, Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams hooked up for a 22-yard touchdown that was wiped away due to a holding penalty on Turner.

THE UGLY

SPECIAL TEAMS: Green Bay’s special teams have been problematic for years now. And they’re not much better this season.

Early in the second quarter, Jacksonville’s Keelan Cole returned a punt 91 yards for a touchdown to give the Jaguars a 10-7 lead. Cole’s punt return for a score was the longest against the Packers since Tampa Bay’s Jacquez Green had a 95-yarder in 1998.

Cole fielded the punt at the 9-yard line, and Green Bay’s Henry Black immediately over ran the play. Raven Greene and Jamaal Williams got out of their lanes and long snapper Hunter Bradley took a bad angle, allowing Cole to break free at the 35. Ty Summers also had a chance at the 45, but whiffed.

Cole reached the Packers’ 35 and the lone Packer with a chance to catch him was punter J.K. Scott. Cole took a step towards Scott, darted back toward the sideline, Scott stumbled and Cole was gone.

In addition, the Packers started inside their own 5-yard two different times when their punt returners let the ball roll and Jacksonville downed it before it reached the endzone.

Then late in the game, when Green Bay needed Scott to come up with a big punt, his kick went just 30 yards.