The Packers bounced back in a big way Week 10 at Lambeau Field, beating the Seahawks 17-0 to give Green Bay an 8-2 record on the season. It was the first shutout of Head Coach Matt LaFleur’s tenure, and the first for Seattle with Russell Wilson at quarterback.
As has unfortunately been the norm for the 2021 Packers, despite pulling out a victory, the team also lost some key players to injury. Aaron Jones suffered an MCL sprain that will keep him sidelined a few weeks, Rashan Gary injured his elbow (but might be able to play through it with a brace), and Whitney Mercilus was lost for the season after injuring his biceps. He had registered his first sack with the Packers against Seattle.
In Jones’ absence on offense, AJ Dillon had one of his best performances as a Packer, rushing for 66 yards and two touchdowns with another 62 yards receiving.
“When he first exited the game, he looked at me and said, ‘Get the job done, finish it off,’” said Dillon of Jones. Dillon also had the team’s longest reception of the game, barrelling up the sideline for a 50-yard gain in the fourth quarter.
“He’s improved in all the areas that he needed to to become a more complete back,” Rodgers said of Dillon, mentioning that his two scores and 50-yard reception really were the three plays of the game on offense. “He’s a guy who’s become very very reliable.”
When Dillon was asked the key to gaining Rodgers’ trust in the offense, he said “consistency” was one of the biggest factors. “I really want to be somebody reliable in every situation,” adding he wants to be an “APB” or all-purpose back.
While much of the offense funneled through Dillon against Seattle, the Packers still have plenty to work on, entering halftime with over 200 yards of offense but only a 3-0 lead.
“If we’re not scoring 30-plus points, I think there’s a lot of room for wanting more and a desire to want more,” LaFleur said post-game. “Bottom line is, you have to celebrate each victory in this league and they’re tough to come by.”
The Packers offense had more balance this past week, however, with an even split of 10 rushing and 10 passing first downs. Green Bay had 393 total yards of offense with 106 rushing yards and 287 passing yards.
“We’ve gotta shore up the little things,” Rodgers said, adding that there were a number of missed opportunities for big plays, including in the red zone.
Rodgers finished the day with 292 yards on 23 completions, with one interception in the end zone for a rating of 75.5. Davante Adams led the receiving core with seven receptions for 78 yards, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling got involved in the offense once again hauling in a 41-yard catch down the sideline.
On defense, though, is where the Packers really shined. Wilson was sacked three times and threw two interceptions, both in the end zone, with Kevin King and Adrian Amos snagging the picks. Wilson had only 20 completions for 161 yards and ended the game with a rating of 39.7.
Seattle’s greatest weapons, receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, combined for only five receptions for 49 yards. Metcalf was also ejected late in the game for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“That was championship-level defense for sure,” Rodgers said of the team’s performance, adding that Green Bay’s most impressive defenses through the years have been opportunistic ones.
In addition to the two interceptions the Packers did come down with, Amos felt he could’ve come down with a few more, too.
“We’ve been battle tested throughout the season,” he said, adding that the defense has been in just about every situation you can be in from a football standpoint, mentioning overtime and game-winning end zone stands, and how that’ll help them the remainder of the year.
Even on Seattle’s final drive, it was important for Green Bay not to give up any easy points to close out the game.
“As a defense, we wanted to keep that goose egg on there,” King said of the team’s shutout, feeling that as each quarter went by it seemed more and more possible and the players knew they couldn’t give up anything cheap on Seattle’s final drive. “That was a great thing collectively for us to do.”
“We’ve been good in key moments. We’ve been closing out,” added Amos. “A lot of times when you’re up like that, you give them something cheap at the end. That was good to see we closed it out at the end.”
For the three-time MVP quarterback, after having the league’s best offense in 2020, it’s been exciting to watch the defense develop under new coordinator Joe Barry.
“I’m not going to say that we’re a defensive football team just yet, but we’ve definitely been playing like that the last few weeks,” Rodgers said smiling.
The Packers will face two tough NFC opponents before a much-needed bye in Week 13. First up, a trip to Minneapolis to take on the 4-5 Vikings who are coming off an impressive road win against the Chargers. With a four-game lead in NFC North and seven games yet to play, a win for Green Bay would help to wrap up the division. The game kicks off at 12 p.m. CST on FOX.
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Maggie Loney is a writer for Cheesehead TV and podcaster for the Pack-A-Day Podcast and Pack’s What She Said. Find her on Twitter at @MaggieJLoney.