Maybe it was a rare visit from an AFC team, the lowly one win Jaguars from Jacksonville, perhaps it was the first noon start at Lambeau this year or it might have been the fact that the Pack's inactive list was loaded with six starters. Whatever it was, Green Bay nearly sleepwalked their way to a colossal upset at home but found a way to turn back the visiting Jaguars 24-15 before 70,464 on a sun splashed, 44 degree afternoon. The mounting injuries of recent weeks forced Mike McCarthy to cut short practice every day last week. The inactive list for the game included Charles Woodson, Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, John Kuhn, Sam Shields and Nick Perry. Backups became starters on both sides of the ball against a Jacksonville team that ranked last in the league offensively and near the bottom defensively. Just showing up would be enough right? Not quite. Jacksonville struck first with a Josh Scobee field goal of 38 yards set up by Justin Blackmon's 36 yard catch. Green Bay answered on their second offensive series, driving 69 yards in 9 plays. Aaron Rodgers was four for four hitting four different receivers. Jermichael Finley's 20 yard grab to the five was followed by a Rodgers scramble to his left before hitting Randall Cobb at the back of the end zone for a 7-3 lead. The defense snuffed a Jaguar drive in Packer territory when Brad Jones stripped Rashad Jennings and Morgan Burnett recovered the fumble at the 20 yard line. The Packer offense couldn't move and punted it back to Jacksonville and when they lined up to punt at their own 37, Davon House poured in off their right side to block Bryan Anger's kick. The ball rolled backward and was batted by Jamari Lattimore and then Robert Francois before it carried into the end zone where it was recovered by rookie Dezmon Moses for the touchdown and a 14-3 lead. The rout was imminent right? Wrong. On the next Jacksonville series, Blaine Gabbert hit Jennings for a 24 yard play and Cecil Shorts III reeled in a 35 yarder to set up Scobee's second field goal from 22 yards out. Give the defense credit for a red zone denial but it was now 14-6. On the first play after the kickoff, Rodgers was sacked and fumbled with the Jags recovering at the 13. Five plays later, Gabbert off play action connected with the heaviest player to catch a touchdown pass in the NFL this year, 315 pound offensive lineman Guy Whimper hauled in the one yarder as a tackle eligible receiver. The Jags tried to tie the score with a two point try but Gabbert couldn't hit Blackmon. Green Bay's defense came out with a lot more energy to start the third quarter, holding Jacksonville to three straight, three and out series. But the offense continued to misfire. On the second series, McCarthy called another trick play. Lining up for a 55 yard field goal, the team shifted into a shotgun formation with holder Tim Masthay at quarterback. He rolled to his left and tried a cross field pass to D.J. Williams but it was woefully short. On the next series, Crosby tried a 32 yard field goal but it bounced off the right upright. James Jones opened the fourth quarter with a 31 yard grab over the middle, the biggest offensive play of the day and Donald Driver capped the march with a four yard touchdown grab making it a two score, 21-12 lead. The Jags answered with a field goal drive cutting the score to 21-15 with 6:50 to play. The Packers went three and out again but the defense bailed 'em out with a stop on 4th down from the Green Bay 44. A huge pass interference penalty of William Middleton covered 38 yards on third and 7 to the Jacksonville 13 and Green Bay drained the clock to set up Crosby's 25 yard field goal with :28 left for the final margin. Jacksonville outgained the Pack 341-238, the lowest yardage output of the season. The Packers managed 66 on the ground, 54 on 22 carries from Alex Green. Rodgers hit 22 of 35 for a mere 186 yards with two scores and he was sacked twice, finishing with a passer rating of 95.7. The two TD passes moved Rodgers to 21 on the season, 153 for his career, passing Bart Starr for second place all time. Perhaps this team has a way of playing down to the level of competition with a lackluster second half in Indianapolis and a full game of shaky executive against and even worse Jaguars team. But it's a bottom line business and the bottom line says 5-3 at the midpoint with one more before a badly needed bye after the Arizona Cardinals come calling next week. Only two more injuries of note from the game, Jerel Worthy suffered a concussion on the second half kickoff and didn't return and Mike Neal left with an ankle injury in the 4th quarter. On the link below, the post game quotes from the coach and the players.
Packers beat Jags


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