Live look at both Packer and Bengal fans watching the end of yesterday’s game:
SNIP SNAP SNIP SNAP SNIP SNAP. What a roller coaster. Mason Crosby had hit 27 straight field goals before that meltdown in the 4th quarter. 27! A franchise record. We talked about it at length after his game winner in San Francisco a few weeks back: He’s been absolutely clutch since that debacle in Detroit in October of 2018. Well, we can say this about Mason Crosby, his bad days are few and far between, but when they’re bad, they’re BAD. He missed 5 kicks that day in Detroit, and almost 3 years to the day he misses 4 kicks in Cincinnati. 3 field goals, including 2 potential game winners, and an extra point. But unlike that day in Detroit in 2018, Mason had a chance for instant redemption, and he cashed in. 49 yarder to win it. I know a ton of people on Packer Twitter and Facebook yesterday were calling for him to be cut, but let me be clear about one thing: That’s a ridiculous notion. I was pulling out what’s left of my hair just like everyone else after those misses, but the guy has hit 71 of his last 78 field goals. About 92%. He’s one of the best kickers in the league. The last thing you want to do is cut a kicker who has proven to be clutch in the biggest moments, and who can kick in cold weather, and bring in some free agent off of the street. Trust me, we’d regret that come December.
- ^Related: That whole field goal/extra point procedure needs to be revamped. Going back to the game winner in San Francisco: That kick was a CENTIMETER away from being blocked. Then the Steelers had the block/recovery/touchdown called back on a suspect offsides call at Lambeau last week. And several kicks yesterday were almost blocked. In almost every instance, there’s a ton of pressure coming from the right side of the line. You wonder if Mason was trying to compensate for that and get those kicks off quicker. He missed left on almost every miss, so if pressure is coming from the right side, that would make some sense. But it wasn’t just Mason yesterday.
- Like a lot of Packer fans I had memories of Tom Brady to Scotty Miller in the NFC Championship Game come flooding back when Joe Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase on a bomb touchdown to end the first half yesterday. But yesterday’s wasn’t as egregious even though it was equally frustrating. Unlike Kevin King in January, Darnell Savage was right there in position to make a play. And I still can’t figure out how he didn’t knock that ball down or pick it off. It’s like the ball went right through him.
- This Bengals team has a ‘Packers from 1993’ vibe all over them. Talented young quarterback, talents stable of wide receivers, good young tailback and a promising defense. Burrow even reminds me of Favre a little bit. He makes some huge plays, and then he makes a play like he did on the first play of overtime where he essentially threw directly to De’Vondre Campbell. Very Favrian.
- Speaking of De’Vondre Campbell, what a find by Brian Gutekunst and his team. Rodgers talked about him after yesterday’s game, basically saying to the media they he couldn’t believe they plucked this guy off of the street. He’s 5th in the NFL in tackles, he’s got a fumble recovery and two interceptions already, the guy not only reliable, he’s a playmaker.
- Davante Adams has 42 catches for 579 yards. He’s played 5 games. Live look at contract negotiations after every single week this season:
- He’s never going to have the sack numbers because of the way this defense is built, but Kenny Clark is absolutely BULLYING people in the middle of that line. Biff Tannon bullying.
- ^Related: I thought the defense actually looked pretty good yesterday. Obviously you’d love for them to stop giving up touchdowns every single time the opposing team is in the red zone (suboptimal), but overall I felt like they were flying around and making sure tackles just about the entire day. There have been steady improvements every week following the dumpster fire against New Orleans in Week 1. Maybe Joe Barry is just a master of expectation management.
- I loved Jamaal Williams when he was in Green Bay, but the AJ Dillon/Aaron Jones combo is much, MUCH better. Dillon is a beast. And weren’t we all told he couldn’t catch coming out of college?? 4 catches for 49 yards and a touchdown yesterday. The man has to be absolutely frightening to try and tackle in the open field.
- The Bengals playing “Bang on the Drum” after big plays just like the Packers do at Lambeau Field should be outlawed. It had me in a mental pretzel all afternoon! Every time I hear that song I think something good happened for the Packers. NOPE. Not yesterday. The winner of the next Bengals/Packers matchup should get to keep that as their touchdown song. Sort of a WWF, ‘Loser Leaves Town,’ match.
Overall, as ugly as the end of the game was, the Packers did what they had to do to get a win against an up-and-coming team at their place. And it’s a big win too. Yesterday started a stretch of three winnable games (Cincy, at Chicago, at home against Washington) before the schedule really turns. After the next two weeks you’ve got a road game against Arizona on a short week (Thursday Night Football) and a road game against Mahomes and the Chiefs. The Seahawk game following the trip to Arrowhead looks less threatening with the Russell Wilson injury, but you also have a date with the Rams before the bye week. You absolutely want to get these next two games and get to 6-1 before a rigorous stretch of games.
PS: To say I am not prepared to jump back into the blender that is postseason baseball at noon on a Monday is a MASSIVE understatement. Linds and I were at both games at Miller Park on Friday and Saturday and it didn’t take long to remember that close, playoff baseball is basically 4 hours of torture. Into the boiler again, dear friends.
