Packers get the best of Mike McCarthy is his Lambeau comeback. Season rescued? Maybe.

Look, in the long run, I have no idea what yesterday’s win means. I know what I WANT it to mean. I want it to mean a season turnaround. I want to mean that Christian Watson continues to show why he could be a special player. I want it to mean that the Packers found a safety in Rudy Ford. I want it to mean that Amari Rodgers will no longer return punts. That’s what I WANT. Time will tell if that’s what happens. Maybe yesterday will end up just being a temporary moment of happiness in a 6-win season, who knows.

BUT, if they do turn the beat around, and they go on a run, and they make the playoffs, I want that Mike McCarthy headset slamming gif to be the fulcrum point. That moment, when the Packer defense got a stop on 4th down in overtime, which led to McCarthy spiking his headset like a Christmas ham, as the single moment that turned a whole season would be spectacular. Let’s hope we’re referencing that moment again in 8 weeks as we get set for Packer Wild Card Weekend.

• The pessimists can say, ‘it’s only one game,’ all they want, but receivers don’t post 3 touchdown games on a lark. We’ve all known that Christian Watson has the God-given abilities. The size, the speed, hell he’s a taller version of Tyreek Hill. But he’s been undermined by hamstring injuries, and concussions, and a case of the drops. Which had two more of in the first quarter yesterday. But Rodgers continued to trust him (he didn’t really have an option) and when Watson hauled in that first touchdown catch, a beautiful over-the-shoulder snag, and scored his first touchdown, you could feel a momentum shift. Something in his brain clicked. If he can stay healthy and on the field, that will be his Neo, ‘I know kung-fu,’ moment. Also, this seems pretty good:

• Where were you for the Rudy Ford Game? Darnell Savage has been a MESS at safety this year, so when Eric Stokes went down for the season coming out of last week, they moved him to slot coverage. Enter: Rudy Ford. Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! Guy was FLYING around the field yesterday. He has the two picks, yes, but he was also making decisive solo-tackles in the run game. He’s not as young as Watson (29), and he’s on his fifth team since 2017, so I have less faith that he also had a Neo moment yesterday, but man does he look good. Let’s hope that’s the case.
• Aaron Jones FINALLY got the ball a decent amount. 24 carries for 138 yards (5.8 ypc) and a touchdown. He also chipped in two catches for 18 yards. Giving your most dynamic player the football=Good things happen! Who knew!
• In addition to Jones, Dillon put up 13 carries for 65 yards. 5 yards a clip, easily one of his best weeks of the season. For whatever reason he seems to be running into a brick wall this year, but yesterday (and the game in Buffalo) he looked more like himself.
• Shout out Isaiah McDuffie. 6th round pick from 2021 who had a 13 tackle day with De’Vondre Campbell still out yesterday.
• Also shout out Sammy Watkins. I think I called him a corpse on the podcast last week (very rude if I’m honest). He made a few nice plays, caught 3 balls for 47 yards. That’s honestly all we’re looking for from him. Just make a few plays, don’t be a ghost out there.
• Alright let’s talk about the bad: Amari Rodgers. Honestly, I’m not even mad at him anymore. He is what he is. When you put him back to return kicks, it’s 50/50 if he fields it cleanly, bobbles it, or fumbles it. We have a track record now, we have a large sample size. If the coaches want to continue to put him out there, then every mistake he makes is entirely on them at this point. If they don’t want to give up on his as a wide receiver and keep him on the active roster? Fine. I wouldn’t, but I’m not here to call for people to be fired from their jobs. But he cannot, CANNOT, be trusted to return kicks ever again.  EVER AGAIN.
• I also have no idea what the plan was on that final drive in regulation. Aaron Rodgers seemed…..shall we say ‘unhappy’ about the whole thing when he went to the sidelines after the failed 3rd down. They had time, they had timeouts, and they have a clutch kicker who needed about 30-35 yards for a decent attempt at a game winner in regulation. No clue what any of that was.

At the end of the day, it just feels good to win a game. I’m sure there are plenty of Packer fans out there who still think this season is going nowhere and are upset that the Packers hurt their draft position with the win. Fine, if that’s how you look at it, that’s how you look at it, I’m not here to tell you how to be a fan. All I know is that for the first time in 42 days the Packers won a football game they played in and that makes me happy. The Cowboys had been 195-0 in their franchise history when leading by 14 points or more after the 3rd quarter. The Packers rallied, and they did it against their former coach. Does it mean anything in the long run? That’s up to the team. But let me tell you this, if they beat a 6-3 Titans team on a short week, I’m fully back in. FULLY.

PS: It is sort of poetic the way things went for McCarthy in his return. One of the biggest knocks he had as a coach in Green Bay was that he got too conservative when they had a two-score lead in the second half. There’s one game in particular that sticks out as a BIG example of this, but I want this blog to be positive-vibes only, so I won’t mention it. But for that to be one of his biggest criticisms among Packer fans during his time here, and for that to be his undoing in his return with the Cowboys is, *CHEF’S KISS*.

Double PS: I don’t appreciate the Vikings not blowing things the way they normally do. Rude!