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By AtoZ SPORTS
Wendell Ferreira
Packers passed a valuable test in win over Seahawks, and it could pay off later this season
The first half was certainly more effective and stress-free than the second, but the Green Bay Packers beat the Seattle Seahawks 30-13 at Lumen Field, improving to 10-4 and basically clinching a playoff spot in the NFC — even though it’s not mathematically secured yet.
Tough environment, good test
Right before the game, NBC’s analyst Cris Collinsworth shared an excellent point. The Packers will make the playoffs, but it will be as a wild card team. To win the Super Bowl, they will have to win multiple road games. So it’s huge for them to get used to these tough places like Lumen Field.
And that’s exactly what the Packers did on Sunday night. The atmosphere of the game made it really look like a playoff game, and the young roster was unfazed for most of the time.
Overall, the offense slowed down in the second half. Part of that was because Mike Macdonald had some good adjustments to stop the run, which the Seahawks did much more effectively after halftime, and part was because Matt LaFleur was extremely conservative with his decision-making.
But the Packers had some big plays late on both sides of the ball to put the game away.
Josh Jacobs’ insane volume
The Packers signed Josh Jacobs in March because they wanted to give their starting running back volume. Well, Sunday Night Football was a big example of that. On the opening drive alone, Jacobs had nine touches (seven carries and two receptions), with 44 scrimmage yards, and a touchdown. He finished the first half with 17 touches and 111 scrimmage yards, which included an average of 5.2 yards per carry, impressively high for this volume.
And they were not doing it because they were forcing anything. It was working very well. The Packers had solid and explosive drives, finishing the first half with two touchdowns and two field goals — and the second field goal could have been another touchdown, had the Packers managed the clock better or had they been more aggressive at the end.
The Seahawks had allowed 17, 6, 21, and 18 points in their previous four games. The Packers scored 20 in a half.
The first bad play by Jacobs only came in the fourth quarter, when he suffered a fumble, recovered by the Seahawks. It was his first fumble since Week 2.
Jacobs had time to rest in the final minutes of the game, but still finished it with 30 touches for 136 scrimmage yards.
Edgerrin Cooper is back
During the week, head coach Matt LaFleur said Edgerrin Cooper added another element to the defense with his speed and athleticism. That might actually be an understatement. He changes the complexity of the unit.
Returning from a hamstring injury, Cooper killed the Seahawks opening drive with a sack on third down. He was always active, and it becomes much harder to throw in the middle of the Packers’ defense when he’s there.
But the Packers were trying to hold him a little bit. Whether it’s because he was coming back or it’s just because that has been the approach all season, Eric Wilson and Isaiah McDuffie were playing more snaps than Cooper, even after Quay Walker left the game with an ankle injury.
When Cooper was on the field, it seemed like he was always making impactful plays. He pressured and hit Geno Smith on the play the quarterback unfortunately got hurt, and then pressured backup Sam Howell on third down to finish the drive.
In the fourth quarter, he nearly picked off Howell and was able to break up his pass. And the interception came later, when the Packers needed it the most. The Seahawks were slowly getting back into the game, and the linebacker picked Howell off in the middle of the field.
In the final seconds, there was still time for a tackle for loss to close the game for good.
