Great teams can win games in multiple ways.
The Green Bay Packers made the key plays to beat the Los Angeles Rams 24-19 on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. The victory wasn’t secured until Karl Brooks’ sack on second down and Evan Williams’ breakup on fourth down.
Jordan Love starred as the Packers got hot down the stretch to make the playoffs last year. Against the Rams, Love rode on the coattails of a big-play defense and his big tight end.
By winning the 100th matchup in series history, the Packers improved to 3-2, a huge win considering every team in the NFC North is over .500. The Rams, with a star-studded injury list, fell to 1-4.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur is 5-0 against his former boss, Rams coach Sean McVay.
Green Bay was in trouble to start the second half. The Rams led 13-10 and were in scoring position when Kingsley Enagbare punched the ball out of star running back Kyren Williams’ hands.
Xavier McKinney recovered, and the Packers were in the end zone moments later. On second-and-6 from the 34, Love found tight end Tucker Kraft wide open on the left sideline at midfield. Kraft had a head of steam when he ran through a pair of defenders for a 66-yard touchdown.
Just like that, the Packers led 17-13.
Wait a second. Just like that, the Packers led 24-13.
On third-and-10, Stafford’s deep pass to Tutu Atwell hung in the air too long and McKinney grabbed the interception. It was his fifth interception in as many games this season, becoming the first player since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger with an interception in his first five games with his new team.
Screens to Josh Jacobs for 21 and Kraft for 7 yards and the touchdown put Green Bay up by 11. On the play to Jacobs, the ball was at his ankles but he made the catch, then broke a tackle to account for 19 of the yards. On the touchdown, there’s no denying Kraft when he’s in the open field.
Green Bay took a big bite out of the fourth quarter with a long drive to start the period. Green Bay was 0-for-5 on third down in the first three quarters until Love scrambled for 12 on third-and-12. He ran through an ankle-tackle attempt by rookie defensive lineman Braden Fiske. Later, on third-and-5, Love coaxed Fiske offside for another first down.
However, the Rams needed only 2 1/2 minutes to cut the deficit to 24-19. Stafford had one easy pass after another, including on the 1-yard touchdown to Demarcus Robinson against Eric Stokes, who slipped at the start of the play. Carrington Valentine, however, stopped Tutu Atwell on a jet sweep on the two-point play with 3:30 to go.
The Packers needed to at least burn some clock. Instead, even with Jacobs opening the drive with a 13-yard run, they took just 33 seconds off the clock. Love’s first-down pass was batted down at the line and his third-down pass was underthrown. Making matters worse, punter Daniel Whelan’s kick traveled just 28 yards.
Two first downs moved the ball into the Packers’ end of the field. On second-and-5 from Green Bay’s 38, Brooks, Preston Smith and Colby Wooden met at the quarterback, with Brooks getting the sack. On fourth-and-5, Williams made a superb break on the ball to break up the pass to Colby Parkinson to clinch the win.
The Packers mostly were a dysfunctional mess on offense during the first half.
After Love’s sensational 53-yard bomb to Jayden Reed set up Jacobs for his first touchdown with the Packers, their next three possessions failed to get a first down.
On the third of those possessions, the Packers didn’t block standout pass rusher Byron Young, who ran down Love on a designed rollout and hit him from behind. Love stayed on his feet but chucked one in the flat to Kraft. It was the worst throwaway imaginable, with the ball going right to Jaylen McCollough for an interception and 4-yard return for a touchdown to put the Rams up 13-7 just before the 2-minute warning.
Green Bay put together a good drive to potentially take the lead at halftime, with completions of 12 yards to Bo Melton and 18 yards to Reed helping move the ball into the red zone. However, the protection faltered on a receiver screen to Reed. Love’s pass was behind Reed for a backward pass and a loss of 19.
Brayden Narveson’s 46-yard field goal cut the deficit to 13-10 at the break.
Offensively, Green Bay was 0-for-5 on third down, including the pick-six and a bad drop by Reed. Defensively, they gave up 88 rushing yards and got almost no pressure on Matthew Stafford aside from a key third-down sack by linebacker Edgerrin Cooper.
