The Green Bay Packers defeated the New England Patriots at home on Sunday. The Packers made a comeback in overtime after veteran kicker Mason Crosby recorded a 31-yard game-winning field goal.
The Packers needed a ten-minute overtime period to win over the Patriots. They led the game at halftime but had to settle for overtime in the second half. In the third and fourth quarters, New England scored a touchdown and turned the pressure back to the Packers.
Then, star quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed a touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs, allowing Rodgers to drive down the field for the game-winning field goal with no time remaining in overtime.
After halftime, Rodgers threw a pair of touchdown passes to reach 500 for his career. His second pass carried the score to 24. In the fourth quarter, it appeared that Rodgers had a third, but Doubs couldn’t hold the ball as he made contact with the ground, and the game went to overtime.
The Packers used the final 6:47 remaining with a 12-play, 77-yard drive to set up Crosby’s 31-yard game-winning field goal.
Rodgers thinks Packers could be better
Despite their victory and improving performance, Rodgers was unsatisfied with their last performance. The reigning MVP acknowledged that he had “terrible” plays at times but the Packers should win the game against this New England team after they are losing Mac Jones to injury.
The veteran quarterback was also asked about whether winning in this fashion is the way to go this season. He disagreed.
“This way of winning, I don’t think, is sustainable, because it puts too much pressure on our defense,” Rodgers said. “Obviously, I’ve got to play better — and will play better… But, we’ve got to play better in all three phases. That being said, listen, this is a New England team that’s not as bad as their record. They’re 1-3, they’re obviously incredibly well-coached.”
Late in the first half, Rodgers threw his fourth career pick-six interception. He completed 21 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns. Rodgers completed passes of 22 yards to Allen Lazard, 11 yards to Cobb, and 17 yards to Doubs on plays to set up Crosby’s kick. He went 7-for-9 on such throws in the second half for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
“I settled in and usually don’t have two terrible halves,” Rodgers said. “So I kind of returned to the form I expect from myself, and we started moving the football.”
Rodgers averaged a season-high 9.0 air yards per attempt in the final game after averaging a league-low 5.2 in the first three weeks, leading the Packers to 199 yards rushing.
LaFleur needs to clean up for Packers
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur also said that his team was “not looking good”, but he was relieved because Green Bay eventually managed to win.
“Every week has new challenges, and I thought there was a lot of good things we did, and there’s a lot of things that we’ve got to clean up,” the head coach said. “But the bottom line is as soon as you think you have a game won before the game’s even played, a lot of times that bites you in the butt.”
LaFleur added that the Packers have a lot to clean up before heading to the next game. Green Bay improved to 3-1 this season before their trip to London next week to play against the New York Giants.