GreenBay Packers vs Cleveland Browns

The Packers put together back-to-back blowouts this week as they had another dominating performance, this time at the expense of the Cleveland Browns. But do these back-to-back wins reveal and true improvement in the team?

The win by no means removes all question about the Packers’ ability to compete against quality teams, but the results of the game have certainly aroused some hope.

Packers/Browns Recap

For the second week in a row, the Packers handed a loss to an inferior opponent. This time they mustered a dominating performance against the Cleveland Browns.

The Packer offense was able to generate 460 yards of total offense against the Browns and averaged an impressive 7.3 yards per play.

Aaron Rodgers and company continued to perform well in the passing game. Rodgers completed 15 passes out of 20 for 246 yards. Once again Rodgers’ completion percentage was well over 70% (75%). All totaled the Packers gathered in 258 yards passing.

GreenBay’s total passing yards were down, but that was largely due to the fact that the Packers seem to have found a running game. Ryan Grant finally made it over 100 yards this season with a solid 148 yard performance, averaging 5.5 yards per carry.

Packer fans were also treated to the return of an effective westcoast offense. The slant, catch, and run earned Donald Driver 84 yards and a touchdown on just two catches. He moved up to #11 on the leagues “yards after catch” category. Greg Jennings has been fairly quiet lately, but is still tied for #16 overall in YAC.

The defense put up another great run-stopping performance. Other than allowing Lewis one 16 yard gain, GreenBay controlled the line of scrimmage and kept the Browns’ run game in check.

The one weapon the Packers really had to worry about in this game, Josh Cribbs, never became a factor in the game. The Packers held him to a single run for one yard, a single catch for a loss of a yard, two returns that averaged 34 each, and they forced him to turn over the ball on a fumble.

Of course, for Packer fans everywhere, the most important statistic is the number of sacks the offensive line allowed… zero.

Packers/Vikings Preview

Now the Packers have to start looking forward to a must-win. Sunday’s game against the Vikings isn’t really a do-or-die game, but it’s the Packer’s chance to show that they’re back in form whether they’re playing weak teams or strong teams.

The Vikings are coming off a 17-27 loss to the Pittsburg Steeler that has revealed some consistent weaknesses in their team.

Once again, Adrian Peterson had a sub-100 game gaining only 69 yards on 18 attempts. That’s an average of 3.8 yards per carry against the Steelers. And, running the ball is something the Vikings have struggled with this season. They’re averaging 4.3 yards per carry. Ironically, that’s the exact same average the Packers have. The Vikings are a run-first offense and their run has struggled so far.

That’s ok because they’ve had number 4 throwing the ball this season. Brett has a 102.6 passer rating and some of that old fourth quarter magic has contributed to Vikings wins this season.

Against the Steelers however, Brett was only able to complete one pass for a touchdown… and that one was to the wrong team. Keyaron Fox picked off a tipped Favre pass and ran it back for six points to seal the game for the Steelers.

Contributing to the fact that Brett never found the endzone was the four sacks the Steelers’ defense laid on the Vikings. That was one of the keys to the loss in the first Packers/Vikings game. The Packers stopped Peterson in their first meeting, but never chased Brett around. Instead, Favre stood in the pocket all night and found open receivers.

If the Packers can muster another sackless game, stop Adrian Peterson, and chase Brett around so he can’t just stand and sling it, they can win this game. And what a sweet victory it would be.

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