The Green Bay Packers kept their slim NFL playoff hopes alive on Monday with a 24-12 victory over the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers connected on 22 of 30 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown with one interception as Green Bay improved to 6-8.
AJ Dillon brought the heat at chilly Lambeau Field in Green Bay, running for two touchdowns for the home side.
That included barrelling through the line for a one-yard TD that gave the Packers a 17-6 lead in the third quarter.
Rodgers then connected with Aaron Jones on a seven-yard touchdown.
The Rams cut the deficit on Baker Mayfield’s eight-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Higbee, but the Packers defense clamped down with an interception and a fifth sack of Mayfield.
Mayfield, who was claimed off waivers this month after injuries to starter Matthew Stafford and backup John Wolford, completed 12 of 21 passes for 111 yards.
He had led the Rams to a shock win over Las Vegas last week in his first appearance for the team.
But the Rams, already off to the worst start by any reigning Super Bowl champion, fell to 4-10 and were eliminated from playoff contention.
With three games remaining, the Packers trail the Washington Commanders for the final NFC playoff spot.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 238 yards and a touchdown while Green Bay Packers defenders intercepted three passes in the fourth quarter in a 26-20 NFL victory on Sunday at Miami.
The triumph lifts the Packers to 7-8, level with Seattle and Detroit and one-half game behind Washington for the final NFC playoff berth.
Green Bay picked off Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa to set up field goals of 28 and 26 yards by Mason Crosby and a final Packers interception by Rasul Douglas in the dying seconds sealed their third victory in a row.
“A special day for us. Our defense came up and played outstanding,” Rodgers said. “We were down 20-10 and scored the last 16 points. Offensively we struggled in the red zone. But this was special.”
The Dolphins suffered their fourth consecutive defeat and fell to 8-7, clinging to the last AFC playoff berth by a single game over four rivals with two games remaining.
Packers were aided with Saturday losses by Detroit, Seattle and Washington
“Everything we needed to happen this weekend happened,” Rodgers said. “I’m really proud of our team. We found a way to win and the way our defense stepped up the last few drives was outstanding.”
The Packers finish with home games in frigid Green Bay against Detroit and Minnesota, who play in enclosed venues.
“Couple of dome teams coming in,” Rodgers noted. “It has been cold up in Green Bay.”
In a matchup of teams eliminated from playoff contention, the Los Angeles Rams routed visiting Denver 51-14.
Cam Akers carried 23 times for 118 yards and three touchdowns while Baker Mayfield completed 24 of 28 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns for the Rams, who had four interceptions in the romp.
“When you are able to run the ball like that, everything works,” said Mayfield.
Tampa Bay will play later at Arizona with the Buccaneers (6-8) needing a road victory to stay ahead of Carolina and New Orleans in the NFC South division.
Aaron Rodgers wants the Green Bay Packers to embrace their underdog status as the struggling team bids to snap a three-game losing streak against the in-form Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
After winning three of their first four games, the Packers’ season has gone off the rails in recent weeks with defeats to the New York Giants, New York Jets and Washington Commanders leaving the team at 3-4.
On paper, there couldn’t be a worse time for the Packers to be heading to Western New York to face Josh Allen and the Bills (5-1), who are well-rested after a bye week that followed a statement victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
But Rodgers believes the fact that the Packers are being written off — bookmakers make the Bills favorites to win by more than 10 points — can be turned into a positive.
“Embrace the fact that nobody is expecting you to win … I’ve always enjoyed that feeling,” the veteran Green Bay quarterback said this week ahead of Sunday’s nationally televised prime-time fixture.
“For these guys with a lot to prove, hopefully they embrace that as well. It’s time to make a name for yourself in this league. There’s a lot of guys that are going to get opportunities on Sunday on national TV with millions and millions of people watching.
“Great time for some of those guys to step into the limelight.”
Rodgers could head into Sunday’s game with an offense denuded by injuries.
Star receiver Randall Cobb has already been ruled out, while Allen Lazard is also doubtful with a shoulder injury.
It has left some wondering whether the Packers may even struggle to reach the playoffs this season.
However, Packers coach Matt LaFleur says his team can’t hide behind the injuries to explain recent difficulties.
“To me, that’s nothing more than an excuse,” LaFleur said of the Packers’ injury problems.
“You’ve got to find a way. We’ve got to do a better job of putting our guys in position. We’ve got to do a better job collectively.”
Rams eye 49ers revenge
Elsewhere on Sunday, the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams have the chance to get their season back on track in a divisional battle against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Rams have stumbled through the opening weeks of the campaign, struggling to find the offensive consistency that carried them to an NFL championship last season.
The Rams (3-3) were comprehensively outplayed by the 49ers earlier this month, losing 24-9.
Since then, the 49ers have strengthened their offense with the recruitment of running back Christian McCaffrey, giving Rams coach Sean McVay another defensive headache going into Sunday’s game at SoFi Stadium.
“There’s no limitations in his game,” McVay said of McCaffrey.
“So we have to be able to play sound defense, do a great job. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
A victory for the Rams could see them pull ahead of the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West divisional race.
The Seahawks (4-3) host the New York Giants (6-1) on Sunday in what is the only fixture between two teams with winning records.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll has spent the week devising a plan to nullify Giants running back Saquon Barkley, who is currently second in the league for overall rushing yards with 726.
“He has everything,” Carroll said.
“He’s got power, he’s got speed, he’s got tremendous elusiveness and his tackle-breaking ability is as good as anybody that plays the game.
“He poses the ultimate threat … This is as hard as it gets.”
The Philadelphia Eagles (6-0), meanwhile, will be expected to extend their perfect start to the season to seven games when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Eagles signaled their determination to mount a championship campaign this week after trading for top pass rusher Robert Quinn from the Chicago Bears.
Quinn will make his debut against the Steelers (2-5) in what should be a straightforward assignment for Philadelphia.
Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to a shock 21-3 loss to the unfancied Carolina Panthers while Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers suffered a third straight defeat with a 23-21 loss at Washington in the NFL on Sunday.
The results leave the two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks with losing records after seven games, with both Tampa Bay and Green Bay on 3-4.
The Panthers traded their main offensive talent, running back Christian McCaffrey, to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday and came into the clash as heavy underdogs.
But Carolina nullified seven-time Super Bowl champion Brady and the Buccaneers’ offense in an impressive display.
Brady was 32-of-49 for 290 yards as the 45-year-old’s Bucs suffered a fourth loss, leaving the former New England Patriots star in the worst position he has found himself in at this stage in a season for 20 years.
Tom Brady’s Frustration
While Brady was frustrated by a resilient Panthers defense, his opposite number, former XFL quarterback P.J. Walker, deputising for the injured Baker Mayfield, delivered a first win for Panthers interim coach Steve Wilks.
Walker found D.J. Moore at the back of the end zone with a 20-yard pass to give the Panthers the lead in the second quarter and Chuba Hubbard’s 17-yard touchdown run made it 14-0 in the third.
All the Bucs could manage was a 27-yard field goal from Ryan Succop in the fourth before Walker delivered again, finding Tommy Tremble with a 29-yard touchdown pass to secure the victory.
“I think we all just need to do our job better. There’s no easy way about it,” said Brady.
“Anytime you score three points, that pretty much sums it up. We’re plenty capable of making plays, we’re just not making them consistently enough to score points. We make a big play, make a bad play, make a big play, make a bad play. In football that’s just not good enough. You can’t play like that,” Brady added.
Rodgers also found himself beaten by a backup quarterback, as Taylor Heinicke and the Commanders came from behind for a narrow win.
A four-yard pass from Rodgers to Aaron Jones gave the Packers a first-quarter lead and they extended that to 14-3 with De’Vondre Campbell’s 63-yard interception return early in the second.
But Heinicke started the comeback with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Gibson, trimming the half-time deficit to 14-10, and then put Washington ahead thanks to a superb 37-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Terry McLaurin.
Rodgers ‘not worried’
Two field goals for Washington gave them a nine-point lead before Rodgers again connected with Jones to make it a two-point game.
To add to his disappointment, it was Rodgers who threw a lateral out of bounds in the desperate final play of the game.
Despite the setback, 38-year-old Rodgers said he wasn’t overly concerned about the team’s form, believing they would bounce back strongly.
“I’m not worried about this squad. In fact, this might be the best thing for us,” he said.
The leading quarterback of a younger generation, Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, offered another example of his quality, recovering from an interception on the team’s first drive in a 44-23 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Mahomes threw for 423 yards and three touchdowns in the rematch of the 2019 season Super Bowl.
Chiefs receiver Mecole Hardman had a stellar day with three touchdowns — two rushing and one eight yard catch.
It was also a good day for returning Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott, who led the Cowboys over Detroit 24-6 in his first appearance since a thumb injury in week one. The Cowboys are 5-2 while the Lions fell to 1-5.
Prescott finished with 207 passing yards and one touchdown in 25 attempts, completing 19 of them as Dallas relied primarily on their defense and running game.
The Seattle Seahawks (4-3) took over top spot in the NFC West with rookie running back Kenneth Walker III powering to two touchdowns and 168 yards on 23 carries in a 37-23 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
The New York Giants claimed their fourth straight victory with a 23-17 triumph over the Jacksonville Jaguars, with quarterback Daniel Jones finishing with a career-high 107 rushing yards on 11 carries as well as throwing for 202 yards.
The Tennessee Titans remained in charge of the AFC South division after beating the Indianapolis Colts 19-10.
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By the end of the 2022 season, Rex Grossman and Aaron Rodgers will both have appeared in as many Super Bowls over their respective careers.
That’s due to the fact that the Green Bay Packers squandered their chance to secure a postseason spot by shocking the Detroit Lions 20-16 on Sunday at Lambeau Field. To transform a 4-8 season start into a five-game winning streak and postseason appearance, the Packers only needed to protect home-field advantage, but the Lions had other plans and played spoiler.
The Seattle Seahawks are the NFC postseason bracket’s seventh and final seed as a consequence.
The offence of Green Bay was largely to be blamed for the loss since it frequently missed scoring opportunities and because Aaron Rodgers threw a crucial interception in the final minutes. Aidan Hutchinson was difficult for the offensive line to stop, the team frequently committed mistakes at bad times, and the rushing offence never really took off.
Because Seattle’s overtime victory over the Los Angeles Rams had already eliminated the Lions, the onus was entirely on the visiting team. And, at least offensively, the Packers performed accordingly.
In a first half that saw Aaron Jones lose a fumble and attempt a failed fourth down, Green Bay only scored three field goals. Not much changed when a drive stalled once more and Mason Crosby missed a field goal by hitting the crossbar to open the second half.
Rodgers never touched the ball again after throwing a dreadful interception to Kerby Joseph.
Fans have posted a video of Aaron Rodgers being mocked in his post game interviews. Inappropriate noises were added to the Twitter video making fun of the player losing the game against his opponents.
His opposing team, the Lions, responded to the tweet with “We kept the receipts.” The Lions then were congratulated for winning the Super Bowl. This is of course a sarcastic response as the Lions have not won the Super Bowl since 1991 and are dubbed as the “longest postseason win drought.”
Fans were agreeing with the mockery that is happening to Aaron Rogers as they feel that he deserves it after his time on the field. Fans also hope that he learns his lesson to be more humble when being interviewed next time as he might definitely be badly beaten as he did in this match again.
Others claimed that he is obnoxious and cannot wait until he transfers to another team. Fans also stated that he should’ve retired five years ago.
Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles ran over Green Bay on Sunday, knocking Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers out in the third quarter of a 40-33 NFL victory.
The Eagles improved their NFL-best record to 10-1 while the Packers, their playoff ambitions in tatters, fell to 4-8.
“We got the GOAT!” Eagles quarterback Hurts said in a post-game television interview, though he was quick to wish four-time NFL Most Valuable Player Rodgers a speedy recovery.
Rodgers, already nursing a broken thumb, said he suffered a rib injury in the first half, which was aggravated in the third quarter apparently when he absorbed one of three sacks on the night.
“I was just having a hard time breathing and rotating my upper body,” Rodgers said. “I was worried about a punctured lung as well, so I wanted to get that checked out. I’ll get a scan tomorrow.”
Rodgers said his lung was fine, and despite “intense” pain he envisioned playing next weekend “as long as I check out OK tomorrow.”
The Packers had trimmed the deficit to 34-23 with a field goal before Rodgers departed.
Backup Jordan Love connected with Christian Watson for a 63-yard touchdown and authored a field goal drive, but it wasn’t enough against the formidable Eagles offense.
Hurts piled on 310 total yards, completing 16 of 28 passes for two touchdowns. His 157 rushing yards set the Eagles’ single-game record for a quarterback as the team gained a whopping 363 yards on the ground.
Hurts connected with Quez Watkins for a 30-yard touchdown to make it 27-20 at halftime, and pushed the lead to 34-20 midway through the third with a six-yard scoring pass to A.J. Brown.
Bengals claim victory
Elsewhere on Sunday, the suddenly surging Cincinnati Bengals claimed a third straight victory on Sunday as the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs both took their win streaks to five games.
The Bengals, who fell to the Los Angeles Rams in last season’s Super Bowl, beat the AFC South-leading Tennessee Titans, 20-16, in Nashville.
Quarterback Joe Burrow hit Tee Higgins with a 27-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to secure a fifth win in six games for the 7-4 Bengals.
“This is the kind of game that great teams win,” Burrow said. “It’s not always going to be pretty. This is the NFL. You’re playing really, really good teams on the opposing end.
“You’ve got to find ways to win, and we’re starting to do that.”
In Kansas City, the Chiefs notched a 26-10 win over the Rams in a game quarterback Patrick Mahomes called “ugly.”
Mahomes threw one TD, Isiah Pacheco ran for another and Harrison Butker kicked four field goals as the Chiefs failed to convert five of their six red-zone scoring chances into touchdowns.
“I felt like we didn’t execute at a high level in the red zone,” Mahomes said. “I threw a dumb, dumb interception there at the end of the game. But it’s a team game. The defense stepped up — they played great.”
Browns down Bucs
Miami’s fifth straight victory was a comfortable 30-15 decision against the hapless Houston Texans.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw for 299 yards and one touchdown and extended his run without an interception to four games.
The Las Vegas Raiders won a shootout in Seattle in overtime, beating the Seahawks, 40-34.
In Cleveland, Nick Chubb ran in an overtime touchdown to give the Browns a 23-17 comeback win over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay had led 17-10 going into the fourth quarter after Brady had found Ko Kieft with a five-yard pass in the third.
But with 32 seconds left on the clock, Browns quarterback Jacoby Brissett found David Njoku in the endzone to take the game into overtime.
Trevor Lawrence threw for three touchdowns and 321 yards as the Jacksonville Jaguars upset the Baltimore Ravens, 28-27.
Lawrence found Marvin Jones with a 10-yard touchdown pass with 14 seconds left and then found Zay Jones for the game-winning two-point conversion.
Ravens kicker Justin Tucker missed a 67-yard field goal on the last play, an attempt which would have had to beat his own NFL record field goal distance of 66 yards set against Detroit in September 2021.
