The story leading into this game was Green Bay being without their top wide receivers in Davante Adams and Allen Lazard who are both on the reserve/Covid list. The narrative was that there would be no way they could beat the undefeated Arizona Cardinals without their weapons. The moral of the story ended up being: never count out Aaron Rodgers. Even without his best receiving weapons, Rodgers was able to battle the whole game, make the plays when he needed to, and pull out the upset victory for the Packers.
Aaron Rodgers went 22 for 37 for 184 yards and threw 2 touchdowns to lead the Packers to a huge prime time win. His longest completion came towards the end of the 3rd quarter and was a 33-yard pass to Robert Tonyan to set up what would be the winning touchdown. He meticulously worked the defense on short passes all night and utilized his backup pass catchers and his running back effectively like a true veteran.
Aaron Jones led the Packers in receptions with 7 catches for 51 yards and added 15 carries for 59 yards on the ground with a touchdown. He had a second rushing touchdown in the 4th quarter that ended up being overturned on replay after it was determined that he was just short of the goal line. It could have been a 30-point night for Jones, but I’m sure his fantasy managers are happy with the 24 they got out of him on Thursday night to start off the week.
AJ Dillon also ran well in this game and had more carries than Jones. He was involved early in the game with the Packers knowing they would have to rely on Jones late as a runner and a receiver. Dillon had 16 carries for 78 yards and ran hard while picking up some tough first downs. Jones and Dillon are a very effective 1-2 punch for Green Bay.
Randall Cobb was the recipient of both touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers. He hauled in a 2-yard and a 6-yard touchdown both in the 2nd half. When Rodgers got into the redzone, he knew he could count on his old reliable receiver to find the hole in the defense in the endzone. Cobb only finished with 3 catches for 15 yards, but the 2 touchdown catches were crucial in this Packers win.
Robert Tonyan, who many expected to have a big game with the receivers out, had a fairly quiet game. He caught 3 passes for 49 yards with the bulk of that being on the 33-yard catch in the 3rd quarter. He went down holding his knee on that play and limped into the locker room. This will be something to monitor in the coming days as it didn’t look good for Tonyan.
Kyler Murray had a rough night and looked very uncomfortable in the first half. He was sacked twice and wasn’t connecting with his receivers. He was efficient, going 22 for 33 and threw for 274 yards but he had no touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He had a chance to win the game in the final minute and drove his team the length of the field only to throw a game-ending interception in the endzone on a play that looked like miscommunication with his receiver AJ Green. Kyler looked to Green in single coverage but Green looked to be blocking and never turned around to catch the pass. Instead, Rasul Douglas saw the pass and intercepted Murray to end the game. It was a rough ending for Murray who was seen limping off the field after that play. Keep an eye on this injury as well as I’m sure many fantasy managers are counting on Kyler.
DeAndre Hopkins was also dealing with an injury in this game. He was questionable leading up to the game with a hamstring injury and left the game in the 1st half after a big 55-yard reception. He returned intermittently but was not a factor the rest of the game. Hopkins finished with only 2 catches for 66 yards.
The 3 touchdowns for Arizona all came from the running backs. Chase Edmonds had an 11-yard touchdown run in the 1st quarter that opened the scoring for the game and finished with 7 carries for 30 yards and the touchdown. He added 3 receptions as well for another 39 yards. James Conner only carried 5 times for 22 yards, but he had 2 short yardage touchdowns to save his night. His 2-yard and 9-yard touchdowns in the second half kept Arizona in the game but ultimately it was not enough.
AJ Green led the Cardinals in receptions with 5 catches for 50 yards but his mistake at the end of the game was what will be talked about. Christian Kirk added 4 catches for 46 yards and Zach Ertz also chipped in with 4 receptions for 42 yards.
When it was all said and done, the Packers left the field the victors, with a 24-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Other Notes:
Rondale Moore was involved with 3 catches for 24 yards and added 2 carries but they were sniffed out by the Packers’ defense. He lost a costly fumble on a punt return which resulted in the Packers getting the ball at the Arizona 3-yard line. Luckily, it only cost them 3 points as the defense held the Packers to a field goal on that drive.
Arizona’s defense played better than the box score would lead you to believe. In addition to holding Green Bay to a field goal on that 2nd quarter drive, they had a huge goal-line stand in the 4th quarter which turned the Packers over on downs and set Kyler up for an attempt at a game-winning drive.
Josiah Degaura filled in for the injured Robert Tonyan and caught 2 passes for 20 yards towards the end of the game. He’s an interesting name to keep an eye on as a deep dive at tight end should Tonyan miss significant time with the knee injury.
That will do it for the week 8 Thursday Night Football Wrap Up. Make sure you head over to Razzball.com and check out Rudy Gamble’s Pigskinator as you get ready to set the rest of your week 7 lineup. You are always invited to follow me on Twitter @FantasyCoachJB and ask me any questions you may have. Good luck in your upcoming matchups!
