Aaron Jones led the Green Bay Packers to a 24-16 win over the Carolina Panthers with a three-touchdown performance on Sunday.
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Final Score
Green Bay Packers 24, Carolina Panthers 16
Green Bay Packers
The Packers ran the ball extremely well with both Jamaal Williams and Aaron Jones gaining plenty of yards after contact. Jones was a standout, forcing a handful of missed tackles and picking up three touchdowns.
Aaron Rodgers did not have the most efficient day but did connect on a few big-time throws down the field while not making any costly mistakes. Davante Adams and Allen Lazard each had an offensive pass interference penalty called against them in this one.
When the snowfall began, it seemed everyone on the offensive line attempting to block Kenny Clark played the remainder of the game of roller skates. He was tremendous in the first three quarters of play, but he reached white-hot levels during the final quarter. How many passing plays did Carolina run in the fourth quarter? That's how many pressures or hits Clark collected. Unstoppable.
The other Green Bay defender to pop off the screen against the Panthers was edge Za'Darius Smith. He may not have racked up the sexy box score statistics, but the Carolina offensive line will have nightmares this evening with Smith on the prowl. He followed the lead set by Clark, feasting on the backfield to terrorize Allen.
Carolina Panthers
Luke Kuechly uncharacteristically guessed wrong on a couple of plays and was caught out of position. One of which was a busted coverage where Kuechly jumped a shallow route and left Jimmy Graham open for a big gain down the middle of the field. Kuechly also had a shot at bringing Jones down on one of his touchdown runs, but Jones ran right through his tackle attempt.
Cornerback Donte Jackson had a busy day in coverage. He showed his blazing speed while getting beat by Davante Adams on a deep post but recovered while the ball was in the air to break up the pass. He also had three penalties called against him in coverage.
Kyle Allen very nearly pump-faked his way to victory but came up one-yard short. While he managed the game well overall, he made a handful of blunders that included dropping a snap exchange recovered by the Packers anda backhanded throwaway attempt with nearby defenders after being hit. There's no question the weather played an impact on the offense's performance. And Allen made an outstanding throw on a comeback route, connecting with D.J. Moore on fourth down with less than a minute on the clock.
What more can be said that hasn't already about Christian McCaffrey? No matter the opponent, CMC finds a way to get it done. Overlook a fumble after a decent gain recovered by a teammate, and McCaffrey played a near-perfect game. His ability to cut through traffic to find open lanes is uncanny, something he displayed throughout the game. On the final play, he spun out of the hands of one defender, nearly reaching the goalline before Preston Smith drove him to the ground after being unblocked from the edge.
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