The Green Bay Packers finally have a pulse. Sunday’s 31-28 comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys snapped a five-game losing streak and reopened the door for the Packers to make a late playoff run over the final two months of the regular season.
A spectacular performance from the offense led the way.
Based on grades from Pro Football Focus, here are the best and worst performers from the Packers’ Week 10 win over the Cowboys:
Top 5 offense
1. WR Sammy Watkins: 85.1
2. RB Aaron Jones: 85.0
3. QB Aaron Rodgers: 83.9
4. RG Jon Runyan Jr.: 78.1
5. LT David Bakhtiari: 74.6
Watkins ran only nine routes but still caught all three of his targets for 47 yards, including a contested catch for 22 yards. Jones produced three runs over 10 yards and two over 15 while averaging 5.5 yards per rush with two catches. Rodgers was elite from clean pockets and off play-action, both staples of his MVP campaigns. Runyan didn’t allow a pressure and was the team’s highest-graded run blocker. Bakhtiari didn’t a pressure and was the team’s highest-graded pass blocker (although he did have one penalty).
Top 5 defense
1. S Rudy Ford: 88.3
2. DL Dean Lowry: 71.8
3. OLB Kingsley Enagbare: 68.3
4. DL Jarran Reed: 66.8
5. OLB Jonathan Garvin: 66.6
Ford intercepted two passes and made two stops but did allow a touchdown on a missed tackle. Lowry had a run stop and a hurry while also drawing a key holding penalty in overtime. Enagbare had two pressures (including a quarterback hit) and two run stops. Reed led the team with six quarterback pressures, including three hits. Garvin batted down a pass and assisted in a run stop.
Bottom 5 offense
1. TE Marcedes Lewis: 40.8
2. TE Josiah Deguara: 42.3
3. WR Samori Toure: 51.5
4. LG Elgton Jenkins: 52.5
5. TE Robert Tonyan: 55.5
Lewis earned poor run-blocking grades over 24 run-blocking snaps. Deguara was the team’s lowest-graded run blocker over nine run-blocking snaps. Toure wasn’t targeted over eight passing plays. Jenkins gave up three pressures (including a sack) and received the team’s lowest pass-blocking grade. Tonyan caught just one pass for eight yards on 13 routes.
Bottom 5 defense
1. OLB La’Darius Hamilton: 39.0
2. DL Kenny Clark: 47.1
3. DL Devonte Wyatt: 54.0
4. OLB Preston Smith: 55.3
5. S/CB Darnell Savage: 55.8
Hamilton had one hurry over five snaps. Clark had a cleanup sack but also missed a tackle and once again had a low run defense grade. Wyatt played 14 unproductive snaps before exiting with an injury. Smith had two pressures but missed a tackle and struggled against the run. Savage allowed five catches for 75 yards but did tackle well while playing 48 snaps in the slot.
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers: 83.9
This was Rodgers at his MVP best. Despite throwing only 20 passes, Rodgers produced an adjusted completion percentage of 84.5 (thanks to drops) while dominating from clean pockets and off play-action. He hit three passes thrown over 20 yards and tossed two touchdown passes against the blitz. Of his 20 attempts, only three went behind the line of scrimmage. Rodgers was 6/10 for 131 yards and three touchdowns on passes thrown 10 or more yards in the air.
Special teams
Corey Ballentine had a tackle and a forced fumble. Johnathan Abram had a busy debut with a tackle and two penalties. Dallin Leavitt and Tariq Carpenter both had tackles. Pat O’Donnell put all four of his punts inside the 20-yard line. Mason Crosby missed a 54-yard field goal short and Amari Rodgers fumbled away a punt return.
