It may have been the opening drive, when the Green Bay Packers took the ball, put it in Josh Jacobs’ hands eight consecutive times, plowed down the field, and scored the opening touchdown.
It may have been on the Seattle Seahawks’ first third down of the night when the cascade of “Go Pack Go” chants rained down so loud at Lumen Field that we could hear them clearly from our TV screens.
It was clear very early on Sunday night that there would be no on-side kick fiascos, no Fail Marys to rip our hearts out on this night. The Packers were ready for the NFC’s latest flavor of the day, and they made it a rocky road for Seattle for 60 minutes.
After sleepwalking through the first half in Detroit, the offense was in sync from the jump, scoring all four times it had the ball in the first half and basically putting the game on ice. It was all Josh Jacobs early, which opened up the passing game for the Pack’s fleet of receivers to do their thing. Romeo Doubs reminded everyone how much this offense misses him with his two highlight-worthy scores. Nice to see Jayden Reed involved in the offense, wasn’t it?
Christian Watson continues to be a big-play machine. That toe-tap sideline catch was as pretty as they come — and the throw wasn’t too bad, either. Jordan Love was on point again, leading the Pack to a fourth-straight 30-point performance for the offense, which appears to be finding its groove at the perfect time.
Heading into the game, the hope was that the pass rush would assert itself since Geno Smith is an entirely different QB under pressure. Mission accomplished. Before he exited with a knee injury, Smith was under duress all night, dinking and dunking and hoping the Pack would miss a few tackles (they didn’t).
Edgerrin Cooper was the breakout star in his return from a hamstring injury, making play after play despite being out there for only about half the snaps (that needs to change immediately). His explosiveness is special, and he can take this defense to another level once the Packers figure out how to use him.
Every defensive player in the front seven seemed to bring something to the potluck. Kingsley Enagbare had a series for the ages, with two sacks and a tackle. Rashan Gary, Karl Brooks, Brenton Cox, and Devonte Wyatt stepped up for their close-ups. Of course, once Sam Howell came in to replace Smith, with his team in catch-up mode, Jeff Hafley turned his young bucks loose, and poor Howell had no chance.
As is the case with every game, it wasn’t perfect. The offense bogged down in the second half. Jacobs’ fumble gave the men in green hope for a moment. Matt LaFleur continues to show that he has no idea when to throw his red challenge flag — he’s now 0-6 for the season. But we’re nitpicking here.
Bottom line, the Packers went into a tough environment against a hot team desperate to stay on top of their division and eviscerated them from the jump, serving notice as they get healthier that they will be a tough out in the NFC playoffs.
We’re already starting to hear the national narrative that they’re the team nobody wants to face in the NFC playoffs. They have three more tests to pass before they prepare for their postseason assignment. January could get really interesting if the defense continues to show out and Love, Jacobs, and Co. can stay healthy.
The next big test will come in a couple of weeks at US Bank Stadium, where there will likely be plenty of Cheeseheads on hand. But I don’t think we’ll hear a cascade of “Go Pack Go” chants. There probably won’t be a ton on the line, standings-wise. Still, the rivalry and the teams’ records will give them both a great idea of where they stand as we approach the playoffs.
The Pack knows they will hit the road for the postseason. A performance like the one in Seattle shows they’ll be ready. And their fans will likely be right alongside them, as usual.
