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Aaron Rodgers threw for 263 yards and three scores, and Green Bay overcame an abundance of penalties to beat Baltimore, 27-14, at Lambeau Field.
Perhaps it is time to stop with all the post season talk for the Ravens. They are now on the outside looking in, tied with enough teams to have to rely on others to help them get in. Even if they did, they’d most likely be one and done,as their offense is so vanilla and the defense has so many holes that not even Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs could have made the difference tonight.
Flacco’s late red-zone interception didn’t help matters. Expect that to be a lively topic of discussion on Baltimore-area radio shows tomorrow.
Green Bay, WI (Sports Network) - Aaron Rodgers threw for 263 yards and three scores, and Green Bay overcame an abundance of penalties to beat Baltimore, 27-14, at Lambeau Field.
Rodgers connected on 26-of-40 passes and was picked off twice for the Packers (8-4), who are two games behind Minnesota for the lead in the NFC North. Green Bay is also tied with Philadelphia for the lead in the conference's wild card standings, a game ahead of the New York Giants.
Jermichael Finley had seven receptions for 79 yards and a pair of scores for the Packers, who posted their fourth straight win.
The teams combined for 310 penalty yards, tied for second-most in NFL history with 175 coming from the Packers on 11 infractions. Baltimore was given 12 penalties.
"It was a real up-and-down game and we had to deal with all the penalties," said Packers coach Mike McCarthy. "I was very impressed with the way we overcame adversity. This is a big step for our football team."
Joe Flacco connected on 15-of-36 passes for 137 yards with a touchdown, but was intercepted three times for the Ravens (6-6), who fell into a tie with the Steelers for second place in the AFC North, three games behind Cincinnati. Jacksonville is on top of the wild card standings with a 7-5 mark, while the Ravens are in the playoff mix with a record identical to Miami, the New York Jets and Pittsburgh.
Down 17-0, the Ravens scored a pair of touchdowns in a 30-second span late in the third quarter, only to have the Packers stem the tide when Rodgers threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Finley early in the fourth.
Packers wide receiver Donald Driver fumbled after making a catch in Baltimore territory early in the third, and the Ravens finally cracked the scoreboard on their ensuing possession. Flacco rolled to his right and threw to the end zone where Kelley Washington made a sliding grab on the right side for a 12-yard score with 3:28 remaining in the period. The Packers challenged the ruling that Washington was not in bounds, but the move backfired.
Green Bay fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but recovered and Rodgers was picked off on the next play by linebacker Jarret Johnson. A pass interference call in the end zone on cornerback Tramon Williams put the ball at the one and Willis McGahee scored off right tackle two plays later for a 17-14 margin.
The Packers' Mason Crosby was wide right on a 38-yard field goal attempt two plays into the fourth quarter.
The Ravens had a 46-yard reception by Derrick Mason wiped out moments later thanks to his offensive pass interference call for pushing off Charles Woodson.
Green Bay then took command by getting the ball near midfield after a Baltimore punt. Rodgers connected with Finley on a 19-yard TD pass over the middle with 10 1/2 minutes left.
The Ravens had a golden opportunity to get back in the game as Lardarius Webb returned the ensuing kickoff 68 yards and Baltimore was given the ball at the one after a pass interference call. But on 2nd-and-goal, Flacco rolled to his right and threw back across his body to the end zone, but Williams came up with the interception with 8:46 left.
"I think it was a stupid decision and an even worse throw," admitted Flacco. "They're a good defense, but we got back in the game and I made a mistake you can't make."
The next time Baltimore got the ball, Flacco was picked off on the first play, this time by A.J. Hawk. That led to Crosby's 32-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining.
Crosby split the uprights from 28 yards out to end the game's opening drive and Ray Rice fumbled the ball away on Baltimore's first possession. But Rodgers was picked off by Tom Zbikowski just three plays later.
The turnovers continued to pile up, as Flacco was picked off by Nick Collins the next time Baltimore had the ball.
The Packers extended their lead to 10-0 with 4:35 left in the half thanks to Rodgers' two-yard touchdown throw to Finley. That capped an eight-play, 83- yard drive.
Following another Baltimore punt, Green Bay moved the ball 68 yards in eight plays with Rodgers finishing it with an eight-yard scoring connection to Driver, who made the catch on the left side of the field and eluded a tackler before diving into the end zone with 32 seconds left in the half.
"God blessed me with big hands and it helped getting used to playing in cold weather last year. We just needed to get back on track and execute after I turned the ball over twice," said Rodgers. "We have to take things one game at a time, but I like the roll we're on right now."
Green Bay plays at Chicago Sunday, while the Ravens host Detroit...The Ravens played without two of their defensive stalwarts, as linebacker Terrell Suggs and safety Ed Reed were inactive due to injury. Tampa Bay and Seattle also had 310 penalty yards in a 1976 contest. The record is 374 yards, between Chicago and Cleveland on November 25, 1951.
Via Sports Network
For more on the Packers and Ravens, check out SB Nation blogs Acme Packing Company and Baltimore Beatdown.
(Sports Network) - A pair of playoff hopefuls from opposite conferences will cap off the Week 13 schedule at chilly Lambeau Field on Monday night, when the Green Bay Packers host the Baltimore Ravens in a game that will have playoff implications for both teams.
Neither the Packers nor the Ravens are likely to take home division crowns in 2009, though both clubs find themselves in the heart of the wild card race, and will either enhance or diminish that standing based on Monday night's result.
Green Bay, which effectively conceded the NFC North when it suffered a second loss to the division rival Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 1st, then looked to be on the ropes for the postseason following a loss to the hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following week, has boosted its status with an encouraging three-game winning streak.
The Packers will come into Monday's contest on 10 days rest, following a 34-12 beat-down of the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was a sharp 28-of-39 passing for 348 yards and three touchdowns in the win, doing a healthy portion of his damage down the field to wide receiver Donald Driver (7 receptions, 142 yards, 1 TD), though it was the work of Charles Woodson and the Green Bay defense that truly stole the holiday show.
The Packers intercepted Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford four times, two of which went to Woodson, who sealed the game with a 38-yard INT return for a touchdown and also broke off a piece of NFL history.
Woodson became the first player in NFL history with two interceptions, an interception-return touchdown, one sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the same game, also helping Green Bay rise to the top of the NFL charts in total defense (281.5 yards per game), opponents' completion percentage (53.4), and turnover margin (+17). Woodson was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
The Ravens also had a positive Week 12 result, helping to remove a major albatross from around their necks by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-17, in overtime.
Baltimore had lost three times to Pittsburgh last season, including a 23-14 loss in the AFC Championship, and was nearly sent to another defeat by pesky Steelers third-string quarterback Dennis Dixon.
Trailing 17-14 following a Dixon touchdown run, Baltimore managed overtime thanks to a 44-yard Ray Rice catch-and-run on 4th-and-5 with fewer than four minutes to play, setting up a Billy Cundiff field goal. Cundiff, who would miss a 56-yard kick at the end of regulation, would ultimately hand Baltimore a 20-17 win six plays after Dixon made his only real mistake, an interception that was returned into Steelers territory by Ravens rookie linebacker Paul Kruger in overtime.
For what it may have lacked in style points, the win was an important one for a Baltimore team that had lost five of its previous seven games, including four defeats by six points or fewer.
SHOCKING: Tom Zbikowski Not As Good As Ed Reed
Ed Reed was a last-minute scratch for Monday night’s game against the Packers, which meant Tom Zbikowski (insert media’s mandatory mention that he was an amateur boxer) got his first career start. The results: Not great.
From the Baltimore Sun:
To be fair, it’s not as if Zbikowski was awful — he didn’t get burned deep for scores. And really, keeping Finley out of the endzone is a tall order for any safety, especially considering Finley was running downhill and he’s freaking enormous. Had Zbikowski made the stop, the Packers would’ve had the ball on the two anyway. You can see the play at the 3:40-mark:
Dec 08 10:54a by Chris Mottram - 1 comment