Packers does enough to win, but will need more in future

Still, Gus Bradley didn’t blame the defensive line for that statistic – and the Jaguars’ head coach said the pass rush generally went according to plan in the 2016 regular-season opener against Green Bay.

“I thought we were just coming here for the tour for my birthday, and all of a sudden, all my family shows up, and he gets down on one knee”, Small said. The Jags are 0-1, but they won’t stay winless long.

First down: Lane Taylor’s debut as Josh Sitton’s successor at left guard was like a good baseball umpire in that you really didn’t even notice him. The 2015 Pro Bowler took the high road.

A couple of snaps later, Rodgers ran in it from the six. After a Jacksonville penalty, the Packers had a first down from the 6 yard line.

A 37 yard pass to Marcedes Lewis set up T.J. Yeldon’s five yard burst to tie the game. But this is Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, a finally healthy team. And on Sunday against Jacksonville, he broke up a long pass on which he ran with 6-foot-3 receiver Allen Robinson stride for stride and looked like the intended receiver when he almost intercepted the pass as the two fell out of bounds.

It was already time to make a decision, an early gut-check for McCarthy with more than 98 percent of the season still in front of him.

In his return to the field for the first time in over a year, Jordy Nelson took about a quarter to get back into the swing of things but then did so in a big way, connecting with Aaron Rodgers on a six-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and finishing his day with six receptions for 32 yards. The Green Bay Packers held on for dear life in hot Jacksonville, securing a 27-23 victory.

The Packers offense would add two more field goals in the second half.

But the Jaguars couldn’t stop hurting themselves.

Hindsight is 20/20, but regardless of the outcome on that fourth down play, it was the right call to make given the circumstances. “We put a lot of effort in going into this week and it’s not the last week, but this is one that everybody put a lot of effort into”.

One game doesn’t make or break a unit, but the early results appear promising for Green Bay.

It won’t be a surprise to Allen Straka if the Packers win it all this year. That’s one we should have won, and everybody in this locker room truly feels that way that we should have won that game. More impressive still, Jacksonville averaged just 1.8 yards per carry.

Davante Adams caught 3-of-7 targets for 50 yards and a touchdown in Green Bay’s Week 1 win over the Jaguars. Assuming Sam Shields can get through concussion protocol quickly, the Packers should have no trouble with the Vikings’ passing game. Cornerback Joshua Hawkins is listed as out, while Ayorunmi Banjo (safety) and Jayrone Elliott (linebacker) are both listed as Doubtful thanks to their hamstrings.

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On Sunday Night Football, the Packers will be heading into the brand new US Bank stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota to take on the Vikings.