The Packers earned a rematch with Arizona by erasing an early 11-point deficit in a 35-18 playoff victory at Washington on Sunday, a victory that prompted Rodgers to say the team has its “mojo” back.
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Teams only get so many chances to be special. “The playoffs are different”.
They moved the ball effectively in no-huddle and shotgun formations.
Aaron Rodgers has one Super Bowl ring, two NFL Most Valuable Player trophies, a celebrity girlfriend and an average annual salary of $22 million. Rodgers was helped by a revived rushing attack that totaled 141 yards, with Eddie Lacy and James Starks combining to run for 116 yards in the game.
Going by what we saw in the regular season, it’s easy to see why they’re the favorites.
“We know it’s a scramble drill”, Bettcher said. “The focus goes up and the intensity goes up”. The Packers hope their second meeting against the Cardinals will have a different result when the two teams play in a NFC divisional round playoff game Saturday (KGW-8 (NBC), 5:15 p.m. PT/8:15 p.m. ET). Rodgers had a disastrous day with two fumbles lost on sacks that were returned for touchdowns. “So it’s going to be a more competitive game, I bet”.
Left guard Josh Sitton wants to re-watch the film before he explains how the Packers can improve. Cobb can play running back.
Green Bay veteran wide receiver James Jones discussed Abbrederis as well in an interview. “Everybody is 0-0”.
After the Washington game, McCarthy joked with reporters: “When you get to the playoffs, you don’t have to talk about the regular season anymore”. Now Cousins – surprisingly superb in his first season as a starter – can become a free agent. It’s entirely possible they can do it again in the next month. “We’re all in this room for a reason, we’ll see what happens with Davante”. Winning in the postseason is about the heart. “This is just a taste”. I don’t care what people think or how we’re picked or things like that.
Arizona coach Bruce Arians said the game wasn’t the beat-down that the score seemed to reflect.
Arizona is well rested while Green Bay must travel on a short week. If David Bakhtiari comes back this week, then the offensive line should play even better. Tretter gave up a sack for a safety in the first quarter but made no noticeable mistakes after that. “But I’ve said it all along, the biggest thing is disruption”.
The run game got better as the game progressed.
McCarthy said Bakhtiari, who missed his third straight game with a left ankle injury, was “getting better”. In the receiving end, Larry Fitzgerald had 1,215 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 109 receptions.
“Having that year to sit there and not be able to play was frustrating”, said Abbrederis.
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“We’ve just got to go out and be loose and let it all hang out because the pressure’s all on that side”, he said.
