NFC North: Two roads lie ahead for Packers
Sports Network | November 11, 2008
(Sports Network) - It's an ageless cliche, but the Green Bay Packers find themselves at a crossroads after Sunday's loss to Minnesota.
Two division wins to begin the season, coupled with solid play out of first- year starter Aaron Rodgers, had Green Bay out in front of the NFC North pack early. A three-game losing streak took the club back a few steps before it rebounded with two wins heading into its bye week.
However, the Packers are back to gut-check time. They have now lost two close road games, putting them a game behind Minnesota and Chicago -- which are both 5-4 -- for first place in the NFC North.
"There are seven games left. There is still a lot of time left," said Rodgers, who threw for just 142 yards on 15-of-26 passing versus the Vikings. "We still have to play Chicago twice and play Detroit one more time. We just need to do the things that we are capable of doing."
For starters, the Packers need Rodgers to be a little more consistent. He failed to reach the 200-yard passing mark for the fourth time in nine games this year and failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time in his last six games on Sunday.
He was also sacked four times for the second straight week, not good for a quarterback that is battling an ailing right shoulder. The sacks taken versus Minnesota were costly, as one resulted in a safety -- one of two on Green Bay for the game.
The Packers have been in the game in each of their last two losses. They dropped an overtime decision to unbeaten Tennessee on the road two weeks ago, and had a chance to win this past Sunday after blowing a late lead. However, Mason Crosby missed a 52-yard field goal try in the final moments.
"I thought it felt good," said Crosby. "Then I was surprised when it went right and stayed over there. It started to come back at the end. I hit all right down the middle the whole game. Then that one just got away from me."
Crosby and his teammates now need to exercise short memories. A loss this Sunday at home versus Chicago would make earning a playoff berth an uphill battle.
Green Bay's defense, though, will be without one of its top players, as linebacker Nick Barnett suffered a torn knee ligament early in the third quarter and will miss the rest of the season. McCarthy said the injury will require surgery, though a date hasn't been set yet.
Barnett started all 16 games for the Packers last year and topped the club with 131 tackles in addition to 3 1/2 sacks and two interceptions. He made five tackles in the Minnesota game and has a team-high 49 this year.
UP NEXT: The Packers will try to make up some ground in the division with a home test versus the Bears. The teams have yet to meet this year, but Chicago took both games against Green Bay a year ago, including a 27-20 win at Lambeau Field. The Packers have lost five of their last six to the Bears.
VIKINGS: PETERSON, CHILDRESS GET OVER THE HUMP
Neither head coach Brad Childress nor running back Adrian Peterson had ever beaten the Green Bay Packers heading into this past Sunday's divisional clash in Minnesota.
They both picked a great time to get win No. 1.
Sunday's 28-27 victory at home versus the rival Packers may go down as the biggest win of the Vikings' season. Their fourth win in five games was big enough, but the victory also put the team into a a tie with Chicago for first place in the NFC North at 5-4. Green Bay is now a game back.
"It's the whole atmosphere of the game," Peterson said of the game's emotion. "The rivalry and just how the game was a roller-coaster. But that's what it's all about, we came in and we knew it was going to be a dogfight."
For Peterson, the game showed how far he has come in just his second year in the NFL. His fourth-quarter fumble on a 4th-and-1 play looked like it would doom the Vikings, as it led to a Green Bay field goal and a 27-21 Packers' lead.
"It was tough," Peterson said of the fumble. "First of all, talking coach into going for it, and actually having the first down then fumbling. I was sick for the moment, thinking that we had recovered it past the mark. Unfortunately it didn't go our way. But the defense came out the next drive and held them to three (points) and gave us the opportunity."
It was an opportunity Peterson seized. He touched the ball six times on Minnesota's ensuing seven-play, game-winning drive. That included three runs and two catches before his go-ahead 29-yard scoring run with 2:22 left in the contest.
There is some concern with Peterson's ability to hold onto the ball, as it was his fourth fumble of the season. Yet, the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year showed the composure of a veteran late in Sunday's win.
"I can't compare him to anybody," said quarterback Gus Frerotte, who threw two touchdown passes but was also picked off three times. "I mean the guy is just incredible. He runs hard, he plays hard. He wants to win more than anybody out there. The last drive, you look at it and we put it all on his back."
Childress said he was riding a hot hand in giving Peterson the ball down the stretch. The 23-year-old back has now gone over 100 yards rushing in each of his last four games while totaling four touchdowns in that span. His 1,015 rushing yards on the season are tops in the NFL as well.
He is also the main reason Childress is now 1-6 all-time versus Green Bay as Minnesota's head coach, instead of 0-7.
"I'm happy to have that game ball," the coach said. "I will paint it up and put it in a prominent spot."
UP NEXT: The Vikings will play their next two on the road, starting in Tampa Bay this Sunday. Minnesota has lost its last three to the Buccaneers, including a 2002 matchup that was the club's last visit to Tampa. The clubs last met in 2005, a 24-13 win by the Bucs in Minnesota.
LIONS: AT LEAST ONE PERSON IN DETROIT NOT EMBARRESSED
There aren't many things to be proud of when you are 0-9 like the Detroit Lions.
The club is a mess offensively, as it traded away one of its best wide receivers (Roy Williams) and started a quarterback on Sunday (Daunte Culpepper) who didn't sign with the team until the previous Tuesday.
Defensively, the Lions allowed Jacksonville running back Maurice Jones-Drew to run for three touchdowns in a 38-14 win by the Jaguars and are yielding 406.1 yards per game.
Yet, Detroit head coach Rod Marinelli says he isn't embarrassed by his team's winless record.
"I've just taken a whooping and I accept that," the head coach said after Sunday's loss. "I stand up here and accept it. I just go back and work. If I were embarrassed - if I use that word, (it would be because) I wasn't trying as hard as I could try. If I wasn't fighting every single day, I'd be embarrassed.
"I line up everyday and go right back to this team. I stand up, give you no excuses - ever, and I line up and do it. Now if I didn't try hard, if I put my head in the sand, if I made excuses, I'd embarrass myself. I would be embarrassed, but I won't do that."
Sunday's loss was the perfect example of what is plaguing the Lions: simply that they don't know what to do right now to win. With quarterback Jon Kitna on injured reserve due to a back injury and his fill-in, Dan Orlovsky, sidelined due to a sprained thumb, Detroit started Culpepper on Sunday.
That is the same Culpepper who signed a two-year deal with the club on Tuesday after having not played a snap since November 25 of last year while with the Oakland Raiders.
Culpepper has had success in the past, something Marinelli hopes will run off on his young club.
"I am going to continue to harp to these guys (that) hey, the game's not over," said Culpepper, who threw for 104 yards with an interception on 5-of-10 passing.
He later added, "I'm always going to stay positive because I see it in practice; I see the way these guys work; I see the way these guys practice -- because I was observing all that this week. I see how hard everybody (is) working. It's not the effort, I think it's more attitude. We have to get a winning attitude."
One silver lining for Detroit was that it finally got to see 2007 second-round pick Drew Stanton in action. He relieved Culpepper in the game on two separate occasions and threw a touchdown pass on his first NFL throwing attempt -- a one-yard toss to tight end John Owens. Stanton ended 6-for-8 with 94 yards passing.
""You know it was nice getting an opportunity when it meant something and do my job," Stanton said.
Culpepper said the Lions had a plan before the game to use Stanton inside the five-yard line, explaining Culpepper's first exit from the game. Culpepper guessed Stanton's second appearance was just to get the 24-year-old some experience, something Culpepper said he was fine with.
UP NEXT: The Lions, off to their worst start since dropping the first 12 games of the 2001 season, shoot for their first win of the year this Sunday in Carolina. Detroit is trying to avoid becoming the first team in NFL history to go 0-16 and is 1-3 all-time versus the Panthers. That lone win came in the first-ever meeting between the clubs, a 24-9 victory on October 24, 1999.
BEARS: CAN'T DO ENOUGH TO PULL OFF UPSET
Excuse the Chicago Bears if they play a little bit of 'what if" this week.
Facing the undefeated Tennessee Titans, the Chicago defense did just about all it could to hold the Titans' offense in check. However, minus their starting quarterback, the Bears couldn't pull out a win.
The Bears were facing the third-ranked ground game in the NFL, but held the Titans to minus-five rushing yards on 13 carries in the first half. That was the lowest first-half total allowed by Chicago since holding New England to negative-nine yards on September 21, 1997.
For the game, the Chicago defense allowed just 20 rushing yards on 29 attempts, less than one yard per carry.
Unfortunately, the Bears also allowed Titans quarterback Kerry Collins to throw for 289 yards and two touchdowns. At one point, Collins completed 12 straight passes against the Chicago defense.
"Defensive side of the ball did a good job of stopping the run," said head coach Lovie Smith. "You want to make a team one dimensional, but from there you have to make some plays in the passing game and we weren't able to do that."
Said linebacker Lance Briggs, who had a game-high 13 tackles, "We did our job. We stood up when we were supposed to, but obviously, it wasn't enough today. We just didn't get it done."
Many will point to Rex Grossman being under center instead of the injured Kyle Orton as to what went wrong on Sunday. After leading Chicago on a 14-play, 75- yard scoring drive to start the game, the Bears did little else on offense. Grossman threw for 173 yards with a touchdown pass to running back Matt Forte. He was also intercepted once and ran for a score as well.
"At the end of the football game we were in a position to win, so with Rex there that's what we were able to do," said Smith. "You have to let him work through some of the things - and there were a lot of things going on (Sunday). Rex had a little bit to do with it some of the time, but there were so many things that we could have done to help ourselves."
The loss was damaging, as it dropped the 5-4 Bears into a first-place tie with Minnesota. Green Bay is a game back.
Chicago needs to right the ship quickly, as it plays its next three games on the road, a stretch that includes visits to Green Bay and Minnesota. The Bears are 15-30 over their previous 15 three-game road trips.
What remains to be seen is who will be under center. Orton nearly played on Sunday, but realized before the game he wasn't healthy enough. He was listed as the third quarterback versus the Titans. However, Orton now hopes to return from his sprained right ankle this Sunday.
UP NEXT: The Bears, who are 3-0 versus the division this year, head to Green Bay this Sunday to battle the Packers. Chicago swept its two-game set with Green Bay last year and has won five of its last six versus the Packers.
