GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – A resourceful game plan, minus key players on both sides of the ball and an emerging star at tight end carried the Green Bay Packers to a 30-16 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in the eerily lit but empty Lambeau Field on the Monday Night Football stage, lifting Matt LaFleur’s club to a 4-0 start to the season.
With his top two receivers sidelined by injury, Allen Lazard for several weeks now that he’s on injured reserve following core muscle surgery last week and a still healing and unhappy Davante Adams nursing a hamstring pull, LaFluer dialed up a game plan to utilize his running backs and tight end Robert Tonyan in the passing game. Aaron Rodgers carried out the plan with a sparkling performance, 27 of 33 for 327 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to the undrafted free agent tight end from Indiana State, good for a passer rating of 147.5, the sixth best of his brilliant career.
Adams sent out a tweet Monday morning, quickly deleted, expressing his frustration over not getting the green light to play saying he’d done everything he could to get ready but the medical staff decided against it, letting him heal completely over the upcoming bye week.
Enter Tonyan who grabbed 6 passes for 98 yards and the hat trick of touchdowns, all career highs. The former college quarterback has now caught five touchdown passes in just the last three weeks, giving the Packers a legitimate threat at the position. Consider Jimmy Graham caught five TD’s in 2 very expensive seasons in Green Bay. Tonyan’s first scoring catch covered 19 yards reaching up for the pass at the 2 and tumbling into the end zone. A second came with a sliding 8 yard catch just before halftime giving the Packers a 20-3 lead at the break. His night was capped with a 21 yard score in which he was pulled to the ground by a defender who then slipped, allowing him to release to the right corner of the end zone by himself that gave the Packers a 27-9 lead entering the 4th quarter.
A year ago, Tonyan showed promise but his season was derailed by a painful hip injury. After working out with San Francisco 49ers All-Pro tight end George Kittle in the off-season, he came to camp determined to make an impact and that he has.
Robert Tonyan meets the press after his big night.
In his post-game session with the media, Tonyan talked about not feeling the need to step up in the absence of two key playmakers, how his cell phone lit up with text messages from his friend Kittle and his mother, and how he kept the faith on a three year journey to a breakout night on a national stage.
Tonyan wasn’t the only offensive star as the Packers hit the 30 point mark for the 4th week in a row to start the season, a franchise first. Green Bay piled up 403 total yards with running back Jamaal Williams catching a career high 8 passes for 98 yards. Aaron Jones caught 5 balls including a six yard touchdown to open the scoring, his 6th TD of the year. He also led the ground attack with 71 yards on 15 carries.
LaFleur’s offense leads the league in scoring after the first month at 38 points a game, they’re second in the league putting up 445.5 yards a contest and it’s happening with a never ending number of personnel groupings and remarkable execution. The Packers have yet to turn the ball over this season.
Matt LaFleur post-game.
In his media session, LaFleur admitted it wasn’t easy coming up with a plan without Adams or Lazard and he was anxious over how his plan would work against a desperate Falcons team but his players delivered.
And while the offense continues it’s early season roll, the defense put together it’s best performance of the year against a dangerous Atlanta offense that despite not winning a game in four starts, was putting up 30 points a game.
Matt Ryan had both his top weapons in Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley although Jones couldn’t finish after re-injuring his hamstring. The Packers however, didn’t have Kenny Clark on the defensive line for a third straight week, Rashan Gary was inactive. The secondary started thinning out when Chandon Sullilvan left with a concussion, Kevin King went out with an injury, Darnell Savage got nicked up but returned and Will Redmond was hurt late in the game.
Jaire Alexander shut down Ridley who came into the game with 349 receiving yards and four scores but he was held without a catch on five targets. Ryan had to turn to little used Olamide Zaccheaus who had five receptions coming in and wound up with 8 catches for 86 yards.
The defense forced three and outs on Atlanta’s first two series to start the game. After Jamaal Williams was stuffed on a 4th and goal play from the 1 which prevented the Packers from taking a 14-0 lead, the Falcons put together a 20 play, 10:36 drive from one end of the field to the other but the defense dug in forcing Elliot Fry to settle for a 23 yard field goal. Za’Darius Smith said afterwards that stop turned the momentum in Green Bay’s favor.
As the Packer lead swelled, Smith unleased a monster game. He wound up with a team high 8 tackles, three sacks for 25 yards lost, four tackles for losses and another five quarterback hurries. His final two sacks foiled a pair of 4th quarter Atlanta drives. After his first sack, Smith unveiled a towel from his waist with the words “Rest in Heaven Breanna Taylor”, a tribute to the Louisville police shooting victim.
Raven Greene also came up with a sack for the defense which gave up 327 yards but limited Atlanta to just 3 of 12 third down conversions and a season best in points allowed.
Tackling continues to be a sore spot as Todd Gurley was able to score twice on the ground, breaking Josh Jackson and Ty Summers on his first, a five yard TD in the third quarter. His three yard run in the 4th was sprung by Ryan’s lead block on Darnell Savage but the Falcons never seriously threatened Green Bay’s lead.
LaFleur’s 17-3 regular season record is the second best 20 game start in NFL history, behind only George Siefert of the 49ers who won 18 of his first 20 games.
The Packers now hit their bye week and unlike past years when players travel home or to points unknown to get away and recharge, that won’t be the case in this Covid-19 pandemic. The team will have to hunker down at home through the week and LaFleur stressed it’s the only way to avoid the coronavirus and hopefully continue a season that’s going remarkably well.
While it’s still very hard getting used to seeing the Packers play in the empty Mecca of the NFL, it’s not hard getting used to the performances they’re putting up so far in 2020.
