Quinnen Williams lived in the Packers’ backfield.
Willow Gardner made life miserable in high school.
It added to another tough day for Aaron Rodgers as the New York Jets stifled Green Bay in a 27-10 win at Lambeau Field. The loss was the second straight for the Packers after a 3-1 start and enough to set off alarm bells about a stalled Green Bay offense. Meanwhile, the Jets improved to 4-2 thanks to a swarming young defense that is coalescing into an NFL force.
Quinnen Williams kept constant pressure on Aaron Rodgers Sunday as the Jets beat the Packers. (Jeff Hanisch/Reuters)
Green Bay struggled early on Sunday and found themselves on the verge of going into halftime with no points. A missed field goal by Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein with 36 seconds left in half left the Packers with a short field and allowed them to enter halftime tied 3–3.
But there wasn’t much life for the Packers in the second half, as Rodgers struggled to find time or space to operate Green Bay’s passing game. Meanwhile, the Jets took a 10-3 lead with a touchdown on their second possession of the third quarter. When Micheal Clemons blocked a Packers punt on Green Bay’s next possession, the game was almost over. Will Park picked up the fumble and returned it for a touchdown to extend New York’s lead to 17-3.
The Packers would eventually find the end zone on a pass from Rodgers to Allen Lazard. But that was the end of Green Bay’s scoring production, as the Jets’ defense dominated the rest of the way.
Jets defense wreaks havoc
Williams starred in the trenches as the Jets applied regular pressure on Rodgers, who was already dealing with an injured thumb on his throwing hand. Williams sacked Rodgers twice and hit him three more times. He also notched two tackles for loss and made his special teams presence known.
Green Bay attempted to break a scoreless tie early in the second quarter with Mason Crosby’s 47-yard field goal attempt. But Williams came under pressure up the middle to register the first of two kicks blocked by the Jets’ special teams.
When Rodgers did find time to move on, he repeatedly found Gardner stifling his plans in the secondary. Gardner regularly covered Rodgers’ receiving options and forced him to look elsewhere. When Rodgers tested Gardner, the rookie cornerback rose to the occasion with two pass breakups, including a deep third-down effort to Lazard as Green Bay looked to mount a late comeback.
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After the game, Gardner celebrated with a cheese head. This didn’t work out well at Lambeau Field.
Can the Packers find a solution to the offensive woes?
Rodgers finished the day completing 26 of 41 passes for 246 yards with a touchdown. He had four sacks and nine quarterback hits and lost a fumble.
He entered Sunday averaging a career-low 231.4 yards per pass for an offense that ranked 22nd in the NFL at 19.4 points per game. Sunday’s effort did little to assuage concerns about a 39-year-old quarterback playing without the benefit of the late All-Pro receiver Davante Adams. The Packers generated just 278 yards of offense en route to a 10-point showing at home.
Meanwhile, the Jets put in a dominating performance without needing much of Zach Wilson. The sophomore quarterback completed 10 of 18 passes for 110 yards without scoring. He didn’t turn the ball over, and that’s all New York needed from him, as running back Breece Hall paced the offense with 116 yards and a touchdown. The Jets defense did the rest.
Source: news.google.com