A 37-yard field goal from Giants’ kicker Randy Bullock as time expired pushed Green Bay to a game under .500, as the Giants knocked off the red hot Packers 24-22 on Dec. 11 in New Jersey.
It looked certain that Green Bay was going to lose, as the Giants, up 21-16 with 5:30 remaining in the game, began to march down the field. Giants superstar running back Saquon Barkley saw two carries to open the drive, one going for six yards and the other going for 17 yards. On his third attempt of the drive, Barkley broke free for a 34-yard gain down the right sideline, but as he was tripped up fumbled the football, which in turn was picked up by Packers’ defensive back Carrington Valentine and returned 50 yards down to the Green Bay 36-yard line.
“I saw nobody touched him, the ball popped out and I grabbed it and started running,” said Valentine, on the fumble recovery.
All of a sudden, Green Bay was in a prime opportunity to take the lead late and steal the game at MetLife Stadium.
The offense did its part, as the drive started with 3:34 remaining in the game. Running back A.J. Dillon churned out 14 yards on the first three plays of the drive. That was followed up by two completions from Packers quarterback Jordan Love. A Love scramble later, Green Bay faced a second-and-goal from the Giants six-yard line with 1:42 remaining.
Love got the snap and avoided defenders, stepped up in the pocket and ran to the right side of the field, before throwing a dart to receiver Malik Heath. Heath initially caught the pass, but before he could control the ball, it was knocked out by a Giants’ defender, setting up a third-and-goal.
On the ensuing play, Heath, who was isolated to the left side of the field, ran an out route and made an incredible catch, sneaking into the end zone to give Green Bay a one point lead with 1:33 left in the game. The following two-point attempt failed though, as Jayden Reed was tackled just short of the end zone on an end-around.
Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito then began his march down the field, completing three short passes before connecting with wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson for 32 yards to put New York into field goal range. From there, Barkley chewed the clock with three straight runs, setting up the eventual 37-yard make from Bullock to give Green Bay its first loss since the team’s Nov. 12 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Obviously, extremely disappointed,” said Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. “I think our team learned a valuable lesson in terms of if you don’t play your best, it doesn’t matter who you are playing, where you are playing, when you are playing – you are not going to win the game.”
In relation to the last three games, it was an uncharacteristically underperforming game for Love, as he completed 25-of-39 for just 218 yards and one touchdown. Love also threw one interception and lost one fumble.
It was tight end Tucker Kraft, who was the leading receiver for Green Bay, catching four passes and recording 64 yards. As for the run game, Dillon logged 53 yards on 15 carries. He added another 25 yards receiving.
“Not good enough,” said Love, on his performance. “Obviously not good enough to get the job done there at the end and obviously two costly turnovers hurt us a lot, so just not good enough.”
The game opened with three straight punts, before the Giants were faced with a fourth-and-eight from the Packers 30-yard line. Bullock ran onto the field to attempt to open the scoring, but a missed field goal kept the game knotted at zero. Green Bay then took over and marched down the field on a seven-play drive, capped off by a Reed 16-yard rushing touchdown. The Giants immediately responded with an eight-play drive that resulted in a Barkley five-yard rushing touchdown.
Love fumbled on the next drive, but the Packers were able to hold the Giants to a turnover-on-downs to get the ball back late in the first half and kick a field goal to go up three.
Coming out of halftime, the Packers forced the Giants to punt, but a muff by Packers’ returner Keisean Nixon set the Giants up at the Packers’ 31-yard line. DeVito picked up his biggest play of the game on the drive, rushing 26 yards on 2nd-and-six to set up Barkley’s second touchdown of the game.
Green Bay was forced to punt on its ensuing drive. It was the Giants though who muffed the punt this time and Green Bay took over at the Giants’ 14-yard line. The Packers could not do anything with the drive though and were forced to settle for a field goal to cut New York’s lead to one.
The Giants immediately responded with a touchdown as DeVito found Giants receiver Isiah Hodgins in the back corner of the end zone to go up eight.
Green Bay then pushed down the field quickly on the backs of a 16-yard reception from Samori Toure and a 14-yard reception from Romeo Doubs. That drive yielded no points though as kicker Anders Carlson missed the 45-yard attempt. From there, the crazy fourth quarter commenced.
The loss to the Giants does not immediately hurt the Packers in the playoff picture, as despite its 6-7 record, Green Bay still finds itself in the seventh seed, one game behind the Minnesota Vikings and three back of the Detroit Lions for the lead in the NFC North. Green Bay still controls its own destiny, but four teams in the NFC sit at a 6-7 record looking to swipe that seventh seed.
For what it is worth, the New York Times Playoff Simulator gives the Packers a 50% chance to make the playoffs. If Green Bay beats Tampa Bay next week, that goes up to 67%. If Green Bay loses to Tampa Bay next week, that goes down to 25%.
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