The new life breathed today by the Green Bay Packers had almost as much to do with who their opponent was in last weekend’s wild-card game as it did with who it wasn’t.
The Packers beat Washington 35-18 in good part by not beating themselves.
One night earlier, the Cincinnati Bengals established the new gold standard in the art of self-destruction during their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, finishing an almost certain victory with an ugly flourish that must have left Bengals fans pulling out their hair.
Stupid and highly avoidable penalties in the waning seconds turned what would have been a long field goal into a chip shot that gave the Steelers a win that even they probably couldn’t believe they left the stadium with.
Washington wasn’t guilty of any of the sort of macho-driven lunacy that ended Cincinnati’s season. The game was played hard, clean and free of the animosity that defined the Bengals-Steelers brawl.
But early in their game with Washington, the Packers did benefit from some largess of the dim-witted variety from their hosts.
The Packers, who helped themselves by committing just three penalties for 23 yards, had fallen behind 2-0 when linebacker Preston Smith beat left tackle JC Tretter and sacked quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the end zone.
A few minutes later, from the Packer 15-yard line, Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins found DeSean Jackson open on a crossing pattern, and the speedy wide receiver ran in for what appeared to be a touchdown.
The problem for Washington was that Jackson, whose confusion about the concept of crossing a goal line is becoming legendary, didn’t bother to get the nose of the football across the imaginary plane at the front of the end zone. Instead, with Packers defensive back Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in pursuit, he cradled the ball behind him as he crossed over the pylon and out of bounds. It may have looked pretty cool, in a sort of nonchalant way, but after a camera review, it also looked like a non-score. What appeared to be an 8-0 lead became instead first-and-goal at the one-half-yard line.
The Packers took that opportunity to stage one of the most inspiring goal-line stands in team history. On first down, running back Alfred Morris was stuffed by Clinton-Dix and Jake Ryan for no gain. On second down Morris was stopped for a loss, this time by Letroy Guion and Clay Matthews.
On third and goal from the 2, Cousins let the play clock run out and Washington was penalized 5 yards. After an incompletion on third-and-goal from the 7, a field goal made it a 5-0 game instead of 9-0.
“That was big,” Rodgers said afterward. “They scored again after that, so it was a matter of being down 11-0 instead of 16-0.”
Cousins might have a bright future in the league and he put up some impressive numbers this season, but he’s still a light year or so from the caliber of Rodgers.
Rodgers would not have let the clock run out. As long as he’s calling the signals, the Packers won’t beat themselves. In a similar vein, while Randall Cobb, James Jones or Davanate Adams may not have the breakaway speed of Washington’s Jackson, you won’t find them busting the sort of bonehead hotdog move that might cost the team points, momentum or a win.
The Packers are still not where they want to be, as there’s fine-tuning yet to be done with the offensive line in preparation for Arizona. But for the first time in a while, they’re close.
“When we were down (by 11 points) we could’ve let doubt creep in,” Rodgers said. “But we didn’t, because we’ve been there, done that. We know how to win these types of games.”
This includes knowing how not to lose them.
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