Atlanta Falcons vs. Green Bay Packers: Full Report Card Grades for Green Bay

In the first 30 minutes of the Green Bay Packers’ (10-3) 43-37 win over the Atlanta Falcons (5-8) Monday night, Aaron Rodgers and Co. did whatever they wanted against Mike Nolan’s 31st-ranked pass defense. The Packers' offensive domination was illustrated by the team's stats, courtesy of Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

In the first half, #Packers ran 43 plays with 22 first downs, 31 points and 296 total yards.

— Tyler Dunne (@TyDunne) December 9, 2014

The second half was a different story, however, as Green Bay’s offense totaled just six first downs. The Packers hit paydirt on a 60-yard shot play to Jordy Nelson, and big runs from Rodgers and James Starks on the game’s final drive were enough to salt it away.

It was a step back for Dom Capers’ unit on defense which hadn’t allowed more than 21 points at home since Week 2. Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones notched a career high in receiving yards for the second straight week, victimizing seemingly every Packers defensive back to the tune of 11 receptions for 259 yards and a touchdown.

Wins are wins, and you’ll take them however you can get them, but it’s somewhat disheartening to see the defense play so poorly after a stellar effort against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots just a week ago. There's cause for concern when it comes to deep postseason play, and of course reaching and winning the Super Bowl, based on how the Packers defense played Monday night, according to Mike Clemens:

If defense wins championships, (and it does) Packers fans may have cause for concern tonight.

— Mike Clemens (@MikeClemensNFL) December 9, 2014

Aaron Rodgers played great Monday night, but he really, really needs to slide. 

On more than one occasion, Rodgers dove headfirst or stayed inbounds for extra yardage and paid the price. I realize that it’s important to get first downs, but it's not important enough to risk the health of literally the most irreplaceable player in football and arguably American professional sports.  

But aside from that, just another day at the office for the future 2014 league MVP, as noted by his stats, via Rotoworld's Evan Silva: 

#Packers QB Aaron Rodgers *still* hasn't thrown an INT at home since 12/2/2012. 36:0 TD-INT ratio, 9.17 YPA during that 15-game stretch.

— Evan Silva (@evansilva) December 9, 2014

It was Rodgers’ second touchdown pass that showed why he’s easily the best quarterback in the league.  

Green Bay faced 3rd-and-goal from Atlanta’s 10-yard line, and the Packers went with Rodgers in the shotgun and an empty backfield—Eddie Lacy and Richard Rodgers in right and left slots, Davante Adams and Randall Cobb wide left and Jordy Nelson split right.

The Falcons countered with three down lineman rushing the passer and linebacker Kroy Biermann as a spy. Rodgers took the snap, dropped back, waited and was unable to find anyone. Biermann sensed panic, rushed, and Rodgers somehow ducked away from a drive-killing sack, allowing just enough time for Nelson to uncover in the back of the end zone.

ESPN's Rob Demovsky described Biermann's attempt to get to Rodgers:

Kroy Biermann absolutely whiffed with a right arm swing at Rodgers.

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) December 9, 2014

A wrist-flick later, and it was 31-7 Packers. 

Rodgers later hit on a 60-yarder to Nelson. Those plays are so fun to watch. Rodgers did a fantastic job checking into run plays when the defense dictated and checking down to Lacy and Starks. 

Grade: A

For the sixth straight game, Eddie Lacy topped 100 yards from scrimmage. And James Starks wasn’t bad, either. And based on how he's performing, it's easy to see why Packerpedia described Sparks as a "sneaky good" re-signing:

James Starks was a sneaky good free agent re-signing last offseason.

— Packerpedia (@Packerpedia) December 9, 2014

The Packers featured Lacy early, and he responded with rushes of 22 and 12 yards along with a six-yard catch on the opening scoring drive, capped with a three-yard rushing touchdown from Starks.  

Lacy scored the Packers’ next two touchdowns—first on the ground and then through the air—and nearly hauled in a third late in the game. 

His spinning 13-yard run in the second quarter added to the season-long highlight reel, leaving a path of defenders in his wake, as described by Paul Imig of Fox Sports Wisconsin: 

And there's the seemingly weekly multiple-forced-missed-tackles play from Eddie Lacy. "Eddie" chants reigning at Lambeau Field. #Packers

— Paul Imig (@Paulimig) December 9, 2014

Starks’ 75 rushing yards and 101 total years were easily single-season highs for the fifth-year man from the University at Buffalo, and his 41-yard scamper in the game’s waning moments all but iced it. 

John Kuhn saw the field more than he has in recent weeks and responded well, catching his only target on the Packers’ first offensive play, plunging up the gut for four yards on 3rd-and-1 and helping to clear the way for Lacy and Starks. 

Grade: A

Death, taxes and touchdowns of at least 40 yards for Jordy Nelson. With Monday night's performance, Nelson ties Billy Howton's record, per Todd McMahon of the Green Bay Press-Gazette Media:

#Packers' Jordy Nelson ties 62-year-old team record (by Billy Howton) with 7 TD catches of 40 or more yds in a season.

— Todd McMahon (@ToddMcMahon23) December 9, 2014

It still amazes me that he gets behind the safety every single week. You’d think that teams would wise up by now.

Randall Cobb’s stat line doesn’t blow you away—five targets, four receptions, 58 yards—but it’s when he made them that matters most: a four-yard completion on 3rd-and-2 on a drive that resulted in a Packers touchdown, an 18-yard catch on Green Bay’s two-minute drill before the half on a drive that resulted in a touchdown, a 23-yard catch on 3rd-and-3 on a drive that resulted in a field goal to give Green Bay a 34-17 lead and a 13-yard grab on 3rd-and-9 one play before Rodgers’ 60-yard bomb to Nelson, the eventual game-winner.

Davante Adams was targeted four times but caught just one pass for six yards. Rodgers tried to hit him on a back-shoulder play in the fourth quarter, but Adams never turned around. His best play came on Starks’ touchdown scamper, throwing a block on Robert McClain in the end zone to allow Starks easy access to six points.

Andrew Quarless had another solid, yet unspectacular, week, hauling in three of his four targets for 52 yards, including a 30-yard grab on 3rd-and-17 one play after he false-started. In fact, on that drive, Quarless saw all four of his targets and had his lone penalty. Quarless seems to be getting in the rhythm of making 30-yard catches, per Wes Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette Media:

Andrew Quarless didn't have a catch more than 30 yards in his career going into this season. Has two in the last three weeks

— Wes Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) December 9, 2014

Grade: A-

ESPN’s Monday Night Football crew did a great job singling out the stellar play of the Packers’ offensive line this season:

"The Green Bay Packers offensive line. The best kept secret in Wisconsin" - Gruden pic.twitter.com/1cU7VkKryL

— ESPN Monday Night (@ESPNMondayNight) December 9, 2014

Rodgers was hit just three times and sacked once, when Biermann got the best of David Bakhtiari. But aside from that, Rodgers regularly had all day to throw.

The 179 yards rushing was a season high for the Packers and marked the fifth straight game over the century mark.

Bakthtiari showed some nasty run blocking (in a good way), and I think he’s still blocking his defender from Eddie Lacy’s touchdown run. T.J. Lang was a beast in the run and pass game, imposing his will on the Falcons' defensive line, as noted by sports anchor Lance Allan:

Looks like T.J. Lang is really driving his man off the snap tonight. Good pass protection too. #Packers

— Lance Allan (@lanceallan) December 9, 2014

Grade: A+

A mostly absentee line from the big guys up front.

The highlight of the game would have been Letroy Guion’s tipped pass and interception, but a review showed that the ball hit the ground.

From Ben Goessling, ESPN.com beat writer for the Minnesota Vikings (Guion’s former team):

Even if that doesn't stand, it's so weird to see Letroy Guion making plays.

— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingESPN) December 9, 2014

Mike Daniels was quiet for most of the night but did press the pocket some in the second half, but he registered just one tackle on the stat sheet. Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus noted Daniels played a limited number of possible snaps in the first half:

Not sure if something is up with Mike Daniels, but he has only played in 7 of a possible 24 snaps in the first half.

— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) December 9, 2014

With Daniels nursing a back injury, it’s possible the Packers put him on a pitch count.

Grade: C

A.J. Hawk has officially been relegated to the bench, based on his snap count for this matchup compared to to his usual stats, per PFF's Jahnke and Matt Claassen:

A.J. Hawk with 8 defensive snaps on the night. It was his first game he played where he did not have double digit snaps since 2008 Week 7.

— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) December 9, 2014

Off the field for just 12 of 659 snaps over Weeks 2-11 RT @PFF_NateJahnke A.J. Hawk with 8 defensive snaps on the night.

— Matt Claassen (@PFF_MattC) December 9, 2014

It wasn't until the Falcons’ fourth offensive possession that Hawk saw the field. The Packers rolled mostly with Sam Barrington and Matthews inside and then used the oft-maligned Brad Jones in dime packages.

Dom Capers’ second level did a decent job overall, limiting Atlanta’s run game to under 100 yards and a 3.8 yards-per-carry average. Matthews got a sack against his cousin Jake, though one could argue that Matt Ryan held the ball too long. Clay also racked up two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss. The Falcons' official Twitter account highlighted the Jake vs. Clay matchup:

Jake Matthews vs. Clay Matthews #ATLvsGB pic.twitter.com/hWNdKXKkx6

— Atlanta_Falcons (@Atlanta_Falcons) December 9, 2014

Barrington’s night was summed up in consecutive plays to start the first quarter. Play No. 1, Barrington fills his gap and stuffs running back Devonta Freeman for a two-yard loss. Play No. 2, Ryan targets Freeman on a route out of the backfield, Barrington gets lost in the wash and it goes for six yards.

He’ll show you greatness on one play and then his inexperience on the next—I guess you take the good with the bad and hope it works out for the best.

Julius Peppers was mostly invisible.

Grade: B-

You never want a guy to have the best day of his career against you, especially when that guy is a talent like Julio Jones.

Jones had a big first half, grabbing five balls for 100 yards.

But, it didn’t matter, because the Packers led 31-7, and Green Bay had kept him out of the end zone. But, in the second half, Jones schooled Sam Shields, Tramon Williams, Micah Hyde, Morgan Burnett and basically every other Packers defender. His touchdown reception was over Shields and under Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, who was late coming over to help. Jones actually surpassed Calvin Johnson's record for most receiving yards against the Packers, per Demovsky:

This is true. RT @LMagieraWAOW: Julio Jones' 259 rec. yds are most ever against #Packers, beating Calvin Johnson's 244 from Week 17, 2011.

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) December 9, 2014

Even worse was that Ryan threw three touchdown passes to receivers not named Julio Jones. Hyde was late to cover Eric Weems when Casey Hayward passed him off on 4th-and-goal from the 5-yard line.

Roddy White’s shallow cross near the goal line went for six when Davon House got lost in the shuffle, the same play the Vikings ran to Greg Jennings for a score two weeks ago. And Harry Douglas got a step on Hayward after he stemmed his corner route and hauled in a well-thrown ball from Ryan.

Hayward replaced Hyde in the nickel in the second half. House made a couple of nice plays covering Jones. Paul Imig was impressed by House effectively covering Jones:

Davon House has done a great job twice now on Julio Jones this drive. Almost picked that off in the end zone. #Packers

— Paul Imig (@Paulimig) December 9, 2014

One of the lone bright spots was an athletic interception from Morgan Burnett, his first since picking off Christian Ponder twice two years ago.

Atlanta totaled 17 first downs through the air and 9.1 yards per attempt—hard to believe this is the same pass defense that held its own against Tom Brady last week.

Grade: D-

Sooner or later, a blocked extra point is going to bite us in the you-know-what. The Packers had a chance to go up three scores after Nelson’s 60-yard touchdown reception, but Mason Crosby’s extra-point attempt was blocked, the second time that’s happened this season, which sets a record, per Cork Gaines:

#Packers Mason Crosby is just 2nd kicker since 2010 to miss 2 extra points in one season (via P-F-R)

— Cork Gaines (@CorkGaines) December 9, 2014

Crosby was excellent other than that, hitting from 38, 33 and 53 yards out.

Brad Jones came through with a block of his own as the Falcons were hoping to hit a 53-yarder of their own going into halftime.

It’s pretty sad that Packers fans are now considering anything beyond the 25-yard line to be good starting-field position. DuJuan Harris is not breaking off a big runback anytime soon. Jeff Janis, maybe? Brett Gilbertson questions Harris' ability as the kick returner:

i know its week 14, but is Dujuan Harris really the best option on KR? #FreeJanis

— Brett Gilbertson (@bgilbertson10) December 9, 2014

Micah Hyde had a nice 16-yard punt return to give the Packers excellent field position on a drive they eventually turned into seven points.

Tim Masthay had one punt, a putrid 31-yarder. 

Grade: B-

If you want to see a perfect offense at work, go watch the Packers’ opening drive—seven plays, 81 yards and spanning 3:47. Rodgers checked to runs against two-high safety looks and Lacy took advantage, Rodgers dumped to Kuhn when the defense gave it, Nelson adjusted his route to sit in the voided zone for a big gain—all examples of coaching and execution.

The shortest play of the drive was Starks’ three-yard touchdown run. Andy Tarnoff used a video-game scenario to describe how well the Packers executed plays on their opening drive:

That opening drive by the #Packers looked like a video game. Against someone who has never played a video game.

— Andy Tarnoff (@AndyTarnoff) December 9, 2014

Defensively, though, the Packers allowed touchdowns on each of the Falcons’ possessions to start the halves. It’s the first time that’s happened all season and the second time they’ve allowed one to start the second half.

Winning breeds complacency if you’re not careful—like we saw in 2011—but I chalk this one up more to a pretty good quarterback in Matt Ryan and a scoring hot receiver in Julio Jones and then some complementary pieces stepping up on national television.

The poor second-half performance on offense and defense doesn’t worry me as much after seeing how well the Pack played against New England and Philadelphia, two of the best teams in the league.

Grade: B-

Winning games is never easy in this league.

The Packers were the biggest NFL favorite this week (-13 according to Odds Shark), they had a 24-point lead at halftime, they’ve got the best player in the world, their home-field advantage has been second-to-none, and yet they still had to fight for dear life against a team that’s now three games below .500.

You take wins however you can get them—and that's probably how McCarthy feels as he ties the great Vince Lombardi's winning record with the Packers, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Mike McCarthy:: 98th win as Packers coach (including postseason); that equals Vince Lombardi's total with Packers

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 9, 2014

After blowout victories Weeks 10 and 11 (41- and 33-point wins), Green Bay has won its last three games by a combined 14 points. But like I said after the Minnesota game, a game that the Packers were supposed to dominate from start to finish, winning close games can be just as valuable as a blowout. They test your mettle and make you play hard for 60 minutes.

Follow me on Twitter @PeterSowards.