The Green Bay Packers comfortably defeat the Los Angeles Rams 24-12 in Week 15's Monday Night Football matchup at Lambeau Field.
Well, it looks like Baker Mayfield's magic has already run out, and is anyone surprised?
Look, last week's comeback was nothing short of legendary, but did we really expect this guy to make winning in LA a regular thing? No. He may just about save them from losing all dignity, but the fact of the matter is - this Rams team now has the earliest playoff elimination for a defending Super Bowl champion since the 1999 Broncos. Ouch.
Now, Mayfield may be okay with the ball in his hands, but without a dominant ground game, McVay will struggle to find his way back to the win column before Stafford and Kupp return.
Cam Akers logged 65 yards from just 12 carries as McVay tried to get the ball to his playmaking wide receivers, who didn't do too much either.
Mayfield threw for 111 on the night, finding Akers and Van Jefferson for a combined 67 yards, but it was Tyler Higbee who made the only trip to the end zone for the Rams.
higbee’s first touchdown of the YEAR 😳 pic.twitter.com/cPpFKIgTGy
— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) December 20, 2022
On the other hand, the Packers had no problem moving the chains.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 229 yards and a touchdown, finding rookies Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson for most of the yardage through the air, but it was Green Bay's ground game that proved to be the difference maker in this matchup.
The Packers controlled possession with short repetitive runs, as their longest rushing gain of the night was only 14 yards.
Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon split the workload out of the backfield as they had 1 and 2 touchdowns respectively.
AJ DILLON POWERS IT IN 💪
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) December 20, 2022
pic.twitter.com/wCxxwNlcOi
Green Bay still have a sliver of hope to make it to the postseason, but they'll likely need to win out the rest of their games and Aaron Rodgers is confident they can do just that...
We’ve just been practicing a little bit better. The energy’s been a little bit better. It’s hard to put your finger on it. We’ve played a couple of teams we should have beat, so that being said, it’s still tough to win in the league. And I’ve said it earlier, I think we can beat anybody. We can also lose to anybody. But when you win a couple in a row, it starts to give you some confidence.
Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers & Co. will face the Dolphins, Vikings and the Lions in their final three regular season games. These aren't easy opponents, so this could be the last three times we see Rodgers take to the turf.
Meanwhile, the Rams season is truly dead in the water and just one more loss will give McVay the worst season record for a reigning champion following a Super Bowl win.
This has been a real struggle in a lot of instances, a lot of adversity that we’ve gone through. But I think what we’ve seen from our guys is that they’re going to continue to battle. They’re going to finish up these last three games the right way, with the right mindset and mentality and we’ll compete to the best of our ability. That’s all I know how to do and I trust that that’s exactly what we’ll do collectively as a group.
Sean McVay
Mayfield may have provided one bright spot for the Rams forgetful season, but I fully expect them to break the record for worst post-championship season. Don't hold your breath for any more magical moments...
So, that wraps up Week 15, and with just 3 more weeks of regular-season football remaining, the postseason is still all to play for (minus the Rams of course).
Now sadly, you'll all have to go without my wonderful ranting for Week 16, as I'll be enjoying all the food and beer I can consume over the Christmas period. I'll return on the 3rd of January to deliver some more nonsense to you folks.
Enjoy the games and Merry Christmas!!
