We knew the Buffalo Bills would be a tough opponent for the Green Bay Packers, but they dropped a 21-13 decision to them for reasons none of us predicted.
It was more or less a comedy of errors for the Packers — two interceptions by the supposedly infallible Aaron Rodgers, a blocked field goal and numerous dropped passes by the Packers’ receivers, including one that would have turned into a 94-yard touchdown by Jordy Nelson.
That isn’t to take anything away from the Bills. The Buffalo defense was as advertised and their Neck Beard-led offense did enough to win the game, most importantly, they didn’t turn the ball over as many times as the Packers.
In addition to the blocked field goal, the Bills benefited from some big, unconventional plays. Those included a 75-yard punt return touchdown from Marcus Thigpen and a safety, which was caused by Mario Williams that sealed the win.
While the Packers defense rebounded in a big way from last week’s debacle — they allowed just 253 yards, had three sacks and pick — the offense went the other way.
Rodgers threw for just 185 yards and no touchdowns, in his worst game since the early-season match-up with the Lions. QB1 was off from the start, tossing numerous passes that landed nowhere near his receivers.
The receivers didn’t help much, dropping at least five passes among them.
Offensively, Eddie Lacy carried the load, rushing 15 times for 97 yards. Unfortunately, Mike McCarthy refused to ride him, despite the fact that Rodgers was obviously off.
Despite all of that, the Packers still had a chance to win. They had the ball, down six, with just under two minutes to go. And that’s really all you can ask for in a slugfest like they got on Sunday.
That’s when Williams struck, stripping Rodgers on the first play of that final drive. The ball rolled into the end zone, where Lacy recovered it. However, because of some insane rule that a player who fumbles into their own end zone under two minutes is the only person who can recover that fumble, the ball was ruled dead on the spot and the play was ruled a safety.
Game over.
If there’s a bright side, it’s that the loss was to an AFC team. Playoff seeding comes down to head-to-head record and then goes to division and conference record. If you’re going to lose, a loss to a team in the other conference is the least damaging.
So, now our eyes must turn to Detroit.