Everything the Green Bay Packers worked for and prided themselves on during a glorious 15-1 regular season went down the drain in a matter of a little more than three hours Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field.
Given the expectations for the reigning Super Bowl champion Packers, who had won 21 of their previous 22 games, their 37-20 defeat against the New York Giants will go down as the most disheartening playoff game in team history.
The Packers had everything going in their favor. They were healthy, confident, well-rested and playing at home, where they hadn’t lost in more than a year. They also boasted the most potent offense in team history and the best quarterback in the NFL.
They took all that momentum and promptly laid a giant egg in front of 72,080 stunned spectators and a national television audience.
“It’s tough,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “Didn’t think it was going to end tonight. Felt good about our chances, felt good about our team.”
All the good feelings about the Packers’ record-setting regular season meant squat against the Giants, who despite their modest record were the far superior team.
The Packers, in simple terms, were an absolute mess. They put on display a comedy of errors and couldn’t stop tripping over their feet.
It was an epic pratfall, and the timing couldn’t have been worse in the most important game of the season.
“For whatever reason, today wasn’t our day,” safety Charlie Peprah said. “We weren’t in sync.”
That would be a classic understatement. The Packers were abysmal on both sides of the ball.
After losing six fumbles in 16 regular-season games this year, the Packers coughed up the ball three times in one afternoon against the Giants. They dropped at least a half-dozen passes. Rodgers endured his worst game of the season with a 78.5 passer rating, one interception, one fumble and one blown touchdown on an overthrown pass.
The defense wasn’t any better. It allowed an unforgivable Hail Mary touchdown pass on the final play of the first half that handed the Giants a commanding 20-10 lead and seemed to take the life out of the crowd and the Packers. There were missed tackles and blown assignments. Giants quarterback Eli Manning had all the time he needed in the pocket and torched the Packers for 330 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Source:http://packersnews.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20120115/PKR07/120115044/Green-Bay-Packers-season-ends-with-rude-surprise?odyssey=mod|mostview
The Packers had everything going in their favor. They were healthy, confident, well-rested and playing at home, where they hadn’t lost in more than a year. They also boasted the most potent offense in team history and the best quarterback in the NFL.
They took all that momentum and promptly laid a giant egg in front of 72,080 stunned spectators and a national television audience.
“It’s tough,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “Didn’t think it was going to end tonight. Felt good about our chances, felt good about our team.”
All the good feelings about the Packers’ record-setting regular season meant squat against the Giants, who despite their modest record were the far superior team.
The Packers, in simple terms, were an absolute mess. They put on display a comedy of errors and couldn’t stop tripping over their feet.
It was an epic pratfall, and the timing couldn’t have been worse in the most important game of the season.
“For whatever reason, today wasn’t our day,” safety Charlie Peprah said. “We weren’t in sync.”
That would be a classic understatement. The Packers were abysmal on both sides of the ball.
After losing six fumbles in 16 regular-season games this year, the Packers coughed up the ball three times in one afternoon against the Giants. They dropped at least a half-dozen passes. Rodgers endured his worst game of the season with a 78.5 passer rating, one interception, one fumble and one blown touchdown on an overthrown pass.
The defense wasn’t any better. It allowed an unforgivable Hail Mary touchdown pass on the final play of the first half that handed the Giants a commanding 20-10 lead and seemed to take the life out of the crowd and the Packers. There were missed tackles and blown assignments. Giants quarterback Eli Manning had all the time he needed in the pocket and torched the Packers for 330 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Source:http://packersnews.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20120115/PKR07/120115044/Green-Bay-Packers-season-ends-with-rude-surprise?odyssey=mod|mostview
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