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SEATTLE – Clay Matthews escaped from the coast and released the football. Teammate Tramon Williams rushed to the field to retrieve it, a heavenly offering made possible by two veterans perfectly aware of the heartbreaking story of the Green Bay Packers at CenturyLink Field.
Seven seconds after the Seattle Seahawks' decisive blow on Thursday night, the Packers made a swift and emphatic statement, forcing Chris Carson's fumble and pulling back on Seattle's 29-meter line. And as Aaron Rodgers jumped on the field to take his first picture of the night, the 14-year-old quarterback could barely contain his joy.
As Rodgers later recalled coming out of the stadium, "What a way to start." I thought, And it's gone! It's going to be our night."
Instead, to the dismay of the quarterback, it was another nightmare in Seattle. And the story could refer to the 27-24 defeat of the packs against the Seahawks, the night of the disappearance of music at Titletown.
"We've lost too many games like this – it's the most frustrating thing," said Rodgers in the final game of Green Bay. could / should / should setbacks in a season full of them. "We had a good chance in almost all our road games – especially against the Rams and the Patriots, and again tonight. just there. But we simply can not do it. "
At the beginning of the match, it seemed that the Packers had found their mojo in a stadium filled with miserable memories. As all supporters of gold and green know very well, CenturyLink was the show of the infamous Fail Mary in 2012 and, two years later, the place where the Pack – apparently connected to the Super Bowl – experienced a meltdown of epic proportions. the 2014 NFC Championship Game.
Thursday's quick start against the Seahawks (5-5), fueled by veterans familiar with these emotional scars, seemed to indicate that the Packers were determined to take the risk of the equation. Three games after Williams' fumble recovery, the Packers celebrated 8-yard halfback Aaron Jones. Then, with 3:10 playing in the first quarter, Rodgers threw a crazy throw that dropped 69,007 jaws in unison at Century Link and pushed Green Bay's lead to 14-3, releasing a 54-yard coal miner – – in motion and in the air – to squeeze Robert Tonyan.
At that time, the still dangerous team led by the most skilled quarterback on the planet seemed quite capable of stripping the Seahawks of its local stadium and using the victory as a pretext for the Super Bowl.
Two hours later, Rodgers (21 out of 30, 332 yards, two touchdowns, no interception) and the Packers left the field with a loss that almost lost their margin of error in 2018 – and may have opened the door. . end of an era. With a 4-5-1 record set for his next game, a November 25 road showdown with the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay is likely to miss the playoffs for a second consecutive season, a development that Mike could McCarthy has completed his 13-year term as the team's head coach.
Although McCarthy led the pack for the ninth time in the playoffs, including eight consecutive appearances with Rodgers as quarterback for the 2009-16 season, the franchise has only one championship to show. The window will not stay open forever – Rodgers will turn 35 on Dec. 2 – and frustration in the locker room begins to palpate.
A 29-27 loss to the Rams in Los Angeles at the end of last month left several Green Bay players mad against one of his teammates, some considered selfish (half-off Ty Montgomery was traded to the Baltimore Ravens two days later). The following Sunday in Foxborough, the Packers seemed about to take control of a game against the New England Patriots, but a fumble from Jones sent them into a downward spiral.
Thursday, after Green Bay failed to secure a lead in the second half, she held on until 5:11 remained in the match – and withdrew the ball in fourth and second from her own 33 to 4: 20 to go, never get it back – the inability to push back the opponents was a recurring topic of discussion.
"Certainly, we should have put them away," said Williams, the 12-year-old cornerback who returned to the franchise last March after a three-year absence. "There have been too many games where we have not finished, where we could not maintain our momentum, we just have to get that win."
Williams was particularly upset that the Packers defeated Rodgers without the chance to produce the kind of end-game magic that led the team to victory against the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers earlier. this season. Williams' fourth and second goal seemed self-evident.
"I want to go," he said. "I want to play to win. Aaron Rodgers. We (should) play to win – point. We do not want to entrust it to anyone else. We have the best quarterback in the league. We have to put it in his hands and let him do what he does. "
Long before McCarthy's punching decision, the Packers missed the opportunity to turn their match early into a dazzling victory – a thing that overlaps, thematically, with the overall philosophy of the game. franchise for much of Rodgers' career. Although very talented in the selection of players, former General Manager Ted Thompson, who moved away after last season, was reluctant to trade or aggressively seek out leading free agents, an approach that seems to be changing under his successor, Brian Gutekunst.
With Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy having played a more active role since the switch, there is a growing sense that McCarthy could be replaced – unless there is a dramatic turnaround in fortune of the team. If that is the case, he will surely come back on Thursday's match as being one of those who escaped.
"You could not have asked for a better start," Matthews said. "I know we're young and we have a lot of new players and a new stratagem, but we have to play games, because in this league, distance does not matter, now we have to win almost. of fire ".
The Packers had monster games on both sides of the ball. Third-year linebacker Kyler Fackrell was a destructive team-mate, looking for quarterback Seattle Wilson (21 out of 31, 225 yards, two touchdowns, no interception) the entire game in an effort consisting of three sacks, four quarterbacks and a deviated pbad that Wilson caught for a loss of 11 yards.
Meanwhile, No. 1 receiver Davante Adams captured 10 receptions for 166 yards, including a superb 98-yard deep Rodgers ball. Jimmy Graham, first prize of the first clbad of Gutekunst free agents, made a bad comeback in Seattle. He suffered a thumb injury fearing to be serious and left the game for the end of the first half.
During the evening, Rodgers thought he had a relationship with Graham, before realizing that his target was actually a first-year and fourth-string player from Indiana State.
With the Packers up from 7 to 3 and facing a second and 10 of their 46, Rodgers took a picture of the under center, dropped and felt the pocket shatter. He pumped the ball once before escaping to his right, pointing his finger down while avoiding several Seahawks in pursuit. As he approached the sideline, just past his own 40-yard front line, Rodgers left the ground as he unleashed a fiery spiral toward the goal line, where Tonyan was tightly covered by security Bradley McDougald.
"C & # 39; was niiicccee", Admitted Rodgers after, shortly before heading to the bus of the team." I let him go and I looked at him and I said, " Oooooo yeah … "To be honest, I thought it was Jimmy. I let it go and looked at it then I said "Whoa! C & # 39; Police officer. & # 39; "
Tonyan's results seemed to indicate that the Packers were on the brink of a dazzling victory. Yet, unlike Rodgers' famous girlfriend, Danica Patrick, this team does not seem comfortable putting their feet in the dish. The Seahawks took the lead 17-14 with just under 3:22 left in the first half. Although Green Bay picked it up from Rodgers to Jones, he had 44 seconds left, with only three points left. .
Even though Rodgers made it through to Tonyan, he wanted to have a hard shot, as he was directly ahead of McCarthy's decision to send the ball back to the Seahawks. After Wilson's 15-yard touchdown was tight, Ed Dickson put Seattle 27 to 24 with 5:11 to play, the Packers took control at 25, and quickly faced a third and two of 33. Rodgers, after Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the rookie receiver, was open to his right for what would probably have been a trap well beyond the first goal.
The ball, however, was never there, hitting the ground well below its target.
When asked if he was upset that the Packers beat the ball in fourth and second place, Rodgers said, "I'm mad at third and second. It's a throw I'm doing 100 times, just amazing. "
Someone who was not angry at McCarthy's decision to pull the ball out of Rodgers' hands: Seahawks defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr.
"Oh my God," he said afterwards. "I was like, 'S please! Punt! Punt! Punt!"
Four games in the race and two first tries later, the Seahawks were in a winning formation – and the Packers may still have a chance to save a season. Rodgers has led them on remarkable courses before, so it would be crazy to completely dismiss this possibility. Still, Williams, for one, believes that such dire circumstances warrant an attitude lost until here and that he was not afraid to express it after another heartbreaking defeat.
"I do not want to play a regular game all the time," said Williams. I want to make a statement We know what we have We are at a time of our season when we have to win We have nothing else to do We have the best quarterback We we have too much to lose so close to the goal, we have to overcome the bump, and we have to risk some things to do it. "
If the Packers do not succeed, it is possible that very big changes await them at the end of the season.
Follow Michael Silver on Twitter @mikesilver.
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