Christian Watson's coming out party pushes Pack to victory in overtime
Packers look to slay Titans in Thursday night clash
HOW ‘BOUT DEM COWBOYS?!
Mike McCarthy’s return to Lambeau was spoiled by an up and down 31-28 overtime win by the Packers on the back of Christian Watson, Aaron Jones and Rudy Ford.
It’s poetic that after all those years of McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers twisting the knife in the hearts of Skip Bayless and Cowboys fans alike, that Rodgers and company let McCarthy know how it feels to have it happen to you on the other sideline.
The result?
That feels good.
Without further ado, let’s get into the cheeseboard as it is full of the most delectable cheese you could imagine this week.
The Cheeseboard 🧀
Christian Watson 🧀 🧀
Yessirrrrr. We’ve been waiting for this performance from Christian Watson all year. A game where he was finally utilized down the field and not just as gadget receiver behind the line of scrimmage. Watson had four catches for 107 yards and three touchdowns — one of which was absolutely beautiful over his shoulder. Simply gorgeous. His one catch that wasn’t a touchdown was a crucial third down grab to keep the drive going as the Packers mounted their comeback. Four catches and and all four proved critical. Can’t wait to see more of this.
Aaron Jones 🧀 🧀
Another day at the office for the offenses best player. The Packers started the game with seven straight runs and it got their offense moving in a fast way. Jones had a workhorse amount of carries as he logged 24 carries for 138 yards and a touchdown in which he honored one of the all time greats.
Matt LaFleur please keep giving the ball to Showtime.
Rudy Ford 🧀 🧀
On the other side of the ball, cut day pickup Rudy Ford has proved that he deserves more playing time than just on special teams. With Eric Stokes out with injury, safety Darnell Savage had to move to the slot which promoted Rudy Ford to safety. And he made his impact immediately in the game intercepting Dak Prescott as the Cowboys were driving to try and go up 14-0. That first interception represented a massive momentum swing in the game and allowed the offense to tie the game at seven. The ensuing possession, Ford picked off Prescott again, leading to another Packers touchdown and taking the lead 14-7. Overall, he was a force and showcased his great closing abilities and effective tackling. Rudy deserves to play.
Aaron Rodgers 🧀
The run game having significant success allowed Rodgers to bounce back from his Limburger cheese performance against the Lions and have one of his most efficient games this year. 14/20 for 224 yards and three touchdowns. The path for success for Rodgers this year start’s with the run game’s success and allowing Rodgers’ throws to be easier and easier — a la Watson’s second and third touchdowns.
David Bakhtiari 🧀 and Jon Runyan 🧀
Both David Bakhtiari and Jon Runyan Jr. had fantastic weeks in the trenches, neither one of them allowing a pressure in the game against Dallas’ strong pass rush and being standouts in the run game as Aaron Jones rushed to 137 yards. It’s been nice to see Bakhtiari consistently play week after week and be the All-Pro tackle he has has been historically. The unit playing cohesively up to their standards would bode well as the season continues.
Cheeseboard after 10 games:
Aaron Jones: 🧀 x 8
Rashan Gary: 🧀 x 4
De’Vondre Campbell: 🧀 x 3
Jaire Alexander: 🧀 x 3
Preston Smith: 🧀 x 3
Romeo Doubs: 🧀 x 3
Rudy Ford: 🧀 x 3
Aaron Rodgers: 🧀 x2
AJ Dillon: 🧀 x 2
Elgton Jenkins: 🧀 x 2
David Bakhtiari: 🧀 x 2
John Runyan: 🧀 x 2
Kenny Clark: 🧀 x 2
Keisean Nixon: 🧀 x 2
Pat O’Donnell: 🧀 x 2
Rasul Douglas: 🧀 x 2
Quay Walker: 🧀 x 2
Christian Watson: 🧀 x 2
Allen Lazard: 🧀
Eric Stokes: 🧀
Darnell Savage: 🧀
Jarran Reed: 🧀
Mason Crosby: 🧀
Randall Cobb: 🧀
Robert Tonyan: 🧀
Sammy Watkins: 🧀
Zach Tom: 🧀
Preview of Packers-Titans, score predictions
Without a doubt, the biggest theme this week is going to be stopping Derrick Henry in the run game. The Packers run game is bad. Derrick Henry is good.
So good in fact, that through nine games this year, he has already logged 923 rushing yards. Before facing the scary Denver defense last week, Henry had logged five straight games of 100+ yard games including a 219 yard, two-touchdown performance against the Houston Texans.
Team tackling is going to be critically important and keeping Derrick Henry in check — as best as humanly possible — will make or break this game for the Packers.
Ryan Tannehill being back should make things a little easier for Green Bay’s secondary as Tannehill is practically allergic to throwing the ball 20+ yard downfield.
If Joe Berry decides to pressure the Titans’ receivers at the line versus playing soft man coverage, the passing game shouldn’t be successful against Jaire and Rasul.
On offense, testing the Titans VERY GOOD run defense should be done early. As we saw last week, the Packers offense clicked once the run game was established and Rodgers was able to air it out.
The Titans run defense is significantly better than the Cowboys, but it’s worth testing that defense with one of the best running backs in the league in Aaron Jones with hopes of having Rodgers carve up the Titans pass defense — which has let up the second most passing yards this season.
Plus I’d love to see more Christian Watson touchdowns :)
Players to watch:
Numac: Christian Watson
Jordan: Derrick Henry and Randall Cobb
Score predictions:
Numac: 27-24 Packers
Jordan: 21-16 Titans