Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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But Lazard had the initial answer, hauling in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers on a one-on-one go route against Coleman for the former practice-squadder’s first NFL score. The Iowa State product then added three catches for 30 yards on the final possession, two of them moving the chains, as the Packers killed the final 6:46 on the clock with a 14-play, 77-yard drive to get the win.
“In that fourth quarter (Rodgers) was certainly calling for Allen,” LaFleur said. “Those two guys made it come to life.
“You have an injury or what-not, for whatever reason, and that’s how some guys become who they are. He was given his opportunity, and to his credit he was ready.”
So was running back Jamaal Williams, back for the first time since taking a brutal hit on the opening play against Philadelphia 18 days ago. Including a 45-yard scamper to set up a field goal late in the second quarter, Williams powered his way to 104 yards on 14 carries and added 32 receiving yards on four catches, including a 5-yard TD on a shovel pass.
Most important, Williams intentionally fell down on the Detroit 3-yard line with less than two minutes left when the Lions, who were out of timeouts, were going to let him score from the 11. The heads-up play allowed the Packers to kneel twice to drain the clock and call a timeout for Crosby’s walk-off.
LaFleur said it had been communicated to everyone the ball was not to go in the end zone, and Williams passed on the touchdown even though it would have been so easy to score.
“I’m sure he did (want the TD),” said Rodgers, who threw for two scores along with 283 yards on 24-of-39 passing, for a 90.0 rating. “He probably wanted to dance a little bit, too. He’s a good dancer. He loves to dance.
“It’s still tough. When that thing breaks wide open, your natural instincts are to stick it in there and score. He did the right thing.”
If there was yet another star of the game, it was the Packers’ defense, which allowed just one touchdown despite an offensive onslaught by the Lions early. QB Matthew Stafford (18-of-23, 265 yards, 83.5 passer rating) hit Kenny Golladay on a 66-yard flea-flicker on the first play of the game and connected with Marvin Hall on a 58-yard bomb on the opening play of the Lions’ second drive.
But Detroit got just 10 points out of the explosive start and needed a fourth-and-goal plunge by running back Kerryon Johnson, who was oh-so-close to being stopped, to get the lone touchdown. Golladay finished with five catches for 121 yards but Johnson was held to just 34 yards on 13 carries.
From there, the Lions could only add field goals, two of them on drives that started in Green Bay territory. The Packers’ defense didn’t get any takeaways, but Preston and Za’Darius Smith combined for 2½ of the three sacks of Stafford that helped thwart drives and keep the point total within reach.