Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Calling the 51-yarder in sub-30 temps "equivalent for difficulty" with the 57-yarder indoors at Detroit last week at similarly critical stage of the game, Crosby remained perfect on field goals for the season (16-of-16).
Carolina got it back to a one-score game with an interesting strategy, as first-year coach Matt Rhule kicked a field goal on first down in the red zone with 2:04 left after a 40-yard catch and run by receiver D.J. Moore (six catches, 131 yards).
With just one timeout at his disposal, Rhule wanted to get points before the two-minute warning so the game wouldn't come down to an onside kick, and his ploy almost worked.
When his defense sacked Rodgers for a season-high fifth time, the Panthers got the ball back with 55 seconds left, but a penalty on the punt return put them on their own 20, costing valuable field position.
The Packers' defense cranked up the pressure on Bridgewater (21-of-35, 258 yards, 82.8 rating) to produce a four-and-out, finally sealing Green Bay's 11th win.
LaFleur lamented the inability "to go out there and put somebody away," leaving room for an extensive critique as the Packers prepare for a much tougher opponent, the AFC playoff-bound Tennessee Titans, in eight days.
"We held on," LaFleur said. "We did what we had to do."