Packers get a win over Baker Mayfield and the Rams to keep faint playoff hopes alive
This is about the time that we're used to seeing the Green Bay Packers gear up for the playoffs. The setting on Monday night fit that.
Temperatures were in the teens at Lambeau Field. Aaron Rodgers hit some passes but mostly the running game took charge. The defense was very good most of the night.
It all felt familiar, but it isn't anything like the past few seasons. This Packers team isn't peaking for the playoffs because there's probably not going to be any playoffs for them. Green Bay isn't dead in the playoff race but they need a lot to happen in their favor over the last three weeks. At least they did their part on Monday night, soundly beating a limping Los Angeles Rams team that used up any magic it had in a comeback against the Las Vegas Raiders last week. The Packers won 24-12 to improve to 6-8. The Rams are 4-10.
The Packers have had some great comebacks before with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. There were signs of life on Monday night. All the Packers can do is win out and see what happens.
Packers take over in 3rd quarter
The last time we saw Rams quarterback Baker Mayfield, he was leading a ridiculous comeback win over the Raiders. The first half Monday night was a reminder that what Mayfield is being asked to do — joining a team late in the season, starting two weeks after he was cut by the Carolina Panthers, all for a team decimated by injuries — is nearly impossible.
The Rams offense didn't do much. There were a couple of field goals in the first half. Mayfield didn't look terrible but he had just 74 passing yards before the break. The Rams defense played hard and kept them in the game. The score was 10-6 Packers, but it seemed inevitable that the Green Bay would break the game open.
That happened early in the second half. AJ Dillon scored his second touchdown of the night after a defensive penalty on Jalen Ramsey kept the Packers' drive alive. Rodgers started getting in a rhythm on that drive. The Packers had a 17-6 lead and while the Raiders in Week 14 proved that you can't assume anything, Green Bay wasn't about to make the egregious coaching mistakes Las Vegas did to let the Rams back in the game.
By the time Aaron Jones scored late in the third quarter, the Packers led 24-6 and Mayfield wasn't performing a second miracle.
Packers have to win out and hope
The Packers got a little sloppy in the fourth quarter. The Rams scored a touchdown. Jones lost a fumble. It didn't matter much. The Rams aren't good enough this season to take advantage.
Even if the Packers win out, they'll need help. The New York Times' playoff scenario generator claims that if the Packers win out, they have a 68% chance to make the playoffs. It's not great for Green Bay.
The Packers have an outside chance to win their final three games if they play like they did Monday. It looked like the team everyone figured would be a Super Bowl contender before the season started. A lot of that had to do with the Rams being near the end of a dreadful, injury-filled season. But at least the Packers handled them.
The Packers have had a disappointing season. The NFC North has already been settled; that went to the Vikings. The Packers could finish the season on a five-game winning streak and still not make the playoffs. That's what happens when you play so poorly in the first half of the season.
Still, they're technically alive with three games to go. A few teams would change spots with them.
