So I do a recap of the 2008 season, but I break it up over a three week period and accidentially cover the Tennessee game twice; here first and then here. So it's time to plow ahead and recap the final five games.
| vs. Carolina | vs. Houston | at Jacksonville | at Chicago | vs. Detroit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rushing Yards Gained | 145 | 108 | 84 | 65 | 211 |
| Rushing Yards Allowed | 128 | 141 | 94 | 74 | 96 |
| Passing Yards Gained | 293 | 279 | 254 | 260 | 273 |
| Passing Yards Allowed | 170 | 408 | 229 | 136 | 220 |
| Turnovers by Opponent | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Turnovers by Packers | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Points by Packers | 31 | 21 | 16 | 17 | 31 |
| Points by Opponent | 35 | 24 | 20 | 20 | 21 |
How did the Packers lose to Carolina? RB DeAngelo Williams had FOUR!!! rushing TDs, but didn't run wild with only 72 yards rushing. QB Jake Delhomme was quiet, although he had two big pass plays to WR Steve Smith, for 36 and 54 yards, that set up the last two Carolina TDs. Maybe call this the P Derrick Frost game. It was his last as a Packer, luckily. Carolina's TD drives started anywhere between their own 45 yard line to the Packers 17 yard line. Lousy field position, and the defense didn't make them settle for FGs.
The Houston game was a lot worse than it looked. Houston had six fumbles in the game, but they lost three of them including two deep in Packer territory. They nearly fumbled away a giant 400+ yard game by QB Matt Schuab. Houston's defense didn't stop the Packers offense either. If Houston can find a defense, they might have a playoff team with Schuab, WR Andre Johnson, and RB Steve Slaton.
The Jacksonville game was ugly. The Packers offense settled for a lot of FGs, three by K Mason Crosby, and never had a good rhythm. Meanwhile, when Jacksonville got something going, they went in for a TD. This was third game in a row when the defense just couldn't get tough in the red zone. In the three games (Carolina, Houston, Jacksonville), the defense allowed 11 TDs and only 1 FG.
This was almost a repeat of the Carolina game, except the defense managed to hold Chicago's awful offense to 2 FGs and 2 TDs. But bad special teams and a bad turnover gave Chicago good field position and a short field to score. Then the blocked FG at the end of regulation that sent the game into overtime. The defense also failed down the stretch. After only giving up 87 yards in the first 3 quarters, they gave up 98 yards on the last two drives that tied it, and then won it, for Chicago.
At least they got to finish the season against a subdivision team. Detroit managed to score 3 TDs and got within three points during the 4th quarter. It might have seemed embarrassing to let them get that close, that late in the game, but they clearly looked better than the 0-16 Lions, which is something since the Packers entered the game on a 5 game losing streak.