Cheese Curds, 11/16: Packers win ugly, David Bakhtiari cashes in

Four years ago, as the Green Bay Packers were preparing to open the 2016 season against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the team’s front office was hard at work locking up their steady, stalwart left tackle on a long-term contract. David Bakhtiari signed his first contract extension that week, and the Packers went on to win a tight, four-point game against a Jaguars team that proved to be spunkier than expected (and one that would finish 3-13 on the season).

There is a vast number of parallels between that week and the last few days. Over the last week, the Packers again played the Jaguars. They again squeaked out a four-point victory over a bad Jacksonville team, one that looks headed for a similar final record. And once again, David Bakhtiari signed a big new contract extension, this one coming just hours before kickoff.

So while the Packers’ ugly victory is among the headlines from Sunday, Bakhtiari’s new contract — which makes him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history — is the bigger deal, figuratively speaking. Let’s focus first on the game as we kick off today’s cheese curds, then dive into the numbers and the story around the All-Pro tackle.

Packers' ugly win over Jaguars will look better if it's part of long streak - ESPN
The Packers came out flat and made plenty of mistakes that a better team than Jacksonville would have capitalized on. Instead, the Jaguars refused to put the Packers away and Green Bay escaped a windy Lambeau Field with a win.

Matt LaFleur: ‘Disturbing’ that Packers are playing like this at home | Packers.com
This is the second time in three weeks that the Packers have come in listless for a home game against an inferior opponent. They absolutely must figure that out in the next two weeks - we can't have that happening again with the Bears heading in for Sunday Night Football in 13 days.

Toughness from Davante Adams draws more of Aaron Rodgers’ appreciation | Packers Wire
Adams gutted out the second half on a tweaked ankle, eventually catching the game-winning touchdown. It was a bit of an ugly day for Adams, who had two drops and a fumble before the injury, but he helped salvage it with his gritty performance late in the game.

David Bakhtiari signs contract extension, excited about future with Packers | Packers.com
Brian Gutekunst was the Packers' director of college scouting in 2013, when he did much of the team's homework on Bakhtiari, a little-known tackle on a winless Colorado team. Now Bakh is rightfully lauded as the best left tackle in football, he's the third-longest-tenured Packer, and he is officially on his third contract with the team.

Green Bay Packers' deal with David Bakhtiari goes easy on salary cap | Packersnews.com
The Packers only added about $1.5 million to the cap for this season and Bakh's deal could be worth as little as $11.2 million on the cap in 2021, depending on how much the team decides to spread out into 2022 and beyond.

Packers' David Bakhtiari highest-paid offensive lineman ever – The Athletic
Bakhtiari is proud of holding that title, but his teammates -- especially Aaron Rodgers -- might be even more proud of how he has developed as a player and as a person over his career.

Egypt finds treasure trove of over 100 sarcophagi - France 24
2020 has been bad enough already. Maybe don't tempt fate a la Abbott and Costello?