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It appears all the injuries have finally caught up to the Green Bay Packers. The latest in the long line of injuries for the Packers is quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Packers had weathered the storm without Clay Matthews, Nick Perry, Jermichael Finley, Randall Cobb, Bryan Bulaga and many more, but now the situation has hit dire straits.
We brought you the news today that Rodgers will miss 4-6 weeks with a "chipped" collarbone. While the source admitted it will likely be closer to four weeks, a month without arguably the best quarterback in the NFL is going to be tough on Green Bay. After Rodgers was hurt on the first series against the Chicago Bears on Monday night, back up quarterback Seneca Wallace came in and, as would be expected, struggled mightily.
The Packers' defense did Wallace no favors as they allowed the Bears' back up quarterback, Josh McCown to torch them all night, along with Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall, and Alshon Jeffery. When it was all said and done, the Packers defense allowed 27 points and 442 total yards, while yet again failing to force a turnover.
While it was a tough game to watch and the football will likely remain tough to watch the Packers for the next month or so, there were some bright spots on Monday night. Let's take a look at how the Packers fared following their 27-20 loss to the Bears Monday night.
Offensive Winners
Andrew Quarless
Quarless finally looked like the tight end the Packers thought he was going to be after replacing Jermichael Finley, who has since been moved to injured reserve. Quarless finished the game with five catches for 34 yards and provided a nice security blanket for Wallace to look to when he found himself in a jam.
He finished the game with the Packers' best offensive grade (+2.9), but his grade in run-blocking (+2.6) is the real reason why he is the No. 1 offensive winner for the Packers this week.
Josh Sitton
Sitton was a major reason for the Packers ability to rush for 199 yards on Monday. Sitton put together almost a perfect game, in fact. Aside from one quarterback hurry, Sitton finished the game with a completely clean slate. He earned the second-best grade given out to a Packer (+2.3) and continues to handle the change to the left side exactly how the Packers had hoped.
Other High Grades
Eddie Lacy: (+1.9) — 22 carries, 150 yards and a touchdown.
Don Barclay: (+1.8) — this was Barclay's first grade above +1.0 since week three, and he earned it playing both tackle and guard.
Offensive Losers
T.J. Lang
Lang struggled before exiting the game with a concussion after just 27 snaps. Lang was solid in the pass blocking game, but he had the worst run blocking grade of the night (- 1.3) and his overall grade of (- 1.4) was second-worst on the offense.
Lang will have to go through the standard concussion protocol before he is cleared to play Sunday. However, Marshall Newhouse and Barclay did a solid job together once Lang left the game.
Brandon Bostick
Bostick is starting to see more playing time after the injury to Finley, but hasn't yet taken full advantage of it. Bostick finished the game with the worst offensive grade for the Packers (-1.6) and played a total of 15 snaps.
The one knock on Bostick's game was his inability to block well at the point of attack, and his run blocking accounted for almost his entire grade. In other words, the Packers used Bostick in mainly run-blocking situations, instead of catering to his strengths, namely catching the ball. It may be too early in Bostick's career to see consistent production, but if he is put into the right formations and schemes, Bostick could present a real match up nightmare for the defense with his speed and receiving ability.
Defensive Winners
B.J. Raji
Raji was dominant at times against the Bears and looked like the Raji of old. He finished the game with the best defensive grade given out (+1.3) and was the only Packers' defender to grade above +1.0 on defense. He finished the game with three tackles and a quarterback hit in 49 snaps from scrimmage. On a night where there weren't many bright spots, Raji was one of them, especially for his work tracking down Matt Forte on screen passes.
Honorable Mention
Mike Neal
Neal had a nice bounce-back performance this week and finished with a grade of (+1.0). He finished the game with six quarterback hurries and three tackles. He was in McCown's face all game long, and was the only Packers' defender to provide a constant pass rush all night. The big knock on Neal's game is that though he hurried McCown regularly, he was never able to bring him down for a sack.
Defensive Losers
A.J. Hawk
Hawk had his worst game of the season and received one of the worst grades any Packer defender has received all season at (-5.1). Hawk was equally bad in pass coverage (- 2.4) as he was in the run game (- 3.0). Hawk missed two tackles on the night and had just one tackle in 77 snaps.
Hawk was targeted five times in pass coverage and allowed four catches for 57 yards, good enough for a McCown quarterback rating of 114.2. Hawk's season grade is now at (- 9.1) which seems a bit low, particularly considering his performances the past few weeks, but nonetheless that's how PFF sees it.
Nate Palmer
Palmer played a career-high 61 snaps and finished the game with the Packers second-worst defensive grade of (- 2.6). The Packers were hoping Palmer would give them an added element as a pass rusher but so far the rookie hasn't given them much. He totaled five tackles and was solid in run defense. His pass rush grade (- 2.5) is what cost him to have such a low overall grade.
Johnny Jolly
Jolly has been a great addition for the Packers' defense since coming back from his suspension, but Monday night was a night Jolly will want to forget. Usually Jolly's biggest contribution to the Packers' defense is clogging up running lanes and taking on double teams so the linebackers can scrape and make tackles. Jolly received a run defense grade of (-3.5) by far the worst on the season for the big man. Jolly failed to record a single tackle, but did pressure McCown twice, causing two incompletions.
Other defensive losers
Davon House: (- 2.1) — in pass coverage, he was targeted six times and gave up three catches for 40 yards and a touchdown. McCown had a quarterback rating of 111.3 when targeting House.
Ryan Pickett: (- 1.0) — two total tackles
There you have it, the winners and losers according to Pro Football Focus. Keep it here for more post-game analysis of the Packers-Bears. Also, be on the look out later this week for coverage of the Packers-Eagles game this Sunday from Lambeau Field.
More from Acme Packing Company:
- Packers Midseason Awards: APC Writers' Picks
- Aaron Rodgers Injury: New Reports Suggest 4-6 Week Recovery Timetable
- Packers Teammates of the Week: Running Backs Eddie Lacy and James Starks (Again)
- Packers Activate Derek Sherrod and Scott Tolzien, Send Jermichael Finley to Injured Reserve
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