Monday afternoon means it's time for the GIF recap. Last night, the Packers fell to the Saints 44-23 in New Orleans, forcing us to break into the unhappy tab on our GIF archives. After the opening drive by Green Bay, there was quite a bit of frustration and angst among Cheeseheads, as you'll see shortly.
Enjoy, and hopefully you get a few good laughs out of our reactions to the ugly performance last night.
FIRST HALF
Right off the bat, things look great. Aaron Rodgers finds Randall Cobb for a long bomb to open the scoring and give the Packers a quick 7-0 lead. The noise of the Superdome suddenly is nonexistent after the quick strike, and we as Packers fans are feeling excited:
But of course, Drew Brees and company strike right back with a big play of their own and a touchdown off a jet sweep, and here we go again:
The Packers then are able to move the ball at will through the rest of the first half, but can't seem to find the end zone. At one point, Julius Peppers is lined up on offense and is split out wide on a 5'10" cornerback. He runs a nice slant, and Rodgers gets him the ball, but he can't bring it in and the Packers kick a field goal. While it didn't work, we can appreciate what's going on here form a playcalling perspective.
The problem is that the Packers' drives stall out repeatedly in field goal range. Sure, three-pointers help, but against the Saints in the dome they're
The defense on the other hand, is allowing exactly the same thing - big drives that eventually stall out in the red zone. The Saints are forced to kick field goals to match the Packers', and because of that it's a 16-16 tie at the half. The defense in general can be summed up by saying this:
Unfortunately, it would get there in the second half.
SECOND HALF
The Packers actually get the first defensive stop of the game on the Saints' opening drive of the half, as they stuff a run on fourth-and-one near midfield.
On the first Packers drive of the half, Rodgers pulls his left hamstring on a scramble, which immediately sets Packers fans across the world into a massive panic.
Still, Rodgers toughs out whatever issue he's having. Unfortunately, a few plays later, he throws to Andrew Quarless in the end zone, and the pass bounces off Quarless and into the hands of a defender for Rodgers' first interception allowed since week one. Naturally, the Saints score a few plays later to take the lead, on a 50-yard bomb to Brandin Cooks.
On the next drive, it becomes painfully apparent that Rodgers isn't himself anymore, though Eddie Lacy is running well. Following an iffy review on a ball-spot that forces a fourth down attempt, Lacy gets stuffed and the Saints promptly extend their lead to two touchdowns just four plays later.
Then another pick as Davante Adams cuts off his route early sets up Mark Ingram to go beast mode on the Packers' defense, as he leads another scoring drive to make it a 37-16 game. Any remaining sober Packers fans share a similar sentiment:
The rest is just ugly. Rodgers tacks on a rushing touchdown as the sea parts in front of him, while the Saints add yet another score following an onside kick attempt. A few fumbles later, the game is over and we're all pretty despondent.
SUMMARY OF THIS GAME IN ONE GIF
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