Handing out grades following the Green Bay Packers' 27-24 win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 6 of the 2014 season:
Passing Offense: B-plus
Aaron Rodgers threw nearly as many passes in this game (42) as he did in the previous two games combined (45). The throws that will be remembered most are his final two, first on the fake-spike play to Davante Adams and then the game-winning touchdown to Andrew Quarless. Those two passes capped off a rare fourth-quarter comeback for Rodgers; only the seventh of his career. It was a mastery of the quarterback position on display, first pulling a page out of Dan Marino's book (in Miami, no less) and then throwing over to a tight end (Andrew Quarless) who only had one catch for seven yards before that but had a linebacker matched on him in coverage.
For as important as those two passes were and for as good as they both were, neither of them was as impressive as what Rodgers did late in the third quarter on a go-ahead touchdown. Facing third-and-goal from the 5-yard line, Rodgers was chased out of the pocket and had three Dolphins players running after him. A full six seconds later, as Rodgers scrambled and kept the play alive, he found Randall Cobb in the end zone to take a 17-10 lead.
This was a breakout game for Adams and one in which he seemed to gain the full trust and respect of Rodgers. Adams caught passes on the first two plays of the game and later made a nice move to get open and convert a 3rd-and-8. He finished with six catches on eight targets for 77 yards. Jordy Nelson continued to work his way toward an All-Pro season with nine receptions on 16 targets for 107 yards and one touchdown.
The reason this isn't somewhere in the "A" grade range is because Rodgers faced a lot of pressure and, partially as a result of that, had a season-low 57.1 completion percentage. Bryan Bulaga was worked on multiple occasions by Cameron Wake (who had 1.5 sacks and three QB hits) and David Bakhtiari was beat on a couple plays by Olivier Vernon (who had 1.5 sacks and an additional QB hit). It was a Wake-and-Vernon combined sack of Rodgers in the final minutes of the game that caused a fumble. Only an alert T.J. Lang fumble recovery saved what otherwise would have resulted in a Miami win from that sack.
Rushing Offense: C-plus
The game started out rough for Eddie Lacy and didn't get much better. His first three carries on the Packers' opening drive were for one yard, no gain and two yards.
Lacy had runs of 10 yards and 9 yards midway through the game, but even with those plays, he still only finished with 40 yards on 14 carries (2.9 average). That means on Lacy's other 12 rushing attempts he totaled just 21 yards (1.75 average).
James Starks had a bit of a rotation with Lacy. Starks was in for Green Bay's second drive, checked in during the third drive, started the sixth drive and briefly spelled Lacy in the seventh drive. Most importantly, it was Starks and not Lacy who began the Packers' final series of the game. Not until after a 10-yard reception by Starks to get Green Bay into the red zone did Lacy come in for him.
The Packers added a package where Derek Sherrod reported as an eligible tight end and lined up as a sixth offensive lineman. However, it didn't help Green Bay run the ball much better on the two series that Sherrod played.
Rodgers was the Packers' most efficient runner, gaining 34 yards on seven carries. Checking to a designed quarterback draw up the middle on the first drive of the game kept the series going that soon resulted in a touchdown.
John Kuhn's 15 rushing yards were the most he's had in a game since Week 12 of the 2012 season. Green Bay even went to Kuhn twice in a row late in the first quarter, totaling nine yards on those two plays.
Rushing Defense: B
The Packers showed both the good and the bad in stopping the run. For most of the game, Green Bay looked like a team that was significantly better than its ranking as the league's worst run defense.
No segment in the game was more impressive for the Packers in this area than their goal-line stand late in the first quarter. With Miami having first down at the 4-yard line, Knowshon Moreno gained three yards to set up second-and-goal from the 1. On the next play, Moreno was stuffed by Letroy Guion for no gain. After an incomplete pass on third down, the Dolphins' fourth-down run never got going as Morgan Burnett burst into the backfield to force a turnover on downs.
For a three-play stretch to begin the fourth quarter, however, Green Bay fell asleep. Lamar Miller ran left for 11 yards, then up the middle for 9 yards and finished it off with 5 yards to the right for a game-tying touchdown.
Miller's overall 3.8 yards per carry average was manageable, and Moreno being held to a 1.7-yard average was obviously an impressive job by the Packers. But, once again, the read-option hurt Green Bay. Ryan Tannehill gained 40 yards on the second play after halftime, setting up a Dolphins touchdown.
Passing Defense: B
Miami had good protection, and, one week after the Packers were all over Christian Ponder, they got very little pressure on Tannehill. He was sacked just once, and that came when left tackle Branden Albert was hurt on a play and gave up, allowing Mike Neal to take Tannehill down. Mike Pennel made a nice move to get his hands on the quarterback, but Tannehill slipped away and completed a long pass downfield to Mike Wallace.
The coverage from Green Bay's secondary, though, was quite good. Casey Hayward showed off the hands that nearly made him Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2012 (he finished third in the race that year) with a jumping interception. Later, Sam Shields picked off Tannehill on a deep ball to Brian Hartline. It wasn't an interception, but Ha Ha Clinton-Dix timed a hit perfectly to break up a first-down pass. This was another positive overall performance from Clinton-Dix, who looks like the real deal.
The decision by defensive coordinator Dom Capers to rush seven on a 3rd-and-7 play from the 11-yard line in the third quarter allowed Tannehill to lob a touchdown pass over the head of Tramon Williams and into the hands of Jarvis Landry.
Tannehill finished the game 20-of-31 passing for 244 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for a passer rating of 83.3. Landry, a rookie second-round pick out of LSU, led the way for Miami with six catches, 75 yards and the one touchdown.
Hayward and Davon House finished the game as the two starting outside cornerbacks (with Jarrett Bush entering and playing the nickel) after Shields and Williams were both injured and eventually carted to the locker room.
Special Teams: C-minus
It was not a good start for the Packers special teams, giving up a 54-yard kickoff return to Landry. Recent practice-squad call-up Kevin Dorsey appeared to make the mistake of not getting outside on Landry and then watched as he was passed by. Landry had a 37-yard kickoff return later, too.
Tim Masthay's first attempted punt of the game was blocked when Jamari Lattimore didn't stop Jonathan Freeny. The Dolphins were set up with great field position at the 16-yard line after that.
DuJuan Harris made a decision on a kickoff return that nearly cost him, gaining possession of the ball eight yards deep in the end zone and delaying a second before running it out. Fortunately for him and Green Bay, Harris was able to turn it into something positive by getting the ball out to the 25-yard line.
Micah Hyde had a great day on punt return, including one where he nearly went down but somehow stayed up and gained 24 yards. Hyde's other punt return was for 17 yards.
Mason Crosby made both of his field-goal attempts, first from 43 yards and later from 30 yards.
Overall: B
A road win against a team coming off a bye that's coached by a former Packers coordinator (Joe Philbin) is a high-quality victory for Green Bay. There were many opportunities for this game to be won by the Dolphins, but the Packers pulled it off.
Rodgers continues to work his magic and lead an efficient passing offense. There's no doubt that Green Bay needs to find consistency from its running game, though.
Clay Matthews disappeared, finishing with no tackles. Matthews wouldn't have been in the box score at all if not for a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage. The Packers' defense started well, fell apart but then came through for head coach Mike McCarthy when he opted to kick a field goal late in the fourth quarter and trust that he'd get the ball back.
It wasn't a great all-around performance, but wins like this can be the difference between having to go on the road in the playoffs or getting a first-round bye. A 4-2 record, especially after starting 1-2, is a nice bounce-back from Green Bay to begin its season.
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