Packers cap Thanksgiving slate with dominant win over Dolphins

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Hours after the Green Bay Packers watched the Chicago Bears give them no help when they failed late in the Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions, the Packers thought they’d better at least help themselves on Thursday. at Lambeau Field.

Green Bay handled business against The Miami Dolphins led 30-17 in the finale of the three-game Thanksgiving schedule and stayed within striking distance of the division-leading Lions (11-1). The Packers will still need help to catch Detroit, but they can start the process by winning at Ford Field in the NFC North showdown next Thursday night.

They are in much better shape than they were in the Week 9 loss to the Lions at Lambeau Field. The Packers are coming off decisive wins over the San Francisco 49ers and the Dolphins, the only two games this season in which quarterback Jordan Love has not thrown an interception. Without wide receiver Romeo Doubs (concussion) against the Dolphins, Love threw a pair of touchdown passes to Jayden Reed, and Green Bay added a rushing score by Josh Jacobs, their third straight game with a touchdown and their fifth touchdown by land in those games. .

Here’s what you need to know for both teams:

Fundamental game: It happened early, but the tone was set for the rest of the night when Packers backup quarterback Robert Rochell recovered a botched punt by Miami’s Malik Washington inside his own 10-yard line. The ball after a three-pointer on the first drive of the game, Love recovered it and threw the first of his two touchdown passes to Reed, and the Packers never looked back.

Most surprising performance: Maybe the Packers have a pass rush they can count on after all. At least they were able to do it for a while during the second quarter when they still had a 14-3 lead. That’s when Lukas Van Ness came home and sacked Tua Tagovailoa on second down, and then Kingsley Enagbare sacked him on third to force a punt. For Van Ness, it was his second straight game with a sack after recording just one and two quarterback hits in the first 10 games of the season. Even defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who had no sacks in the first 11 games of the season, finally got one in the fourth quarter.

Promising trend: Two weeks ago, the Packers were one of the worst red zone offenses in the NFL. They ranked 27th with a 48.7% touchdown rate when inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. They then scored nine consecutive touchdowns on red zone drives before finally settling for a field goal on their first possession of the third quarter against Miami. After going 5-for-5 on red zone touchdowns against the San Francisco 49ers, they reached the end zone on their first four possessions inside the 20 against the Dolphins. It was the second-longest streak in the NFL this season, according to ESPN Research. The Packers had to settle for another field goal in the red zone with 5:02 left in the fourth quarter, but by then the game was under control. -Rob Demovsky

Next match: at Lions (8:15 p.m. ET, Dec. 5)

The Dolphins brought more than 3,000 pounds of cold-weather gear to Wisconsin for their prime-time game against the Packers, and it still took them almost three quarters to warm up.

Miami allowed more than 7 yards per play in the loss, another disappointing performance in cold temperatures. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak and complicated Miami’s already unlikely run to the playoffs after a 2-6 start to the season.

Tagovailoa completed 37 of 46 passes for 364 yards and two touchdowns, but an offense that had been surgical on third down for the past month converted just 4 of 14 attempts and turned the ball over twice.

Miami fell behind 27-3 in the third quarter, but appeared to be on the verge of a comeback after scoring a touchdown and driving to the Packers’ 1-yard line immediately afterward. Trailing 27-11, the Dolphins failed to convert on fourth-and-goal, effectively freezing the game.

The Dolphins are now two games behind the Denver Broncos (7-5) for the final spot in the AFC playoff field, and have the 14th toughest remaining schedule, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index, which gives them a sub-20. % chance of making the playoffs.

QB Breakdown: Tagovailoa didn’t particularly move the needle in either direction. He threw for over 300 yards, but essentially improved his stats in garbage time. He averaged 6.9 passing yards per attempt, but was sacked five times by a relentless Packers defense. He was very efficient when pressured, completing 7 of 8 passes for 62 yards. However, he missed Tyreek Hill on multiple throws that are normally completions and beat De’Von Achane on fourth down late in the second quarter, opening the door for the Packers to drive down the field and kick a field goal. when time expired. half. With an inefficient running game (2.8 yards per carry), crippled by a negative game script, Tagovailoa and the offense struggled to finish drives in defeat.

Promising/worrying trend: It has to be the Dolphins’ performance in cold weather, which is less of a “narrative,” as players and coaches have described it, and more of an irrefutable fact. Tagovailoa’s record in temperatures below 50 degrees fell to 1-7, and the Dolphins lost their seventh consecutive outdoor game when kickoff temperatures were below freezing. They will play two more road games in potentially freezing weather, against the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets in the final two weeks of the season.

Biggest hole in the game plan: Stopping the race. Miami had held five consecutive opponents under 100 rushing yards entering the game; the Packers eclipsed 100 yards in the first half. Four players recorded at least 20 rushing yards for Green Bay, which moved the ball at will thanks to the success of its running game. The Packers averaged 7.3 yards per play in a non-competitive Thanksgiving Cup and averaged 4.6 yards per carry. — Marcel Louis-Jacques

Next match: vs. Jets (1 p.m. ET, Dec. 8)