There are going to be a lot of people who claim what happened with the Green Bay Packers yesterday was fraudulent. Maybe that’s too strong of a word, but there will be many nonbelievers. No one will take this win seriously because of all the San Francisco 49ers’ injury issues. But consider that they still had several of their defenders from their NFC Champion team and Green Bay torched them for 34 points. That matters. Also, consider this, Packers are the first team to win on the Pacific Time Zone on Thursday when traveling from the Central or Eastern Time Zone. It is not an easy thing to do. Here is who performed well and who didn’t.

FIVE STARS
Davante Adams – This is a no-brainer. He got a lot of love in the recap, but what makes Adams so hard to defend is he can do it all. Adams can catch the deep ball but can also catch slants or hitches. There is not one route in his game that isn’t available for Adams. Remember, some people wanted Adams cut in 2015 for Jeff Janis. Yes, that was a real discussion had by Packers’ fans. It is wild where was and now the best receiver in the game.

Aaron Rodgers – Mentioned both these guys in the recap so don’t want to overdo it but Rodgers shredded the Niners last night. He was in his bag to the highest degree. Put him back in the MVP race. It is probably still Russell Wilson’s to lose, but Rodgers deserves to be there.

FOUR STARS
Aaron Jones – To my surprise and maybe yours, Aaron Jones started the game on Thursday. Jones dealt with a calf strain for the last two and a half weeks. The Packers running back was shot out of the cannon right from the get-go. He played a little more because Dexter Williams hurt his knee. Jones still looked fresh out there though with 55 yards of rushing and five catches. He should be fully ready to roll for Jacksonville next week.

THREE STARS
Za’Darius Smith – Za’Darius did some nice things and some things that I didn’t like. Smith made a great play forcing a fumble for Nick Mullens then recovered the fumble. But he also had a play where he missed a tackle behind the line and JaMycal Hasty rushed for five or six yards instead. Smith needs to fucking bring it on every play and if he’s not that guy, the Packers’ defense will struggle.

TWO STARS
Marquez Valdes-Scantling – This might be a little harsh for a guy that two touchdowns but hear me out. Valdes-Scantling had an awful drop that would have been a first down. And that has been a theme all season. But MVS did have two touchdowns including a good catch at the goal line. A part of me wonders if Valdes-Scantling is the next James Jones. Remember how many issues Jones had catching the football early in his career? It could be the case or the confidence is just lost.

Oren Burks and/or the soft zone – I’m not going to blame Oren Burks completely for the soft area between the linebacker and safety yet it’s rough. This has been a problem for Green Bay in the last 10 years. They need to find a way to fix it. It might not be solvable with this crew.

ONE STAR
Stop rushing three at the goal line – Mike Pettine drives me up the wall. When River Cracraft caught the touchdown that ended up getting overturned. Green Bay only rushed two with one spy. That’s pathetic from Mike Pettine. He stopped doing it after Tampa then is back on his bullshit. That has to stop immediately. Green Bay needs to force the issue versus trying to cover up all the holes at the goal line.

Charlie.