Star Ratings: Green Bay-Cleveland
Green Bay Packers looked like they were not going to escape Cleveland alive on Sunday afternoon. Packers trailed 21-7 to the Browns in the fourth quarter, and things did not look good for the team. Like last week, they found a way in the fourth to comeback and put themselves in position to win the game in overtime. After DeShone Kizer heaved up one of the worst balls in the history of football, Packers took full advantage resulting in a tight 27-21 win. This is the first time in Packers history they’ve won back-to-back overtime games.
Five Stars
Davante Adams – Pay the man his money. Davante Adams keeps raking in the dough with the absence of Aaron Rodgers hasn’t slowed him down one bit. Adams finished the game with 10 catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns. What’s crazy about this stat line for Adams is Cleveland shut him out in the first half. Kudos to Mike McCarthy and staff for finding a way to get Adams open all over the field.
Damarious Randall – I’m going to say something that might feel spicy, but it’s the honest truth. Damarious Randall is one of the top three best players on this Packers defense. How did this happen? Well he turned it around after the whole benching incident versus Chicago, and he’s flourishing. Randall did a fantastic job on Josh Gordon in the second half holding him to almost nothing after his red-hot start. We’ll see if the former first rounder ends up shadowing Devin Funchess next week.
Four Stars
Jamaal Williams – While the Packers rookie running back did not get over 100 yards rushing for the third straight game, he did finish with over 100 all-purpose yards on the day. Williams rushed for 49 yards, and he caught eight passes out of the backfield for 69 yards. With Aaron Rodgers potentially coming back this week, he gets the benefit of having a guy who can do both out of the backfield. A-Rod usually doesn’t check all the way down to backs, but good to know that resource is available to him.
Brett Hundley – Wrote about Brett Hundley earlier today. Check it out as I feel like Packers fans should be thanking him for the job he did for the team.
Josh Jones – Even though he got beat on the Corey Coleman touchdown, Josh Jones graded out as the best player on the field for Green Bay thanks to Pro Football Focus. Jones had himself a day with the game-changing interception plus the defense on a deep ball to Gordon late in the first half. Jones keeps showing signs of brilliance which is what you want from a young player.
Three Stars
Trevor Davis – Funny story about Trevor Davis is I wondered if he would have a roster spot next season on the team. Reason being is Davis does not usually make the smartest decisions back there especially on punt return. He did redeem himself late in this game breaking a 60-plus yard punt return to set up the game-tying score. Davis will have that moment of this season.
Ha Ha Clinton Dix – Up and down game for Ha Ha. I feel like he’s still not playing as aggressive as he needs to be yet I don’t think Capers is unleashing him. Clinton-Dix made a key interception to finish off the first half to prevent the Browns from getting extra points before the break, and he played a part in slowing down Cleveland’s offense a little bit in the second half.
Two Stars
Dom Capers – I’ll say one nice thing about Dom… He realized they should press cover Gordon with Randall. Other than that, it’s a goddamn mess of a defense. It’s not a body count thing, rather, it’s a Capers playing a predictable defense that most are figuring out. Capers can’t keep up with the new age of football. Hope these are the last few games with Dom at the helm.
One Star
Jahari Evans – Not a good trend for the Packers right guard. Evans started out strong, but he’s seeing some leaks right now with his play. Green Bay is getting too much pressure right up the middle where Evans is supposed to slow things down. We’ll see if anything changes when 12 returns this Sunday.
Charlie.