The last time the Green Bay Packers lost twice in back-to-back weeks with Aaron Rodgers as their starter, the year was 2010 and Rodgers averaged more than 300 passing yards in the pair of losses. Against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Rodgers bounced back from his 77-yard performance against the Denver Broncos with 369 yards and four touchdowns, but a bad first half was too much for Green Bay to overcome in a 37-29 loss.
Cam Newton outduels Aaron Rodgers early to get the Panthers to 8-0
Newton’s huge first half was too much for Rodgers to overcome in the second half.
After throwing a 1-yard touchdown near the end of the first quarter, the only first-quarter touchdown given up by the Panthers in 2015, Rodgers couldn’t get the Packers on the board again for the remainder of the first half leading to a 27-7 deficit at halftime.
More than a third of the 117 yards Rodgers tallied on eight first half completions came on a 40-yard heave as time ran out in the second quarter, which proved to be pointless.
On the other side, Cam Newton again led the team to victory with stats that wouldn't typically warrant a player being in the MVP conversation. Make no mistake, three passing touchdowns, one interception and one rushing touchdown to go with nearly 300 yards passing is far from a rough day, but he struggled with inaccuracy for much of the game and finished with just 50 percent of his passes completed.
It was the seventh time in Carolina’s eight wins that Newton finished with a completion percentage under 60 and the sixth game in which he threw an interception, with this one coming at an extremely inopportune time that set the Packers up for an attempt at a potentially game-tying touchdown drive late.
But in Newton fashion, he led the Panthers offense to points and did so while smiling.
The game wasn't close until the final minutes of the fourth quarter, when Rodgers led the Packers on a furious rally, but the deficit could've been worse for the Packers. The Panthers drove into Green Bay territory at will, but settled for four field goals with Graham Gano missing one.
And for all the praise that Newton has received for finding success with lackluster talent around him, Rodgers was under duress for the entire game and is making due without his top receiver, Jordy Nelson. The real difference between the still-undefeated Panthers and the suddenly downward-trending Packers are the defenses.
After allowing more than 500 yards of total offense to both the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos in the last two games, the Packers defense gave up over 400 yards to a Panthers offense that eclipsed that mark only one other time this season. The frustration of a third consecutive poor performance even came with fighting among teammates on the sideline.
It wasn’t the best showing for Carolina’s defense after Rodgers managed to rack up stats late, but the pass rush managed to bring him down five times and contest almost every throw.
As the Panthers clawed their way to a 6-0 record, it came with criticisms of weak competition, but it’s the Packers who are suddenly wilting against offenses capable of pushing the ball down the field. Four straight games against NFC North opponents, who are all near the bottom of the NFL in total offense, is a nice reprieve, but the Packers have problems that need fixing if the team is to re-establish itself as a Super Bowl contender.
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