Who Won The NFL Weekend? Aaron Rodgers, Who Even In Defeat Proved He’s Back

The Green Bay Packers lost one of the best games of the season to the Atlanta Falcons, 33-32, on Sunday because they couldn’t stop perhaps the best offense in the NFL without Clay Matthews and their top three cornerbacks. But they gained something even more important in the long run: renewed confidence in their offense, and more importantly, their quarterback.

Heading into last Thursday’s game against the Chicago Bears, the question on everyone’s mind was, “What’s wrong with Aaron Rodgers?” It got pretty bad:

Last year, Rodgers (apart from a fine stretch of games early in the year) was not the explosive threat that made him just about the consensus best QB in the NFL. Many were content to chalk it up to losing Jordy Nelson for the season, thereby removing the only deep threat on the Packers’ roster and choking the space in the first 10 yards away from the line of scrimmage.

With Nelson back this year and the offense no better, that’s when alarm bells really started going off. Rodgers has been well protected all year, but was either struggling to find open receivers or, more distressingly, missing guys when they were open. But he got back on track against the lowly Bears, opening the door for cautious optimism by doing what all the best signal callers do: make good things happen even when reliable options (running backs, Jordy Nelson) aren’t working. Three different receivers had 10 receptions in that game, and Rodgers set records.

The Falcons, for all of their offensive firepower, have a pass defense almost as bad as the Bears’, but Rodgers still had an incredible performance — 246 yards, 4 touchdowns and 60 rushing yards, a career high which led the team on the ground. Both his otherworldly arm and his above-average legs were on display for the touchdown and two-point conversion that took the lead for the Pack in the fourth quarter:

With Randall Cobb out, Rodgers’ touchdown passes went to Nelson, Jeff Janis, Trevor Davis and Geronimo Allison. You can be forgiven for not knowing those last three guys, considering they all scored for the first time in their respective NFL careers with those catches. It started to seem like Rodgers was randomly generating guys to throw to.

Allison and Davis had never even caught a pass in the NFL before this game. It wasn’t even at the cost of the Packers’ main guys — Jordy had 94 yards with his score, and Davante Adams once again had double digit catches with 12 on 12 targets, which is really something. You can talk about the soft defense all you want, but a look ahead at the schedule shows that Green Bay has three tough tests remaining in the Eagles, Vikings and Seahawks, who might be the three best defenses in the league. The other six games remaining are against very manageable opponents.

At 4-3, the Packers are very much in a fight for the playoffs; if the season ended today they would be the second wild card seed. They’re armed with an excellent run defense, and when they get some cornerbacks and Matthews back healthy, it’ll add balance. If Rodgers is once again Aaron Rodgers, then no other QB inspires as much fear in the NFC when January comes around.

Other Week 8 Winners, All-AFC West edition

Nick Foles: When he flunked out with the Rams, it surprised no one that Foles’ next gig was under Andy Reid, the man who presided over the QB’s stretch of brilliance in Philadelphia. Alex Smith’s repeated head injuries were your weekly reminder of the NFL’s inability to consistently implement its supposed increased safety measures, but they also thrust Foles back under center, where he looked like the 2013 version that took the league by storm, throwing 16/22 for 223 yards and two touchdowns.

Smith’s low-turnover game has value, but his lack of a downfield ball has always limited the Chiefs’ offense. If he’s out multiple weeks with his concussion, there’s a chance Foles can run with the job. The Chiefs are 5-2 and still in third place in their division, so the stakes of Reid’s decision couldn’t be higher.

Derek Carr: How does a team set the NFL record for most penalties in a single game (23!) and still win? When their quarterback is slinging the ball so much, the team gets back all that yardage and more. Carr threw an absurd 59 attempts for 513 yards and four touchdowns in leading the Raiders to an overtime win over the half-decent Tampa Bay Buccaneers to keep pace in the strong AFC West. The Raiders defense is still generous (though they had a good game on Sunday) and the penalty problems are real and on both sides of the ball, but Oakland’s vertical offense makes it one of the most fun teams in the league. It’s even better when that fun comes with wins.

T.J. Ward: Von Miller is still the star of the Broncos’ vaunted D, but Ward might be the best player in their secondary. He’s always been an excellent run supporter, but he made his presence felt in the passing game against the Chargers, grabbing an interception and sacking Philip Rivers as part of his team-leading 10 tackles. It’s absurd how good Denver can be while starting a replacement-level QB like Trevor Siemian, and Ward is a big reason why it’s possible. The Broncos face the Raiders on Sunday night next week, and it’ll be a treat to see this defense try to slow down Oakland’s offensive fireworks. Expect T.J. to be right in the middle of it.