For 30 minutes, Aaron Rodgers looked fantastic for the Green Bay Packers going up against the New York Giants. Rodgers tossed for two touchdowns in the first half, powering the Packers to a 20-10 lead over his NFC East opponents. Then, defensive coordinator Wink Martindale did what he does best: he made adjustments for the second half.
This proved to be a nightmare for Rodgers, as the Giants locked in on containing him, preventing the Green Bay offense from scoring a single point in the third or fourth quarter.
This opened the door for the Giants to record their improbable 27-22 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, which had Brian Daboll fired up. After the loss, Rodgers was clearly frustrated with how things went down for him.
NY Giants did a brilliant job slowing down Aaron Rodgers in Week 5
"“We haven’t played consistent football in all three phases, and the margin of error for us in winning is small,” Rodgers said on the loss to the G-Men. “So, we have to make those plays, especially when you’re playing against a good football team, and the Giants are a good football team. I’ve got to make the throws that are necessary, we’ve got to come up with the catches, we’ve got to run the ball, we’ve got to force some turnovers on special teams or on defense. When we get those opportunities, we’ve got to make those plays. We’re just not sharp enough yet to have a wider margin of error.”"
In a losing effort, Rodgers finished with 222 passing yards and his two scores. The script was flipped for him in the second half, with Martindale really putting pressure on him throughout. With Green Bay looking like they were going to tie things up with less than two minutes to go, the G-Men came up with back-to-back huge plays.
First, Kayvon Thibodeaux batted down a Rodgers pass. Then on fourth down, and the game on the line, Xavier McKinney exploded into the backfield and jumped high to deflect a Rodgers pass attempt too. Had McKinney not gotten his hands up, Rodgers might have been able to connect with Allen Lazard for six.
Instead, the ball fell to the ground and countless NY fans across the globe exploded in celebration. The offense recorded some massive plays in the upset win, but you’ve also got to give a ton of credit to the defense for their ability to step up. Martindale runs that show, and it was fun to watch against AR12.
5 takeaways from NY Giants stunning upset over Aaron Rodgers and the Packers
The NY Giants just pulled off the unthinkable, taking down the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.