The Green Bay Packers took control early in the game, minimized the damage with a mini-run in the second half and made some good plays slow to cap off a relatively comfortable 30-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving Day at Lambeau Field.
The Packers led by at least two points for the final three quarters and maintained a three-point lead for long periods. The Dolphins rallied in the second half in the passing game, but were mostly lacking in huge plays, especially when the Packers had a huge fourth-down drive in the red zone in the fourth quarter.
Matt LaFleur’s team is currently 9-3 heading into next week’s mammoth trip to Detroit to play the Lions in prime time.
Here are the good, the bad and the ugly from the Packers’ win over the Dolphins:
Good
Jacobs, Reed and Kraft: Playing in the cool against one of the NFL’s worst offensive teams, the Packers had to find a way to get the ball to their best offensive players. Mission accomplished. Josh Jacobs, Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft turned 29 touches into 242 yards and three scores. Jacobs had 74 receiving yards and 117 total yards, Reed caught two touchdown passes and ran for 23 yards, and Kraft caught six passes for 74 yards. The Dolphins had trouble dealing with the trio all evening.
Quay and McDuffie lead the way: Linebackers Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie combined for 20 tackles and three tackles for loss. Walker had a pivotal role on the play after a fourth-down sack, while McDuffie battled an ankle injury to respond to a fumble and pass breakup. They played brisk and proficient, which was a major reason why the Dolphins averaged just 2.8 yards per rush.
Special teams: Keisean Nixon opened the contest with a 43-yard field goal, the game turned early when Robert Rochell recovered a muffed punt, Brandon McManus connected on three field goals and three extra points, and Daniel Whelan placed three of four punts at the 20. Malik Washington, who returned to the Dolphins played no role. Another good night for Rich Bisacci’s squad.
Badly
Procedural penalties: Incredibly, the Packers were flagged four different times for offsides or neutral zone positioning, including once for denying a sack and another for attempting a field goal. This has been a recurring problem over the last few weeks. The Packers finished the game with seven penalties, including six procedural or pre-snap penalties. In the fourth quarter, an unnecessary misconduct penalty on Elgton Jenkins landed in the red zone.
Ugly
Center of the penalty area in the second half: Tua Tagovailoa missed several throws to center in the first half, but the Dolphins hung on and finally got their offense going in the second half. Tagovailoa began throwing with anticipation and accuracy on key routes, often off scrimmage, and the Dolphins came within one goal of potentially scoring in the fourth quarter. The stats don’t tell the whole story, but Tagovailoa completed 37 passes for 365 yards — by far the most the Packers have allowed this season.
