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Anyone who's been a Packer fan for even a modest amount of time will tell you that loving this team isn't for the faint of heart and Week 4 was no exception.
With Mac Jones out for New England with a high ankle sprain and the Pack coming off a triumphant victory over Tom Brady and the Bucs in Tampa, many Packer fans (including myself) were expecting an easy Green Bay victory. And while the stat sheet would indicate a dominant performance for the Packers (443 total yards to 271 for New England) it took a late Packers TD drive to send the game to overtime.
Aaron Rodgers has continued to be uncharacteristically sloppy with the football and had a horrendous first half that saw him go just 4-11 for 44 yards and included his 3rd pick of the year being returned for a TD just before halftime to give the Pats a 10-7 lead going into the locker room. Rodgers bounced back in the second half for two TDs but still sits at 22nd in league with a QBR of just 43.3 through four games.
It was the rushing game again for the Packers that was the driving force behind the offense with Aaron Jones rushing for 110 yards on 16 carries and AJ Dillon adding 73 yards.
The Packers found themselves trailing throughout the second half until Rodgers connected with Romeo Doubs for the crucial game-tying TD and the 500th touchdown of Rodgers' career with 6:14 remaining in the 4th. Doubs was nearly able to come up with the potential game-winning TD as well, just before the two-minute warning, but the ball squirted free as he hit the ground.
Both teams traded three and outs before Rodgers led the Packers on a 12-play, 77-yard drive to put Mason Crosby in position for the game-winning 31-yard field goal.
After the game, Aaron Rodgers spoke about how this team will take wins any way they came and that is absolutely the mentality you want to see as a Packer fan.
"We got a lot of grit, it's not been pretty for four weeks..." Rodgers reiterated before talking about how important it was to go 3-1 to start the season before heading into what he called "the most important physical stretch of our season".
This team is a different Packer team than what we've become accustomed to in the Aaron Rodgers era. This iteration of the Pack will have to lean on a down-hill rushing attack and aggressive defense and hope for timely passing from the reigning two-time MVP. At 3-1, we've seen that these new-look Packers can still have success but it certainly isn't going to be as easy or pretty as it has been at times in the past.
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