TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM, LONDON — Aaron Rodgers has apologized to the Packers’ international fans and believes he could’ve targeted Randall Cobb on the pivotal play of the game, after he failed to inspire a victory over the Giants, who prevailed 27-22 on Sunday and moved to an unlikely 4-1 record.
In front of a new record of 61,024 NFL fans at the home of Spurs, Green Bay completed the full set by becoming the 32nd and final NFL franchise to play a game in the UK. Often at London games the “home” team is purely nominal, but here the Packers faithful turned out in force after their long wait, clearly dominating the stands with a huge noise pregame and in the early knockings.
A shotgun play from Rodgers, evading the onrushing Giants before skipping to his right and lasering an 18-yard pass to Randall Cobb really got the crowd going. With just under four minutes gone, Mason Crosby converted a 46-yard field goal at the end of that drive to give Green Bay the lead, despite being pushed back five yards by a delay of game penalty.
The Giants struggled to a pair of three-and-outs, with Daniel Jones — who had injury worries coming into this one — going for -4 yards, before a clear pass interference on Robert Tonyan on the goal-line gift-wrapped a touchdown opportunity for the Packers, which Rodgers and Allen Lazard gladly combined to open.
Jones, becoming more mobile, responded by starting to find his range, moving his side upfield by 49 yards on the next drive, with Graham Gano splitting the uprights. Halfway through the second quarter, though, Rodgers dropped back and lifted it to a wide-open Marcedes Lewis to his left to open up a 13-point lead. Green Bay were in total control.
Saquon Barkley then exploded into life by bursting through for a 41-yard run to finally give the Giants fans, and neutrals, something to get excited about. Jones and Darius Slayton linked up twice and Daniel Bellinger finished off the drive to make it a one-possession game heading into the half. However, the Packers did well to give Crosby another chance, as he converted from 48 yards with triple zeros on the clock to put them 20-10 up.
One could be forgiven for thinking the Giants — still doubted by most despite a promising start to 2022 — would fall apart at this stage. Instead, it was the Packers who couldn’t find anything concerted on offense while the defense disintegrated on the run game. Infuriating coach Matt LaFleur, his men again only produced a performance for half of a game.
Gano made another field goal midway through the third quarter, and a Gary Brightwell touchdown then levelled the score at 20. Just as Jones found his killer touch, Rodgers lost his, failing to get the Packers back ahead by throwing a three-and-out.
Jones found Barkley breaking left, where he slipped one tackle and made — again — 41 yards in a thrilling burst. The superstar running back followed that up a few plays later by the Giants snapping straight to him to power home down the right for a touchdown and to give New York its first lead of the game.
MORE: How Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones overcame injuries to run wild in Giants' comeback win
With the game on the line after the two-minute warning, North London waited with bated breath for a magical moment from Rodgers, as the reigning MVP stood on the New York 6-yard line. But he was unable to produce when it mattered, throwing two incomplete passes for a turnover on downs. Twice his attempt was agonizingly deflected.
The Giants happily conceded a safety after the Packers used their timeouts to pen them back, and it was enough for the win — with Rodgers’ subsequent final shot at a Hail Mary also proving fruitless.
THIS close to getting the Hail Mary off...#NYGvsGB pic.twitter.com/WbFgFSZiL0
— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2022
Rodgers rues missed chance with Cobb
Reflecting on his squandered opportunity to take the game to overtime, Rodgers felt Cobb may have provided a better outlet, with the pair having connected for 99 yards during the afternoon. The 38-year-old told his postgame press conference: “We could have started a little faster [in the second half].
"I think I missed [Romeo Doubs] in the first drive for a big one. Then we had some opportunities in the second half. I probably could have chosen Cobby there on the last play and had a higher-percentage throw.
"Those two drives hurt us. We had a decent drive to get down there, first drive of the second half, then a sack on third down. Then a three-and-out with two opportunities to make plays on the next drive. By the time we knew it, we were down seven.
“I liked the calls [on the last two plays]. We had Cobby on the left side. I was trying to fit it through kind of the sea of arms there. Felt like we might have had a chance on the in-breaker.
“Then fourth down was trying to throw a big body ball to Allen. Maybe should have adjusted A.J. [Dillon] to block that guy off the edge. Like I said, I probably could have thrown the ball to Cobby on the left sideline.”
“I felt like we had three good calls [on the first drive of the second half]. We had a call we hit early in the game for eight yards and came back to it. I made a subtle adjustment. I'm not sure what happened outside, if Rome went a little bit too deep or he just turned his guy around, ran into Allen. We were going to have a good shot to Allen there down the sidelines.
“Second down, a play that we hit earlier in the game as well that we liked. Had a chance - the ball was a little bit high to Cobby. Third down, another play that we like. Probably a more catchable ball would have been a couple yards short on that one.
“But I liked those three calls. I feel good about all those. We’ve got to hit one of those to give our defense a little more rest, turn the tide back in our favor.
“We're just not quite on the same page at times. We’ve got to go back and look at it - I don't want to make a blanket statement right now [on what is going wrong]. Definitely not an emotional blanket statement!”
The @Giants defense swats it on back-to-back plays! #NYGvsGB pic.twitter.com/sI58XrrWTV
— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2022
Rodgers frustrated by losing locker-room talk
He was also asked about Jaire Alexander’s comments around there being worry if the Packers were to lose next week against the Jets. Rodgers was unhappy with that line from his teammate, though: “Frankly, I don't like all this conversation about losing next week.
“I'm a firm believer in the power of words and manifestation. We've got to check ourselves on that. Talking about that, that's not winning football. There was conversation about it in the locker room and I don't like it. He is my guy, but we don't need to be talking like that.
“I understand there's a reality in this game, a win and loss every single game. There's also a reality in life that what you put your energy towards, that's where your focus is going to go.
“I'm not going to address prospects of losing up here, other than we just lost this game. Offensively we haven't put two halves together. There's a lot that factors, everything from calls to execution, to the momentum, to defensive stops, to adjustments that we make that are good or shouldn't make. It's a lot of execution.
“There's games like this where the defense is not going to be up to their normal standards, and we got to pick them up. We had chances - a lot of chances. Definitely the offense, this one will weigh heavy on us on this flight back.
“We got to handle adversity a little bit better. We're a little bit of a rollercoaster team at times. Our best teams have been a little bit more steady. We’ve got to find that rhythm, that steadiness.
“The biggest issue, again, I wish I had the perfect answer or explanation of this, but we haven't played consistent football in all three phases. The margin of error for us in winning is small. So we have to make those plays, especially when you're playing against a good football team. The Giants are a good football team - they’re 4-1.
“I've got to make the throws that are necessary. We've got to come up with the catches, run the ball, we’ve got to force some turnovers on teams on defense when you get the opportunities. We're not sharp enough yet to have a wider margin of error.
"There's a standard that we've played at for a long time. Just because the faces change doesn't mean the standard changes. That's a hard concept I think to grasp at times. We hold ourselves to a really high standard. I trust Matt and the staff and the conversations we'll have this week that we'll clean some things up."
🙌 What a reception for reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers at Tottenham.
— 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 UK (@sportingnewsuk) October 9, 2022
✅️ The Packers have completed the full set for the NFL in London, with all 32 franchises now having played in the English capital. pic.twitter.com/RrsU5nQGcZ
Rodgers believes 'Packer Nation' has become 'Packer World'
On the reception in London, the quarterback icon continued: “We're sorry! We wanted to come here and put on a show, win a football game. The crowd was outstanding. This was just a fantastic experience for all of us. There's guys in the locker room that have never been across the pond.
“The crowd response today, taking the field, was incredible. Seeing the different flags from different countries was amazing. The fans were loud the entire time. It was outstanding.
“So much love for ‘Packer World’. I think we can say that now. It's been ‘Packer Nation’ for the first 100 and couple years. Hopefully the team will get a chance to come back and play here again because it was a special week for all of us, one that we'll never forget.
“I had pretty high expectations. But I would say the response definitely surpassed the expectation. With some of the noises and chants, little ditties they played during the game, it felt like a home game. They played ‘Roll Out the Barrel’, which I don't think many European fans know what the hell that is.
“That surprised me in a beautiful way. Again, big thanks to the fans. That was an incredible experience. Apologies for the disjointed performance. I think we're all going to remember this for a long time. Even though it was a loss, it was a great experience.”
Rodgers coy on Odell Beckham Jr. links
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. raised eyebrows this week with his social media activity, hinting that the Packers were indeed among his preferred destinations after replying "we see eye to eye" to an ESPN report linking him with the storied franchise.
Asked Sunday about Beckham, Rodgers responded: "First, he's not healthy yet, I don't think. I don't really feel like there's a need to comment until he's healthy.
"But that's really a question for Brian [Gutekunst] and his staff. I'm always going to be for adding anybody to our squad who can help us win. Whether or not we need an OBJ, who knows.
"I like the person, love the player. Just want him to be healthy honestly. He's been through a lot the last few years. That's the most important thing."
