Odell Beckham Jr. played in Green Bay after all ... on the wrong team.
The diva wide receiver reportedly entertained the chance to join forces with Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams when he was released by Cleveland the first week of November. Perhaps, the Packers lowballed OBJ -- or weren’t seriously motivated to add an often-disgruntled player to a locker room that prides itself on chemistry -- regardless, he latched on with Los Angeles and thus tasted defeat on Sunday as Green Bay upended the Rams at Lambeau Field 36-28.
Beckham Jr. managed to catch his first touchdown of the 2021 campaign -- the first in his last 11 games played -- and matched his top receiving mark (81 yards) since securing six receptions for 84 yards in Week 12 of the 2019 season. But you play to win the game … not post pretty numbers.
The bottom line is that OBJ joined a cast of super villains, if you will, only to lose to a team that has leaned heavily on the underdog through the first three months of the season.
Again, that was the story for Green Bay on Sunday.
Second-year thumper AJ Dillon outtouched Aaron Jones -- who was back from a one-game absence -- and led the Packers with 20 carries for 69 yards. He added five grabs for 21 yards and a touchdown.
Randall Cobb produced Green Bay’s longest play from scrimmage. No way you saw that coming.
The Packers defense, still without its top pass-rusher and cover corner, made enough big-time plays to defuse a Rams offense that screams juggernaut on paper but performed like anything but in November.
Los Angeles’ star power essentially shuddered in the cold at Lambeau Field. The Pack’s relentless, ragtag bunch prevailed. At this point, we’re hardly shocked. How could you be? Green Bay seems for real.
Here’s our take on the latest signature win for the Packers:
PLAYER OF THE GAME
“We’re lucky to have a guy like that.”
Those are the words Packers head coach Matt LaFleur spoke after Sunday’s triumph. It reads something like the climactic scene in the old Tom Cruise movie “Risky Business,” where Joel’s father tells his son that Bill Rutherford of Princeton admissions called and said “Princeton can use a guy like Joel.” LaFleur, of course, was referencing Rasul Douglas, the ex-practice squad hero, who has come up with two major interceptions in bouts against loaded NFC West offenses. Douglas’ 33-yard pick-six off Rams QB Matthew Stafford on Sunday bolstered an impressive individual effort that included five tackles and four passes defended. In games against Arizona and Los Angeles -- foes that were a combined 14-3 and considered to be NFC frontrunners when they met the Pack -- Douglas has posted 12 solo stops, two takeaways and six passes defended. Not too shabby for a cornerback no one except Green Bay wanted.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT ME
Cobb wound up leaving the contest, unable to play the second half, with a groin injury. But in the first 30 minutes, the 31-year-old vet showed that he’s got more than a little something left in the tank. Cobb corralled four of his five targets for a season-high 95 yards, including 54 on a shot down the seam that No. 18 advanced inside the Rams red zone and spurred a 13-7 Green Bay advantage. Cobb later scored his fifth touchdown this season on a choice route from seven yards out, squeezing onto a heater from Rodgers as he was sandwiched by a pair of defenders. In his postgame presser, Rodgers said he teased the receiver afterwards about not remembering the last time he connected with Cobb on a seam ball -- “it might have been the 2016 playoffs against the Giants” -- and said, chuckling, it’d been “forever” since hitting his old buddy on a choice route, which lets Cobb break inside or out depending on leverage.
THAT MOMENT
The pick-six led to more points, and there were a couple of chunk plays on offense that really got Green Bay into a flow. But, a 1v1 tackle by Adrian Amos with under 30 seconds to go in the opening quarter definitively set the tone. Stafford handed off the ball to running back Darrell Henderson on fourth-and-inches from the Rams’ own 30-yard line. Amos bolted straight ahead from his box safety spot and chopped out Henderson’s legs from underneath him in the backfield. He sprung up and flexed his muscles. The Packers took over, ultimately settled for a Mason Crosby kick and extended their lead to 10.
THIS NUMBER
20:20
That’s how long Los Angeles possessed the football Sunday, which means Green Bay nearly doubled the Rams’ time of possession (39:40). It’s not rocket science -- that’s a winning recipe. By controlling the clock, the Packers kept the Los Angeles offense in a funk, particularly in the second half. The Rams had the ball for just 1:19 -- two possessions that resulted in a punt and an interception -- in the third quarter.
THEY SAID IT
“I’d say that’s a pretty damn good start.” – quarterback Aaron Rodgers on heading into bye week at 9-3 despite missing key contributors over long stretches
“One guy, especially, I do want to continue to highlight is EQ. He was released from the team and he’s come back to us and done a really nice job -- doesn’t always show up big in the stat sheet, but he’s a guy I trust a lot and a guy who has made some timely plays for us.” -- Rodgers on Equanimeous St. Brown
“When I step on the field, I expect greatness. … I don’t lean on excuses, and not practicing, a little toe injury, I expect greatness when I take the field.” -- Rodgers
“It’s never easy in this league, but you definitely appreciate the times when you win hard-fought football games.” – head coach Matt LaFleur
“As soon as I got the ball, I was thinking ‘try to score,’ so I could Lambeau Leap. But it felt amazing. [It’s] something that I’ve always wanted to do.” – cornerback Rasul Douglas on his pick-six
WHAT’S NEXT
A week to rest. A week to regroup, try to get healthy and prepare for the final stretch. The off week is well deserved for Green Bay after 12 straight grueling football games -- as Rodgers said postgame, it’s a “pretty damn good start.” The Pack will take the field next against NFC North rival Chicago -- for the second time this season -- on Sunday Night Football, Dec. 12. It’s possible that we see starters Jaire Alexander, Za’Darius Smith and/or David Bakhtiari activated for the last five weeks of the regular season.
