The Green Bay Packers cruised to a 38-10 home win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Lambeau Field.Aaron Rodgers had his best game in seven career starts against the Seahawks, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com.On Sept. 20, 2015, he finished with a 116.9 passer rating in a 27-17 win over Seattle. On Sunday, Rodgers threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns on 18-of-23 passing, which gave him a 150.8 passer rating.Rodgers said on Nov. 23 that he was confident the Packers could win their six remaining games, per ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky. ESPN's Trey Wingo alluded to the fact Green Bay is on a three-game winning streak since those comments:Whereas little went wrong for Rodgers, little went right for his opposite number, Russell Wilson, who threw a career-high five interceptions. According to ESPN Stats & Info, no Seahawks quarterback had thrown more since Jon Kitna in 1999.For the first time since their ascendancy began in 2010, the Seahawks were without Earl Thomas on Sunday. The five-time Pro Bowler suffered afractured tibiain Seattle's 40-7 Week 13 win over the Carolina Panthers that will keep him out for the rest of the season.The Packers didn't take long to capitalize on Thomas' absence. On the third play of the game, Rodgers connected with Davante Adams for a 66-yard touchdown pass. The NFL shared a replay of the throw on Twitter:According to Green Bay's official Twitter account, it was the longest play from scrimmage by the team in 2016.Steven Hauschka got Seattle on the board with a 28-yard field goal with 6:16 left in the first quarter, but it was a momentary reprieve for the Seahawks.A Morgan Burnett interception set the Green Bay offense up with a short field. Four plays after the turnover, Ty Montgomery found the end zone on a one-yard run to put the home team ahead 14-3 with 9:36 left in the half.Jordy Nelson added to the Packers' lead with a nine-yard touchdown reception at the 5:15 mark of the second quarter. The NFL provided a second look at the score:Houston Rockets forward Sam Dekker, a native ofSheboygan, Wisconsin, didn't want to see the Packers get too comfortable with their 18-point lead:As much as Thomas' injury loomed large for Seattle, it didn't explain Wilson's poor start to the game. He was 8-of-16 for 90 yards and two interceptions through the first half.The Seattle Times' Bob Condotta noted the Seahawks quarterback has become far more turnover-prone than he was earlier in the year:Arrow star Stephen Amell was among the fantasy football owners hoping to see Wilson turn things around:Wilson's second pick was particularly costly. The Seahawks were inside Green Bay territory in the final minute of the half. With 34 seconds remaining, Wilson threw against his body, andDamarious Randall stepped in front of the pass and intercepted it just short of the goal line.ESPN.com's Jason Wilde praised Randall for making up a lot of ground to close on the ball:With three timeouts, Seattle could've potentially gotten inside field-goal range forHauschka. Instead, the Seahawks headed for their locker room down 21-3, their biggest deficit of the season, according toTom Pipines of Fox6Now.com.As much as Seattle's defense was a problem, ESPN's Bomani Jones wondered if the offense was the bigger question mark:Jones' observation proved astute after the Seahawks' first two possessions of the second half ended in interceptions.Stephen Cohen of theSeattle Post-Intelligencer argued Burnett was guilty of pass interference on the first interception. Burnett blanketed Jermaine Kearse, who was unable to make a play on the ball. Wilson's pass deflected off Burnett and into the arms of Quinten Rollins.Wilson's luck wasn't any better leading up to his fourth pick. His pass slipped through the hands and off the facemask of Doug Baldwin. Randall reacted quickly to nab his second interception of the game.Campus Insiders' Bonnie Bernstein thought the play could at least be a teachable moment:The Packers padded their lead with a touchdown reception by Nelson in the third quarter and a 38-yard field goal by Mason Crosby with 10:31 left in the final frame. Green Bay and Seattle exchanged touchdowns to end the game.While Sunday's win is a step in the right direction, the Packers still have work to do if they're going to secure an eighth straight playoff berth.They have critical games ahead against the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions to close out the regular season. Losing one of those three may doom Green Bay's postseason hopes.More worrying, Rodgers was visibly limping at various points Sunday before exiting in the fourth quarter. He has been suffering from a hamstring injury for a few weeks, but the problem didn't appear to hinder the two-time MVP too much.Should Rodgers' hamstring become more of an issue, though, Green Bay would be in trouble.Despite losing Sunday, the Seahawks remain on track to win the NFC West. The Arizona Cardinals fell 26-23 to the Miami Dolphins, which means Seattle needs one more victory to clinch the division.But the Seahawks' concerns go deeper, considering how lackluster the secondary looked without Thomas.For the most part, the Legion of Boom has only suffered minor losses, such as Brandon Browner and Byron Maxwell, since Seattle became a perennial contender. Thomas, Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor are irreplaceable.Chancellor missed three games at the end of the 2015 regular season, but he returned for the playoffs. The Seahawks won't have that luxury with Thomas, which could be a debilitating blow for their Super Bowl hopes.Postgame Reaction"This is such a rare occurrence for our team," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "It's just something at this time we have to push behind us and get going.""There's too many [turnovers] in there and we don't have to talk about each play," Wilson said, according to 247Sports' Derek Lewis. "I just think we have to play better obviously. We can't turn the ball over. I put that on me; that game was on me."Packers head coach Mike McCarthy confirmed after Green Bay's win that Rodgers injured his calf on the third play of the game, per the team's Twitter account."It's hard to tell; it just happened a few hours ago," Rodgers said when asked about the status of his calf, according to Demovsky. "So I'll give you a better update on Wednesday."Speaking about Sunday's win more broadly, Rodgers said beating the Seahawks was important, but that Green Bay can't take its foot off the gas, per the Packers' Twitter account: "Important win for us confidence-wise. Statement to our fans as well to stick with us. There's a lot of football left."
Click here to read full news..
