Winning ugly was the theme of the 2019 season and that same theme returned on Sunday after the Green Bay Packers (7-2, 2-1 NFC North) just barely beat the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-8, 1-3 AFC South) 24-20 in a lackluster game at Lambeau Field.

The lack of energy from Green Bay was evident from the jump after the Packers failed to score on their opening drive for the first time all season. As a result, the Jaguars took an early 3-0 lead after their field goal attempt was good from 52-yards out on their opening drive. 

Throughout the rest of the first quarter, the Packers continued to struggle to find their rhythm on offense and seemingly lacked any sense of urgency. To better paint the picture for you, on the Packers  first three offensive drives, they only had one first down, which was gifted to them after a defensive pass interference call.

However, thanks to wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, the second quarter started off on a much better note for Green Bay. On the first play of the quarter, quarterback Aaron Rodgers connected with MVS for a 78-yard touchdown play to put the Packers up 7-3.

Later in the quarter, the Packers were once again forced to punt, and the special teams unit caused them to really pay the price for it. Jaguars’ punt returner, Keelan Cole Sr., found gap after gap after gap in the Packers’ punt return coverage (and stole punter JK Scott’s ankles) and took it 91-yards to the house to retake the lead with a score of 10-7.  

After they immediately got the ball back, the Packers were able to make more good things happen on offense. After first down plays from MVS, running back Jamaal Williams and wide receiver Davante Adams, Rodgers scrambled for a 5-yard touchdown to put the Packers back on top, 14-10.

With just 1:28 left in the half, Green Bay safety Adrian Amos read Jacksonville’s offense scheme perfectly and came up with a big interception right before the half. As a result, the Packers extended their lead to 17-10 after Mason Crosby was good from 39-yards out.

In the second half, the Packers continued to lack energy and looked entirely too predictable on offense. Even Davante Adams, who is usually a consistent force for the Packers’ offense, struggled throughout the day and that was evident after he fumbled early into the second half. The Jaguars were able to take advantage of the turnover and tied the game at 17 after a 12-yard touchdown pass.  

Just two drives later, Rodgers also fell ill to the turnover bug and threw a rare interception. His pass to MVS was entirely too far behind him and it resulted in an easy pick for the Jaguars. Jacksonville took advantage of the turnover, again, taking a 20-17 lead after their kicker was good from 31-yards out.

The Packers, despite how little they looked like they wanted to be there, continued to tread on though. To kick off their next drive, Rodgers connected with tight end Robert Tonyan for a 23-yard first down, then running back Aaron Jones and MVS moved the chains for the Packers before Davante Adams climbed the ladder with an impressive 6-yard touchdown grab to give us our final score of Packers 24 Jaguars 20. Jacksonville had a chance to win it at the end of the game, but Green Bay’s defense applied pressure and got the job done to help the Packers improve to 7-2 on the year.

What we learned: Bakhtiari got paid

Since there wasn’t much we learned from the game (except that the Packers didn’t show up) let’s talk about some of the great news that broke during the game on Sunday.

During the fourth quarter, ProFootballTalk broke the news that the Packers signed left tackle David Bakhtiari to a new contract just before midnight on Saturday. The much-awaited deal includes a four-year extension and has a new money value of $23 million per year, making him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history.

At his post-game media availability, Bakhtiari confirmed the news and shared his excitement. “To have the monetary validation for all the hard work I’ve put in really means a lot… I always wanted to say I was the highest-paid offensive linemen in NFL history. Today, I get to say that.”

What went right: Closing out both halves

Despite an overall sluggish performance, something that went right for Green Bay on Sunday was how they closed out both the first and second halves. In the first half, Amos had his big interception play that put the ball back in Green Bay’s hands and allowed them to extend their lead by a touchdown. And, at the end of the game, the d-train came though for the team after back-to-back sacks from linebackers Rashan Gary and Preston Smith and then a stop on 4^th and 26 to seal the deal for Green Bay.

It seemed like time after time this season the Packers were giving up touchdowns in “garbage time” and today was finally different. If the Packers can bring that energy to games they are actually playing their best too, that’ll be a dangerous combination for any NFL team to handle.

What went wrong: The game plan

I have no idea what Packers head coach Matt LaFleur had drawn up for this game but whatever the heck it was just did not work. On paper, this should have been an easy win for Green Bay and instead they kept Jacksonville, who have dropped every game since week one, in this one until literally the final play of the game.

Next week, the Packers hit the road against a good 6-3 Colts team, and they cannot afford to beat themselves as they get deeper into the season and start seeing some better teams. Just like the Bucs game, I’m hoping the Packers can throw this one out and look forward with a new and improved plan.

Offensive MVP: MVS

One of the few bright spots in Sunday’s matchup was MVS’ performance. Valdes-Scantling led the team in receiving yards with 149 total yards and had a touchdown (ESPN stats). His 149 yards are a new career high for the youngster. If MVS can continue to come up with some big catches, like he has the last two weeks, it’ll be quite a scary site once wide receiver Allen Lazard rejoins him and Adams in the wideout room.

Defensive MVP: Za’Darius Smith

Another week, another nice performance from Za’Darius Smith. Z continues to be the consistent force on this defense and Sunday was no different. Smith was applying pressure all day long and had a total of 5 tackles, 4 of which were solo, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit (ESPN stats).

A look at some of your takeaways

• “A win is a win is a win.” - @JaredBNicholls

• “Packers just can’t start slow. Adams, a healthy Lazard, and a confident MVS would be nastyyyyy.” - @Stanky_Cheeze

• “Not going to win any style points with this W, but it counts all the same. Here’s to hoping Lazard is back in action next week and can bring this offense back to what we saw in the beginning of the season.” - @mattydobi
   

Up next, the Green Bay Packers hit the road for a matchup with the Indianapolis Colts. Kickoff is set for next Sunday, November 22 at 4:25 p.m. EST.