Green Bay Packers 2011 regular season Review: A great season ends on a sad note – NFL Special Part III
Against Tampa Bay
The Green Bay Packers entered this game with a 9-0 record of their unbeaten run, looking more secure than ever as the wins kept rolling in with quarterback, Aaron Rodgers in mesmerising form.
Against Tampa Bay the Packers again looked towards Rodgers to deliver the goods and he did not disappoint combining well with receiver Jordy Nelson to brush aside the challenge from a struggling Buccaneers side.
Buccaneers' running back LeGarrette Blount had a great game, rushing for 107 yards and scoring a 54-yard touchdown, but his efforts paled under the mesmerising beauty of Rodgers' plays.
The Packers' quarterback passed for 299 yards and three touchdowns, two of those to Jordy Nelson, to put an end to Buccaneers' comeback bid and keep his team’s unbeaten run intact with a 35-26 victory.
At Detroit
The Thanksgiving Day encounter with the Detroit Lions was billed as the toughest game for the Packers. The Detroit Lions were one of the most inform teams in the NFL this year and Green Bay had a tough task to break down their physical defensive unit.
The Lions were heavily physical, as they tried to beat Rodgers off his stride but Rodgers took all the hits in his stride leading the Packers to their 11th straight win.
Lions had tight end Ndamukong Suh sent off for lashing out at Packers guard Evan-Dietrich Smith and the Packers took full advantage.
Rodgers passed for 307-yards and two touchdowns to lead Green Bay to a 24-0 third quarter lead and even though Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford tried to lead his team back in the game in the final quarter it was too little too late.
The Packers ran out 27-15 victors as the Lions succumbed to another Thanksgiving Day loss.
At New York
The New York Giants were the only team this season to give Green Bay a run for their money. On a three game losing streak the Giants however, were not ready to let the Packers walk over them as they had done with other teams.
The Packers on 11-0 and going for an unbeaten regular season faced their toughest game yet against New York and came closest to losing their first game of the season.
Both quarterbacks Eli Manning and Aaron Rodgers had a brilliant game but in the end Rodgers came out on top as he out passed Manning by a single touchdown to give the Packers a close 38-35 victory.
Both teams were level on points with just 58-seconds left in the fourth quarter and it seemed the game would head over to overtime.
Rodgers however, was not going to wait that long and drove the Packers forward into field-goal range.
Kicker Mason Crosby then stepped up in the final play of the game and his kick was good from 31-yards as the Packers went 12 games unbeaten.
Against Oakland
This game showcased the Packers offence at their best. Rodgers was brilliant in offence as the Packers decimated Oakland on their way to a 13th straight win.
The Raiders were out of the game by the end of the first half as Rodgers passed for two touchdowns and Ryan Grant got two rushing touchdowns to gain a 31-0 lead.
In the second half Green Bay did not rest on laurels and continued to pick apart the Raiders as if they were a small team and not contenders for the AFC West title.
The Raiders managed to score just 16 points in the game as Green Bay won comprehensively by a 46-16 margin.
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