Winning five of their last six games hasn’t enabled the Green Bay Packers to make up any ground in the rugged NFC North.
asserted
Winning → win → North
The Packers (6-3) are in last place in their division despite having won twice as many games as they’ve lost.
asserted
they → win → games
According to Sportradar, this is the first time every team in a particular division has owned a winning percentage of at least .667 this far into a season.
uncertain
team → accord → season
“There’s not a lot of room for error in our division right now, and that’s just the reality of it,” Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur said Monday, a day after the Packers’ 45-27 victory at New England.
asserted
LaFleur → ’ → England
“And I think it puts a healthy kind of pressure on you, to make sure that you’re present each and every day, and you’re pouring everything you can into this thing.
“Because the one thing that is definitely true about our league is, anybody can beat anybody.
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anybody → think → anybody
It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, when you’re playing, where you’re playing, you’ve got to bring it.
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you → matter → it
And if you don’t, you will get beat.”
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you → do → ?
The Packers certainly have been bringing it lately.
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Packers → bring → it
They produced arguably their best performance of the season Sunday by dominating the reigning AFC champions on the road.
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They → produce → road
Jordan Love, who has an NFL-leading 2,618 yards passing, threw for 372 as Green Bay scored the first 17 points and eventually led by as many as 28.
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Bay → have → 28
Christian Watson and Matthew Golden combined for 335 yards receiving as they continued their transformation into one of the NFL’s top wideout tandems.
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they → combine → tandems
“You can’t let one game kind of lull you to sleep,” quarterback Jordan Love said after the game.
asserted
Love → let → game
“It was a great performance tonight, but you know it’s all about getting back to work and having a good game plan.
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it → know → plan
But, yeah, this is what we talk about: stacking wins, get rolling as a unit, and that’s what we did.”
asserted
we → talk → what
Now they need to keep it up, or risk falling further behind in the NFL’s toughest division.
What’s working
Defense and running game.
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What → need → division
Green Bay forced four turnovers Sunday and has 19 takeaways this season to rank second in the NFL, behind Tampa Bay’s 21.
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Bay → force → 21
The Packers sacked Drake Maye four times and have 10 sacks over their last two games.
asserted
Packers → sack → games
A rushing attack that ranks last in the NFL performed better than expected Sunday.
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that → rank → NFL
The Packers rushed for 129 yards – 43 more than their previous season high – on 32 carries.
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Packers → rush → carries
Kaleb Johnson rushed for a career-high 68 yards and scored his first touchdown.
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Johnson → rush → touchdown
What needs work
It’s hard to find anything to quibble about after such a dominant performance.
asserted
It → need → performance
The Packers did allow New England to rush for 94 yards on 16 attempts for an average of 5.9 yards per carry.
asserted
England → allow → carry
Stock up
Watson, who had a career-high 171 yards receiving, has 879 yards receiving this season to rank third in the NFL.
asserted
who → have → NFL
… S Xavier McKinney picked off two passes Sunday.
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McKinney → pick → passes
He has five interceptions this season to tie Tennessee’s Amani Hooker for the NFL lead.
asserted
He → have → lead
After playing every offensive snap in a victory over Carolina a week earlier, OG Aaron Banks was on the field for just 69.7% of the Packers’ plays Sunday as he was in more of a time share with Kevin Zeitler.
asserted
he → play → Zeitler
LaFleur said Monday that Banks was dealing with a groin issue.
asserted
Banks → say → issue
Injuries
RB Josh Jacobs fractured his right ring finger and will undergo surgery.
asserted
Jacobs → fracture → surgery
There’s no indication on how much time he will miss.
asserted
he → ’ → time
... LB Ty’Ron Hopper left Sunday’s game with a chest injury.
asserted
Hopper → leave → injury
LaFleur said he’s optimistic that it won’t be a major issue.
asserted
it → say → ?
Key number
7 for 160 — Watson and Golden were the fifth pair of teammates in NFL history to have at least seven catches for 160 yards and a touchdown in the same game.
asserted
Watson → have → game
Next steps
The Packers get a chance to avenge a season-opening 39-22 loss at Minnesota when they host the Vikings on Sunday afternoon.
asserted
they → get → afternoon
The Aporia
