2. Geronimo Gets Involved
Green Bay has been one of the most injury-riddled teams in the early going of the season. In this game alone, the team had six expected starters (as well as one other key depth piece) wind up missing the contest entirely. These players being out shifted many others up the depth chart and increased not only their snap count but potential impact. Of those players, perhaps nobody ended up having the impact on the game as Green Bay wide receiver Geronimo Allison.
Allison ended up as Green Bay’s leading receiver in terms of yardage on the afternoon, picking up 122 yards on his six catches (eight targets). Though he didn’t end up scoring a touchdown — Jordy Nelson and Lance Kendricks handled those honors — his plays were each perhaps as important (if not more so) to Cincinnati’s eventual loss.
It may sound strange based on the eventual outcome, but took a little while for the Packers to involve him much in their gameplan. It wasn’t until the final drive before halftime where he even saw a target. That drive was a glimpse of what the rest of the contest would bring from him though.
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His first target became a 10-yard gain, and there would be more big ones to come in the second half. In the second half, he ended up with three more receptions of 10+ yards. Four times, his receptions picked up first downs on their own (five if you include the first down picked up by defensive pass interference on a play he was targeted), and three of those occasions came on third down.
The last two offensive drives for Green Bay were where his presence was most felt. On the touchdown drive to tie things up 24-24, Allison was targeted four times in twelve plays; three of those were completions, with two going for 10+ yards and one converting a third down.
His play on the final drive was easily the most important — and most impressive — of the contest. Green Bay was stuck on third-and-10 after two incompletions, leaving Cincinnati likely to get the ball back in short order. Rodgers drew Michael Johnson offsides at the snap though, and things only got worse.
What should’ve been a third-and-5 even with Johnson’s misstep became a highlight-reel 72-yard catch-and-run by Allison. It was a thing of beauty (or disgust, depending on your allegiance). Allison was able to burst past Adam Jones on the play (getting three-plus yards of separation at that), and after corralling the pass made a quick turn inward to make George Iloka fall to the ground. Allison would then change direction on Jones twice, getting him turned around until he too fell down.
Josh Shaw was able to catch up and get him on the ground before this became an all-time highlight with a touchdown to cap things off, but the long Allison reception was enough to give Mason Crosby a simple 27-yard field goal attempt a couple plays later to seal the deal on the contest.
Allison’s play alone wasn’t enough to win the game, but the timeliness and impact of the plays he did contribute leave him as the most impactful non-quarterback in the contest’s outcome. Cincinnati’s inability to stop him when it mattered most is huge in explaining why the team let a dominating 21-7 lead slip away in a disheartening 27-24 defeat.