Green Bay Packers: Studs and duds from playoff win over Seahawks
Stud: Jimmy Graham, TE
Talk about players that I did not expect to have to gas up after the Divisional Round of the playoffs, Packers tight end Jimmy Graham definitely fits that bill. He’s looked slow and like a shell of himself for much of the year and it figured he would roll around in obscurity in the postseason.
Instead, Graham came up huge for Green Bay on Sunday night as he was the team’s second-leading receiver on the night, catching three of his four targets on the night for 49 yards. While not a huge night, the impact of his receptions were huge as he got open in several crucial moments, including the controversial first down catch late in the fourth quarter.
Seahawks fans will certainly question for quite some time whether or not Graham actually made the line to gain but the tight end got the call. And the fact that he was open and made the grab to make it a tough call speaks to how big the veteran came up when needed for the Packers.
Dud: Cruise-control finish
Something that I’ve gotten after the Packers for a number of times in the past month or so has been their lackluster finishes to games, thinking that it might come back to bite them in the playoffs. On Sunday night, it almost did.
After going up 28-10 with 7:09 left on the clock in the third quarter, the Packers amassed just 31 yards on 11 plays over their next two drives while they allowed Seattle to score touchdowns on their two coinciding drive, thus making it a close game that went down to the wire. Yes, they still made enough plays on the Seahawks’ final drive and their own final drive to get the win.
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Even still, the Packers need to find a late-game gear that isn’t just turning on cruise control and riding out the storm to win. This is the postseason where — as the Texans can attest to — no lead is ever totally safe. Subsequently, Green Bay’s inability to finish strong remains a concern in my book.