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GLENDALE, Ariz. – All the focus was on who the Green Bay Packers didn’t have on Thursday night at the Arizona Cardinals: no Davante Adams, no Allen Lazard, no Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
No chance, right?
Wrong.
Yes, the Packers were missing their top-three receivers – Adams and Lazard on the COVID-19 list and Valdes-Scantling not quite ready to return from a hamstring injury. That was in addition to the three Pro Bowlers – left tackle David Bakhtiari, outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith and cornerback Jaire Alexander – who were never going to play on Thursday.
But all the Packers thought about was who they had.
And it was enough for a 24-21 victory that handed the Cardinals their first loss of the season and left the NFL without an unbeaten team. Both teams walked out with 7-1 records.
And the guy who clinched it wasn’t even on their team until 22 days ago. Cornerback Rasul Douglas, who was on the roster because of injuries to Alexander and Kevin King, picked off a Kyler Murray pass in the end zone on a pass from the Packers’ 5-yard line.
“This is why I love this squad,” Aaron Rodgers said on the field after the game. “The guy who made the pick was with them for four weeks [the Packers signed Douglas off the Cardinals’ practice squad]. He was on the street, we brought him in, he’s starting for us. He’s a great dude, and he’s really meshed well with our team, and to come up with a play like that with 15 seconds left is incredible.”
Coach Matt LaFleur put Rodgers in a run-the-clock mode, and while it left Rodgers with an uncharacteristic stat line – just 184 yards passing — they were content to win a little ugly, or at least uglier than they’re used to.
“We ran the ball well, we knew we could,” Rodgers said. “It was tough in the passing game at times, but [
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Source : espn
