The pivotal game of 2010.

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There's a game between the Packers and Patriots that's not being given much attention in all the discussions about this Sunday's game but it has some relevance to this week's match-up even though it's history.

Green Bay and New England met in a game at almost the same point in the season 4 years ago in Foxboro in almost the same situation. The Patriots were dominating opponents and seemed to be heading toward their fifth Super Bowl under Bill Belichick. They were 11-2, leading the AFC and averaging over 32 ppg, with an average victory margin of more than two touchdowns.

Even leading defensive teams like the Steelers, Jets and Bears couldn't stop them. The two games before Green Bay the Pats had demolished the Jets 45-3 and Chicago 36-7, rolling up well over 400 yds. in both games.

The Packers to that point had an uneven and mostly frustrating season. They were 8-5 and struggling to keep pace with the Bears in the NFC North standings. Their prospects of making the playoffs seemed slim. The game before the Patriots the Packers lost at Detroit 7-6 and qb Aaron Rodgers sustained a concussion that would keep him out of the New England game.

All signs pointed to another New England blow-out and the Packers being finished off as a playoff team for the season. But the Pack turned in a surprisinly tough performance and gave the Pats all they could handle just to survive.

Matt Flynn, starting a quarterback for the Packers, was 24 of 37 for 251 yds and threw 3 td passes. The Packer defense contained the NFL's top offense. Tom Brady could throw for only 163 yds., muster only 14 first downs to the Packers' 26, and Green Bay outgained New England for the game 369-249 and held the Patriots' offensive team to 24 points.

The great Patriot tight end duo of Hernandez and Gronkowski were held to 5 catches, with Gronk getting only one for 25 yds. The great Wes Welker had 3 for 42 yds. None of the Patriot backs could breach 60 yds rushing.

The Packers led 17-7 in the second quarter, 17-14 at the half, and 24-21 going in to the fourth quarter.

New England did win the game 31-27 as Flynn made several critical mistakes as a first time NFL starter. The Patriots returned an interception for a td, sacked the quarterback 5 times and in the last seconds of the game, with the Packers deep in New England territory, forced a second turnover on a rush forced fumble.

The game was a turning point on the rest of the season, however. The Packers got a huge confidence boost from a competitive performance even in a losing result. Green Bay did not lose another game for 19 straight from that time on and went on to win the Super Bowl themselves just 7 weeks later.

And they exposed the Patriots as mortal after all. New England did finish 14-2 for the season but lost in the playoffs at home to the Jets 28-21, delaying that fifth Super Bowl appearance for another year.

Now comes another meeting with a similar feel and situation. Only the location and Aaron Rodgers being in this game is different. Maybe this time the result will be, too.
 

red4tribe

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The defense did a great job against Brady when you factor in that 14 points were from an offensive lineman's kick return and a pick six. Unfortunately I think our defense is only a shadow of the one we had in 2010.
 

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The defense did a great job against Brady when you factor in that 14 points were from an offensive lineman's kick return and a pick six. Unfortunately I think our defense is only a shadow of the one we had in 2010.

And therein lies the question mark for tomorrow. Will this defense be able to slow down the Brady Bunch? They will have to find a way.
 

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The defense did a great job against Brady when you factor in that 14 points were from an offensive lineman's kick return and a pick six. Unfortunately I think our defense is only a shadow of the one we had in 2010.

Not only 'is', but 'has been'.
 
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HardRightEdge

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Nice read, you forgot to mention OL Dan Connolly's (6-4, 305) 71 yard kickoff return though.
That's the play that sticks in my mind. It was a 7 point giveaway.

It might have been a blessing in disguise. The coverage teams were pretty bad that season to that point. Afterward, they were much improved through the playoffs. It was a case of embarrassment and the risk of jobs lost bringing some focus.
 
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HardRightEdge

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And therein lies the question mark for tomorrow. Will this defense be able to slow down the Brady Bunch? They will have to find a way.
Oh, I think Brady will have success moving the ball. It comes down to preventing the big play and holding down the fort in the red zone.
 
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red4tribe

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I've stated it in other threads and I'll state it again. I expect the Patriots to
embarass this defense. Whether it's with Brady's arm, Gray's legs or by Blount, I'm expecting them to score 35+. I fear Revis and Browner will limit Cobb and Nelson so someone else will have to have a big day on offense. If we keep pace on offense, maybe we will force a fumble or catch another break which will allow us to win.
 
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HardRightEdge

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I'm also not sure about the thread title ..."pivotal"?

To me the pivotal game was Detroit, led by Drew Stanton, beating Tampa in Tampa in OT in week 15. That Tampa loss neutralized the Packer loss to NE, leaving both teams at 8-6. It also gave the Packers the edge in the deciding Conference record tie breaker if both teams won out, which is what happened.

In other words, Tampa booting that game to the 3-10 Lions left the Packers in position to decide their own destiny.
 

NelsonsLongCatch

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I think the pivotal game of 2010 was the win over the Jets. That was the game the defense finally became dominate and the Packers showed they could win a close game when the offense doesn't score touchdowns.
 
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Packerlifer

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Nice read, you forgot to mention OL Dan Connolly's (6-4, 305) 71 yard kickoff return though.


It was either that play or Arrington's interception return where he stepped out of bounds but the refs missed it, allowing the play to stand.
 
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I think that game was more pivotal for the AFC because it slowed down the pats run of invincibility so to speak. I thought it was a big step for our "next man up" mentality we had that whole season. However, for me the pivotal game that season was and always will be week 17 vs the Bears. They were pulling out all the stops in what was essentially a playoff game to keep us out. We met the challenge and got the defense in the zone and geared up for our super bowl run
 
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I think that game was more pivotal for the AFC because it slowed down the pats run of invincibility so to speak. I thought it was a big step for our "next man up" mentality we had that whole season. However, for me the pivotal game that season was and always will be week 17 vs the Bears. They were pulling out all the stops in what was essentially a playoff game to keep us out. We met the challenge and got the defense in the zone and geared up for our super bowl run
AhhhaaHA . love the username.. Thanks for that!
I thought that game defined Matt Flynn,.. for him.. It could've have been worth tens of millions , literally. Although he may not have lived up to those expectations each throw that game made him a hundred thousand dollars.. no actually more.. although today I would pick Scott over Matt
 

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