Enemy Reaction 2018: Green Bay Packers

After consecutive weeks of getting off to great starts, only to lose to the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams, the Seattle Seahawks opted for a terrible start against the Green Bay Packers, but they came away with a much-needed 27-24 win. It was Seattle’s first win after trailing entering the 4th quarter since October 2016, and the largest comeback at home since the 2014 NFC Championship Game against the Packers. This win certainly doesn’t match the 2014 NFC CG’s significance or drama, but it helped Seattle keep its playoff hopes alive for another week.

Oh, you damn well know what else a Seahawks win entails. Enemy Reaction is BACK! I haven’t done this all month, and now I get to bring you sad and angry Packers fans (plus our own silly moments) for you to enjoy as we near Thanksgiving week. Packers game thread comments are courtesy of Acme Packing Company. For some reason they only had 220 comments in the first half thread, so that made things a little tricky, but it heated up in the second half, giving us the material we crave.

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Chris Carson fumbles on opening play (0-0)

Aaron Jones easily scores on a toss play (7-0 GB)

Mason Crosby pulls his field goal attempt wide left (7-0 GB)

Rashaad Penny goes full Tecmo Bowl, gains 30 yards to set up Seahawks FG (7-3 GB)

Aaron Rodgers finds Robert Tonyan for a 54-yard touchdown (14-3 GB)

Doug Baldwin gets into the end zone for the first time this season (14-10 GB)

Tyler Lockett draws 48-yard defensive pass interference penalty (14-10 GB)

Chris Carson scores from a yard out to give Seattle the lead (17-14 SEA)

Aaron (Rodgers) to Aaron (Jones) to give the Packers the lead back (21-17 GB)

Russell Wilson’s end-of-half lateral to Nick Vannett doesn’t work (21-17 GB)

David Moore can’t hang on, Seahawks go th—-wait, this might be challenged (21-17 GB)

...It’s a catch-and-fumble! First down Seahawks! (21-17 GB)

Kyler Fackrell sacks Russell Wilson, eventually forcing Seattle to kick a field goal (21-20 GB)

Aaron Rodgers hooks up with Davante Adams for 57 yards, while Bradley McDougald totally wasn’t held on this play (21-20 GB)

Rasheem Green gets pivotal third-down sack, Packers kick a field goal (24-20 GB)

Tyler Lockett makes (or did he?) 34-yard catch, Mike McCarthy doesn’t challenge (24-20 GB)

Russell Wilson to Ed Dickson for the go-ahead touchdown! (27-24 SEA)

After Packers punt, Mike Davis gets the game-sealing first-down, Seahawks WIN (27-24 SEA Final)

Mike McCarthy, why are you punting on 4th and 2?

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Post-Game: What happened to the Green Bay Packers’ magic? (Keegan Jackish, Lombardi Ave)

The Packers roster, despite improved backfield production and a better defense, is simply not strong enough to win a Super Bowl with just Rodgers, and as a result the need for a head coaching change at 1265 Lombardi Avenue may be an inevitable necessary for this organization.

Don’t get me wrong, Mike McCarthy has been one of the most NFL successful coaches of the 21st century, but like the Eagles with Andy Reid, the Bears under Lovie Smith, or the Giants under Tom Coughlin, the timing may be right for a changing of the guard.

Other teams in the 21st century have won a Super Bowl with recent coaching changes. The Eagles with Doug Pederson, the Broncos with Gary Kubiak and the Steelers with Mike Tomlin are perfect examples of this.

What makes someone think an Aaron Rodgers-led Packers would be an exception to this strange commonality?

Names such as John DeFilippo, Josh McDaniels, or even an in-house candidate like Mike Pettine may not just wrap up the career of Rodgers in a happy way, but could also help Brian Gutekunst usher in a new era of Packers football in an increasingly not-so-distant future where No. 12 isn’t under center at Lambeau Field.

Sometimes having a fresh face is necessary, in any faucet of life, but in the National Football League recent trends have shown that fresh faces can radically improve an organization.

Post-Game: Aaron Rodgers is not an elite quarterback right now (Jason Perone, CheeseheadTV)

Throw your numbers, excuses and barbs at me all day long. Rodgers turned into a major pumpkin in the second half.

His actual stats in this game were good. Good enough for most teams to win. Had I seen what his numbers would be beforehand, I would have assumed the Packers win this one.

The long scoring pass to Robert Tonyan and the deep throw to Adams were nice, but it was the short, easy, wide open but missed throws that land Rodgers on this list.

That also doesn’t take into account the poor decision making that led to key sacks and killed several drives.

Rodgers’ vision is flat-out awful this season. He’s not seeing obvious open throws and no one wants to admit it or say it, so I’ll do it for you or against you: Rodgers is not an elite quarterback right now.

The problem with the debate about why Rodgers has been so out of sort this season pits two sides with insanely different logic to them.

There are those who want to show us why with actual game evidence that is a horrible look for the beloved 12. Hard to argue with it.

But many will try and it’s only because they don’t want to admit that Rodgers can actually be this bad or that, dare I say it? He may be in the beginning of a decline in some of his abilities.

Either way, I’m done handing out passes. Too many easy misses that could have changed the outcome of this game to let Rodgers slide away without landing here.

Post-Game Video Rant (Warning: Plenty of cursing): Fire Mike McCarthy now! (The Realest Cheesehead)

Enemy Preaction: Carolina Panthers (Cat Scratch Reader)

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Having vanquished a familiar non-divisional NFC rival at home, the Seahawks now seek to repeat that same feat on the road against the Carolina Panthers, who are undefeated at Bank of America Stadium this year. If Carolina loses to the Detroit Lions, they’ll fall to 6-4, leaving the Seahawks only one game behind them. This would be the dream scenario, and I have a feeling that regardless of how the Panthers fare in Detroit on November 18th, we’re in for another nail-biter when these two play on the 25th.

Thanks for reading and go ‘Hawks!