The entire NFL world was stunned from what they were watching last Sunday. Almost everybody expected a shootout of instant classic proportions between the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons. For good reason too. It was indoors. The Super Bowl was on the line and it featured two of the best quarterbacks in the game in Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers himself made a good enough showing with three touchdown passes. However, it seemed the rest of his team didn't bother to get off the bus. Atlanta seized control of the game from the outset and never let Green Bay into the contest. By the end of the first half a Julio Jones touchdown with seven second left made the score 24-0.
It was just unbelievable to watch a hot, playoff experienced team like the Packers crumble like that. People grasped at theories for why it happened. Some blamed the flu striking the locker room at a bad time. Others feel it was the inability of the defense to pressure Ryan. Then again, if one asked the opponent, the real reason was obvious.
At least one of the Falcons players has a theory as to why Green Bay was so out of sorts. It centered around the aggressive and physical play of the Atlanta defense. They pretty much had their way with the Packers offense the entire first half. A key component was putting a series of vicious shots on quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Hits the two-time MVP is not used to taking.
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Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett thinks he and the team got frustrated with the officials because a number of penalties they felt deserved to be called weren't called. The refs seemed intent on letting the two teams play. Jarrett believes this sudden bout of fairness contributed to the downfall of Green Bay.
"They’re a team that gets away with a lot of stuff as far as holding calls and everything. So, when the thing isn’t going his way, when the game’s played fairly, it tends to be a problem.”This has been a steady complaint by Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings fans for years. The refs always seem to miss obvious penalty calls against the Packers. This of course has given Rodgers more opportunities to make the big plays he's become so famous and revered for. So when they were taken away, the real "Packers" came to light. That would explain why Rodgers grew so frustrated late in the game that he ripped the helmet off and shoved Falcons cornerback Robert Alford. A moment Alford decided to have fun with. [video width="666" height="360" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/6-gj9rVPbAOqzhjN.mp4"][/video] At the end of the day the rest of the NFC North got to sit back and watch the Packers implode for once. It's undeniably fun watching karma smack that team at the absolute worst possible times. Hopefully the Falcons can rub a little salt into the wounds by winning the Super Bowl in 12 days. If nothing else one can only hope the refs don't take this game to heart and start making more favorable calls to them than ever before.
