He's a baaaaaadddd man. Following yet another miraculous comeback victory, the Green Bay Packers and their future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers are back on track with a win against one of the NFC's top contenders, the San Francisco 49ers.
With all of the drama that's surrounded the team throughout a tumultuous offseason and a 38-3 drubbing at the hands of the Saints in Week 1, it's got to be refreshing to see the team firing on nearly all cylinders once again. Though there are certainly areas to improve upon, there's infinitely more good that came out of this game for the Pack than bad.
Let's take a look at the three key takeaways for the Packers after their wild Sunday Night victory.
Packers takeaways from Week 3 vs. 49ers
3. The ascent of Eric Stokes
With normal starting cornerback Kevin King out as a surprise scratch before game time with an illness, the Packers first round rookie Stokes was thrust into a starting role on Sunday night. Against a loaded pass-catching group of Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle, Stokes and the Green Bay secondary had their hands full. However, Stokes was definitely up to the task, as he came up with some huge pass defenses late in the game and didn't allow any huge plays aside pass interference and a couple catches here and there.
Given that King has once again been allowing several big plays early on this season, Stokes could easily be the Packers' answer at CB2.
2. The revolving circuit of great O-linemen
Heading into the game, the only Packers lineman who had started more than two games at their spot in their careers was Billy Turner. However, Yosh Nijman, Jon Runyan, Jr., Josh Myers, and Royce Newman performed admirably, as Rodgers was sacked only one time against a 49ers front led by the ever-daunting Nick Bosa.
As the old adage goes, the game is won and lost in the trenches. So, this is a great sign for Green Bay moving forward, as it shows that Green Bay will always have the depth to provide serviceable line play for Rodgers no matter how injuries are piling up.
1. The bad man rises
Though the Packers had a bounceback game last week against the Lions, it didn't quite quell the doubts that arose surrounding Aaron Rodgers after his awful 0 touchdown, 2 interception performance in Week 1. For anyone still concerned, though, this game against San Fran should put any concerns to rest.
Rodgers started the game red-hot, as he started the game 12-12 on pass attempts, and finished the first half with a pristine 16-18. There were some throws that were a tad off in the second half, but when the game mattered most Rodgers delivered.
The strikes he threw into the end zone to Marquez Valdez-Scantling and down the field to Davante Adams in the game's final drive were vintage Rodgers, as he stayed calm and collected in the face of pressure to throw a pinpoint ball to make it an easy job for his receivers to haul in the pigskin.
The Packers go as Rodgers does, and it sure looks like they will be okay now, if not great.
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