Winning the time of possession battle usually means winning the game for Packers

By Jerry Tapp

Here are some of the numbers that helped define the Packers 31-24 win over the Detroit Lions in Detroit on Sunday, December 13, 2020.

•    The Packers started the final ¼ of the season with a win over the Lions. From 2010-19, the Packers were 27-13 in Games #13, #14, #15 and #16. That was tied for the second-best record (and the best record of NFC teams) in the final four games of the season in the last 10 years. Topping the list were the New England Patriots with a 30-10 record. The Pack was tied at 27-13 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
•    The Packers have now won four straight against the Lions. They have also won four of the last six games on the road against the Lions.
•    The Packers are 13-6 in divisional games played in December since 2010.
•    Green Bay has now won seven of their last 10 road games played in December.
•    Usually if the Packers don’t score first in a road game, it doesn’t bode well for a victorious outcome. Since the 2015 season, the Packers are 8-16 in road games when their opponents score first in the contest; the Lions scored first in yesterday’s battle.
•    Davante Adams had a receiving TD for the eighth straight game. It is the longest streak since Antonio Brown caught a TD pass in eight straight games in 2018. If Adams can catch a TD pass in his ninth straight game next week against the Panthers, he would become the ninth player in NFL history to do so. The NFL record is 13 straight games with a TD reception by Jerry Rice.
•    Marquez Valdes-Scantling had a TD reception in the second quarter. The Pack is 6-2 in games when MVS has a TD reception.
•    The Packers had four sacks in the game, one each by Dean Lowry, Rashan Gary, Darnell Savage and Kenny Clark. The team has had at least one sack in 12 of their 13 games this season. They are 9-0 in games this season when they have two or more sacks in a game. When they have zero or only one sack in the game, the team is 1-3 this season.
•    For the fourth game this season, the Packers’ offensive line did not allow a sack. The team is 4-0 in these games. The last time they had four games in a season where they did not allow a sack was back in 2008.
•    With three games remaining in the season, Aaron Rodgers has 39 TD passes and only four interceptions. There has been only three times in NFL history that a QB has had 40 or more TD passes in a season with less than 10 interceptions. Tom Brady first did it in 2007 with 50 TD passes and eight picks. Rodgers has already done it twice; he had 45 TD passes and six interceptions in 2011 and 40 TD passes and seven interceptions in 2016.
•    The game was tied at halftime, 14-14. Prior to yesterday’s game, the Packers were 3-10 in their last 13 games when they were tied at halftime on the road.
•    Rodgers scored on a seven-yard TD run in the third quarter. It was the 30th rushing TD of his career. The Packers are 17-11 in games when Rodgers scores a rushing TD.
•    Rodgers accounted for four TDs in the contest (3 TD passes and one rushing TD). Green Bay is 16-2 in games when Rodgers accounts for four or more scores in a contest.
•    Tight End Robert Tonyan caught his ninth TD of the season. He became the fourth Packers tight end to have nine or more TD receptions in a season. Paul Coffman tops the list with 11 TD catches (1983) followed by Keith Jackson with 10 in 1996. Coffman (1984) and Bubba Franks (2001) each had nine TD receptions for the Packers as a tight end.
•    Rodgers had a Passer Rating of 133.6 in yesterday’s game. It was the 12th game this season that he had a Passer Rating over 100. The record for most games with a Passer Rating over 100 is 13, jointly held by Patrick Mahomes (2018) and Rodgers (2011).
•    Green Bay had 12 penalties in the game, most in a single game since October 7, 2018. They are 10-7 since 2010 in games when they have 10 or more penalties in a contest.
•    Davante Adams had seven catches for 115 yards, the 22nd 100-yard game of his career. He is now tied with Donald Driver for fifth on the team’s all-time list and will tie Greg Jennings with 23 100-yard games with his next 100-yard game. James Lofton tops the list with 32 games with 100 yards receiving as a Packer player.
•    Mason Crosby connected on a 58-yard field goal in the game and is now a perfect 15-for-15 in field goals this season. Five kickers in NFL history have gone the whole season and not missed a field goal attempt (minimum of 15 field goals attempted). Indianapolis’ Mike Vanderjagt holds the record in this category; he went 37-for-37 in field goal attempts in 2003. Minnesota’s Gary Anderson went 35-for-35 in 1998.
•    The Packers are now 10-3 this season. It’s the first time they had back-to-back double-digit win seasons (they won 13 games last year) since 2015 and 2016. Head Coach Matt LaFleur becomes the fifth Packers coach to have back-to-back double-digit win seasons. The others were: Mike McCarthy, Mike Sherman, Mike Holmgren and Vince Lombardi.
•    Green Bay has now swept their two games against the Lions in a season in consecutive years.
•    The Lions had only 51 yards rushing in the game. The Packers have now won seven straight games when they hold the opposition to less than 60 yards rushing in a game.
•    The Packers tied a team record with their ninth game this season where they did not have a turnover. That ties the team record set by last year’s squad. They can break the team record by having no turnovers in one of their final three games. The 2010 New England Patriots hold the NFL record with 11 games that season where they did not have a turnover. They also have the second-best record in this category with 10 games with no turnovers in the 2016 campaign.
•    The Pack scored 31 points and had 410 total yards in the game. They have now won 19 straight games when they score 30 or more points with 400+ offensive yards in a game. Since 2010, Green Bay is 30-1 in games where they tally 30+ points and 400+ total yards in the same game.
•    The Packers won the Time of Possession game with 35:30 to the Lions 24:30. The Pack has now won 20 of their last 22 games when they have 35:00 or more T.O.P. in a game.
•    Here’s the odd stat of the day: Za’Darius Smith did not have a tackle or a sack in the game. Smith has had 29 combined tackles in six home games with 7.5 sacks. In seven away games, he has 16 combined tackles and three sacks.