Jerry Tapp: It’s been a record-setting season for Packers
By JERRY TAPP
Here are some of the numbers that helped define the Packers 35-16 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday January 3, 2021 in Chicago.
— In the season-long battle between Aaron Rodgers and Packers punter JK Scott, Rodgers wins. Rodgers ended the season with 48 TD passes. Scott ended the year with 46 punts.
— Rodgers ended the season with 48 TD passes and only five interceptions. He broke his own NFL record for most TD passes in a season with exactly five interceptions. In 2014 he had five interceptions and 38 TD passes.
— Rodgers also broke the NFL record for fewest interceptions by a quarterback with 40 or more TD passes. In fact, Rodgers now holds the top three spots in this stat: 48 TD passes with five interceptions this season; 45 TD passes and six interceptions in 2011; and 40 TD passes with seven interceptions in 2016.
— Mason Crosby became the sixth kicker in NFL history to go an entire season without missing a field goal (minimum of 16 field goal attempts). Crosby was 16-for-16 this season. Seattle’s Jason Myers also joined this club by going 24-for-24 this season. Indianapolis’ Mike Vanderjagt holds the NFL record going 37-for-37 in the 2003 campaign.
— Since the 1998 season, the Packers and Bears have met in the last game of the season. The Packers have won all six of these games.
— Since 2000 in the last game of the season (Game #16), the Pack has won 16 of 21 games played, a .762 winning percentage. That is tied for the second-best winning percentage in Game #16 games since 2000. Pittsburgh tops the list at 17-4. The Packers are tied with Indianapolis at 16-5.
— In the 11 games played in Chicago between the Packers and the Bears since January 23, 2011, Green Bay has won 10 of those games.
— The Bears scored first in the game. Since 2000, the Packers are 12-6 versus the Bears when the Bears score first in the game.
— Davante Adams (18), Robert Tonyan (11) and Aaron Jones (11) each had 10 or more TDs this season. It was the first time the Packers had three players with 10+ TDs since 2014 when Randall Cobb (12), Eddie Lacy (13) and Jordy Nelson (13) each had double-figures in touchdowns that year.
— Punt returner Tavon Austin had the only Packers’ turnover in the game. That miscue prevented the Packers from tying the 2010 New England Patriots NFL record with 11 games in a season without a turnover. The Pack ended the season with 10 games without a turnover, tied with the 2016 New England Patriots for second on this list.
— Marques Valdes-Scantling had a 72-yard TD reception in the game. He ended the season with the highest yards-per-catch average in the league, 20.91 (minimum of 30 receptions in a season . The 20.91 yards per catch is the ninth highest in Packers history (Don Hutson tops the list at 24.88 yards per catch in the 1939 season).
— The Packers scored 21 points in the second quarter giving them a total of 219 second quarter points for the season, most of any NFL team. Their 80 points in the first quarter ranked 17th in the league; their 103 third quarter points ranked fourth in the league; and their 107 points in the fourth quarter ranked 22nd in the league.
Green Bay held a 21-13 lead at halftime. Since 2010, the Packers are 47-2-1 in games when they have a lead of eight points or more at halftime.
The Pack had only 24:31 Time of Possession in the game. That was the lowest for the team in the 2020 season. Usually having under 25 minutes TOP is not necessarily good news for the team; since 2010, the Packers are 9-10 in games when they have less than 25 minutes TOP in a contest.
— Davante Adams had 115 catches for 1,374 yards for the season. He became the 17th receiver in league history to reach those numbers in a season. He did become the first receiver in league history to reach 110 catches, 1,300 receiving yards and 18 TD catches in a season.
— Aaron Jones had a TD run in the game. The Packers were 7-2 in games this season when Jones scored a TD. He carried the ball 11 times for 42 yards; the 42 yards was the second-lowest rushing yardage output of the 2020 season.
— Since the 2016 season, Adams has 58 TD pass receptions, first in the league. Tyreek Hill of Kansas City is second to Adams with 47 TD receptions in the last five seasons.
— Rodgers had four TD passes in the contest, the seventh game this season that he had four or more TD passes. That is now tied for the second-most in NFL history in a season. Peyton Manning holds the NFL record with 10 games with four or more TD passes in the 2013 season.
— The Packers became the seventh team in league history to score 30 or more points in 12 or more games in a season. The 2013 Denver Broncos hold the record with 13 games with 30+ points in a season.
— Rodgers had a Passer Rating of 147.9 in the game, the 10th game of 2020 where his Passer Rating was 120 or higher. Those 10 games in a season with a Passer Rating above 120 is a league record. Rodgers ended the year with a Passer Rating of 121.5, the second-highest Passer Rating in NFL history (he holds the record with a 122.5 Passer Rating in 2011). Of the 40 highest Passer Rating seasons in league history, Rodgers holds four of those 40 spots.
