Packers punt return team could be historically bad

By JERRY TAPP

Here are some of the numbers that helped define the Packers 31-13 road win over the New York Giants on Sunday, December 1.

• Green Bay’s Tremon Smith returned one punt for three yards in the game. That increased the Packers punt return yardage for the season to -8 yards from -11. Green Bay is the only one of the 32 NFL teams this season that has a negative punt return yardage. The NFL record for fewest punt return yardage in a season is 27 set by St. Louis in 1965.
• The Packers are now 13-8 (.619) against the NFC East since 2010, including 7-5 on the road.
• This was the Pack’s first road win against the Giants since December 4, 2011. They have now won three straight games against the Giants.
• This win was only the third December win in their last nine December contests.
• It was 33 degrees at game time. Green Bay has now won five straight road games when the temperature was below 35 degrees when the game started.
• Green Bay scored first in the game and are now 20-12 (.625) in road games since 2010 when they score first.
• The Packers scored 14 points in the first quarter and led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter. They have now won six of their last eight road games when they score 14 or more points in the first quarter.
• Kevin King had his fifth career interception in the game. Green Bay has won each of the five games when King has a pick.
• The Pack had a 17-10 lead at halftime. They have now won eight straight road games when they have a lead of seven points or more at half.
• Green Bay led 17-13 going into the fourth quarter. They have now won 18 of their last 19 road games where they have a lead going into the fourth quarter.
• Davante Adams had a pair of TD receptions in the game. It was the eighth game of his career that he had two TD receptions; the Packers are 8-0 in those games.
• Aaron Rodgers had four TD passes, the 23^rd time in his career. Green Bay is 20-3 (.870) in those games. Rodgers is now tied for fourth place all-time with Brett Favre for most games with four or more TD passes by an NFL QB.
• The defense had three interceptions. The Packers have now won 20 straight games when they have three or more interceptions in a contest.
• Rodgers was not sacked in the game. The Packers are now 33-10 (.767) since 2000 in games where their QB is not sacked in the game.
• Rodgers had a Passer Rating of 125.4 in the game. Green Bay is 34-3 (.919) when Rodgers has a PR of 125 or higher in a game.
• Green Bay has now won 14 straight games when they score 30 or more points.
• The Pack is now 69-1 since 2000 in games where they hold the opponents to less than 14 points in a game.
• Receiver Allen Lazard had his first 100-yard receiving game of his career. His previous high was 65 receiving yards in a game.
• The Packers are 9-3 for the seventh time in their history. In the previous six times, they won two NFL titles and made a pair of appearances in the Super Bowl.
• Green Bay scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and has now won eight of their last nine games when they tally 14 or more points in the fourth quarter.
• The 18-point margin in this game is tied for the biggest victory margin this season. Green Bay defeated the Oakland Raiders 42-24 for an 18-point victory on October 20.
• Through 12 games this season, Rodgers has only two interceptions. He has completed 266 of 413 passes with 22 TDs. The NFL record for most completions in a season with only two interceptions is 372 (held by Rodgers, last season); the most pass attempts in a season with only two interceptions is 597 (held by Rodgers, last season); and, the most TD passes in a season with only two interceptions is 28 (held by Tom Brady in 2016).