Blogs

Kuhn, Matthews, Shields, Manning earn game balls vs. Vikings

The coaching staff awarded four game balls from the NFC Wild Card playoff victory over the Vikings on Saturday night. They went to FB John Kuhn on offense, LB Clay Matthews and CB Sam Shields on defense, and rookie LB Terrell Manning on special teams.

Kuhn rushed for a 3-yard TD and caught a 9-yard TD pass, giving him both a rushing and receiving TD for the second time in his career in a playoff game, a first in franchise history. He also scored for the fourth consecutive postseason, the only player in the NFL who can make that claim.

Matthews had two sacks, including a forced fumble and fumble recovery on the second one. The two sacks accounted for 18 lost yards as Matthews had the second two-sack playoff game of his career. The only other player in franchise history to accomplish that is Reggie White.

Shields was credited by the press box statisticians with seven tackles, a team high. He also broke up two passes and had an interception, the third of his career in the postseason.

Manning was credited with two coverage tackles, bringing down Minnesota returner Marcus Sherels on both the first kickoff and first punt of the game. Manning also helped to separate Sherels from the ball when he muffed a punt in the fourth quarter.

Ryan Grant, A.J. Hawk, Frank Zombo earn game balls vs. Titans

The Packers coaching staff has awarded game balls to RB Ryan Grant (offense), LB A.J. Hawk (defense) and LB Frank Zombo (special teams) for their performances in the 55-7 victory over Tennessee on Sunday.

Grant, taking the bulk of the rushing workload for an injured Alex Green (concussion), rushed 20 times for 80 yards and two TDs. It was the most rushing yards by a Packers RB this season since Cedric Benson had 84 in Week 4 vs. New Orleans. It was also the most carries Grant has had in a game since late in the 2009 season. He added a 34-yard reception on a screen pass for 114 total yards from scrimmage.

Hawk was credited by the press box statisticians with seven tackles (six solo), including two sacks and three tackles for loss. He also had three QB hits. It was Hawk’s first two-sack game since 2008 as the Packers racked up seven sacks total of Tennessee QB Jake Locker.

Zombo was credited with one coverage tackle, bringing down Titans returner Darius Reynaud at the 21-yard line on the opening kickoff.

Six players earn game balls vs. Chicago

The Packers coaching staff awarded game balls to a half dozen players following the 21-13 victory over Chicago that clinched the NFC North title for Green Bay.

On special teams, FB John Kuhn was the game-ball recipient.

On offense, QB Aaron Rodgers and WR James Jones earned game balls. Rodgers completed 23 of 36 passes for 291 yards with three TDs, all to Jones. Rodgers posted a 116.8 passer rating.

Jones enjoyed the first three-TD game of his career, catching five passes for 60 yards in all. Jones now has 12 TD receptions on the season, a total that leads the league and is his career high.

On defense, LBs Clay Matthews and Brad Jones, plus CB Sam Shields, all were awarded game balls.

Matthews, returning from a four-game injury absence, had two sacks to raise his team-leading total to 11. He also had two other tackles for loss and deflected a pass.

Jones led the team with eight total tackles, according to the press box statistics, and was involved on back-to-back run stops at the goal line in the third quarter. Jones also was credited with two passes defensed.

Shields engaged in a game-long physical battle with Bears WR Alshon Jeffery and ended up shutting the rookie out. Shields was credited with three passes defensed, and he also drew three offensive pass interference penalties on Jeffery, who did not have a catch in the game.

Williams, Dietrich-Smith, Zombo earn game balls

The Packers’ coaching staff has awarded game balls from Sunday night’s victory over Detroit to the following three players:

Defense — CB Tramon Williams

Offense — G Evan Dietrich-Smith

Special teams — LB Frank Zombo

Williams drew the assignment of guarding Lions WR Calvin Johnson for most of the game, getting safety help over the top much of the time. Johnson had 10 receptions for 118 yards, but when none of those receptions was longer than 20 yards and he didn’t find the end zone, that’s a strong night’s work against the league’s leading receiver.

Dietrich-Smith was a key blocker in the Packers’ surging ground attack. He pancaked Detroit’s Nick Fairley on a draw play to RB Alex Green that converted a third-and-2 on the go-ahead TD drive in the fourth quarter. He then threw the key block on LB Justin Durant, pulling around from his left guard spot to undercut Durant at the point of attack as RB DuJuan Harris scooted through the huge hole for a 14-yard TD.

Zombo wasn’t credited for any tackles on special teams, but it’s worth noting that the Lions averaged just 20.3 yards on four kickoff returns and the special teams overall had another solid game. The only hiccup was K Mason Crosby’s miss from 51 yards in the second half, which barely hooked left.