Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers are not just very good at football, but they are historically good at football. Rodgers and Adams have made a habit of setting at least one record a week, and Week 16 was no different in their 40-14 rout of the Titans.
Aaron Rodgers notched his 9th season with 4,000 yards passing and only needs 2 touchdown passes in Week 17 to surpass his career-high of 45 in a single season. His duo, Davante Adams, became the second receiver in Packers’ history to have 17 receiving touchdowns in one season. Only Sterling Sharpe (18) has more touchdowns in a single Packers season and only Randy Moss (23) in 2007. Jerry Rice (22) in 1987. Mark Clayton (18) in 1984 and Sharpe in 1994 have more in single NFL seasons. Lastly, Rodgers and Adams became the most accomplished Packers QB/WR duo with 489 receptions. Rodgers and Adams passed Brett Favre and Donald Driver who held the previous record with 486 completions.
“It took a lot to get to the place we are at right now. It started off much different than this obviously. I came in playing with two Pro Bowlers, and with the departure of those two that allowed me and Aaron’s relationship off the field to grow as well. The way we communicate, everything has gotten better throughout the years,” said Adams on his relationship with Rodgers.
“It is amazing to think about because it doesn’t feel like we have played together that long. I believe this is our seventh season together, and that’s a lot of football. I have a ton of respect for him as a person, and I love his approach. He is very hard on himself but has very positive self-talk. He is a sponge, and it’s fun to be able to have the unspoken communication with a guy like that,” said Rodgers on his relationship with Adams.
With history out of the way, AJ Dillon held the snowy spotlight on Sunday night. The rookie running back had under 100 yards rushing going into Week 16, and more than doubled that total with 124 yards on 21 carries and his first two NFL touchdowns. Not to be outdone, Aaron Jones provided 94 yards on 10 carries on a day that Green Bay ran for more yards (234) than Rodgers threw for (214). Not to be outdone, Dillon became the youngest running back in Packers history to ever have a 100-yard rushing game, a mark that was previously held by De’Mond Parker.
The highlighted matchup of the evening was supposed to be Derrick Henry against the Packers rushing defense. Henry ran for an unimpressive 96 yards on 23 carries, and Henry did not find the snowy end zone against the Packers. Since being carved up by the Vikings and Dalvin Cook, Green Bay has actually had the 9th best run defense in the NFL and that showed against the league’s top rusher.
On a night that Henry did not carry the Titans, Green Bay pressured Ryan Tannehill and forced a few mistakes out of the veteran quarterback. Interceptions to Darnell Savage and Christian Kirksey were both caused by pressure from Preston and Za’Darius Smith. With Jaire Alexander placing A.J. Brown on his primetime island, Tannehill struggled to get his other weapons rolling.
“The mistakes we made, and the start that we had are not going to be enough when you face an offense like that,” said Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel.
Ultimately, Rodgers and Adams were too much for the Titans’ defense. Rodgers’ 13th game with a passer rating over 100 and Adams’ 5th multi-touchdown game kept the Titans offense from settling into a groove and knocked Tennessee off their league-leading 31.1 points per game average. The last time the Titans scored less than 14 points was October 13, 2019, and they have only scored under 20 points once in that time span.
Highlights:
.@ajdillon7 takes it 3️⃣0️⃣ yards for his first career TD!#TENvsGB | #GoPackGo
📺 NBC
Watch live 📱 https://t.co/Rx5eGctCI0 pic.twitter.com/pa5BdaHXpf— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 28, 2020
AJ Dillon’s first career NFL touchdown was exactly what the Packers needed.
📺: Watch @SNFonNBC → https://t.co/XApZY8mNRV pic.twitter.com/IygOvmdfvd
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) December 28, 2020
The Titans with a rare interception of Aaron Rodgers late in the game.
Classic combo of @AaronRodgers12 & @tae15adams. 💪
TOUCHDOWN!#TENvsGB | #GoPackGo
📺 NBC
Watch live 📱 https://t.co/Rx5eGctCI0 pic.twitter.com/OxNQgKzT1b— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 28, 2020
The most impressive of Adams’ three touchdowns on the evening.
Aaron Rodgers, Matt LaFleur, and the Packers have had their eye on the NFC’s top seed for weeks. With one game left to play against the division rival Chicago Bears, Green Bay has their bye and home-field advantage insight.
“It’s tough to play in the cold, and it’s tough to play in Lambeau and we showed that tonight,” says Rodgers. With the impact of their home field advantage seen in full force on Sunday night, the Packers will play their hearts out next Sunday to nab that advantage and hopefully hold Chicago out of the playoffs.
“Even if LA had won today, the plan was to play against Chicago. Now that, that scenario is out, it’s business as usual,” said Rodgers.
The Titans will regroup and face the Houston Texans next week with a chance to clinch the AFC South with a win. With the Colts on their heels, Tennessee cannot falter in their final matchup of the season.
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Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
