PACKERS INSIDER
THE BIG PICTURE
In what Packers fans are hoping was Brett Hundley’s final start this season, the third-year quarterback delivered in the clutch for the second straight week and guided Green Bay to a 27-21 overtime victory at Cleveland. In avoiding the embarrassment of being upset by the winless Browns, the Packers (7-6) remained in contention for a postseason berth ahead of the anticipated return of Aaron Rodgers (if he’s medically cleared) for next Sunday’s must-win game at Carolina. The Panthers (9-4), who beat Minnesota on Sunday, are one of several teams the Packers must overcome to earn one of the two NFC wild-card playoff berths in the season’s final three weeks.
TURNING POINT
Things looked bleak for the Packers when they botched a fourth-and-1 from the Browns' 10 on their first drive of the second half, and Cleveland promptly marched 88 yards for a touchdown to boost its lead to 21-7. But then the Packers’ short-passing game began to click. A 13-play, 75-yard, nohuddle drive produced a TD that made it 2114. With 5:30 left in regulation, coach Mike McCarthy gambled by punting rather than going for it on fourth-and-2 from the Green Bay 45. The Packers’ defense held, and Trevor Davis set up the game-tying touchdown by returning a punt 65 yards to the Cleveland 25. In overtime, Clay Matthews pressured Browns rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer into making a horrible throw that was intercepted by safety Josh Jones, leading to Hundley’s game-winning, 25-yard TD pass to Davante Adams.
THUMBS UP
If this indeed turns out to be Hundley’s final start of the season, it will be remembered for his poise in overcoming a shaky start and producing like a veteran when the game and the Packers’ season were on the line. Frequently inaccurate on longer passes in the first half, Hundley clicked consistentFinally, ly on short perimeter tosses to Adams, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and running back Jamaal Williams while evading a blitz-happy Browns defense. He gained 31 yards on seven runs (including a 7-yard draw that carried to the 1 and set up his game-tying TD pass to Adams with 17 seconds left in regulation) and took only one sack. His three touchdown passes curiously give him eight on the road and none at Lambeau Field this season. Hundley completed 35 of 46 attempts for 265 yards, no interceptions and a passer rating of 111.2.
THUMBS DOWN
The Packers’ pass rush came to life against a banged-up Buccaneers offensive line, but without Nick Perry (inactive with shoulder and foot injuries) it again went AWOL on Sunday, allowing Kizer seemingly limitless time to search for open receivers. in overtime, Matthews applied the heat that forced the game-changing turnover from the rookie QB. But the lack of consistent pressure could prove fatal in the Packers’ final three games against Carolina’s Cam Newton, Minnesota’s Case Keenum and Detroit’s Matthew Stafford.
BITS AND PIECES
» The Packers boosted their all-time record to 7-4 in Cleveland.
» Gordon's TD catch in the first quarter was his first since Week 15 of the 2013 season against the Chicago Bears, or 1,456 days, according to ESPN.
» The Packers’ inactives were Perry, running back Devante Mays, cornerback Demetri Goodson, offensive linemen Ulrick John and Adam Pankey, wide receiver Michael Clark and outside linebacker Chris Odom.