Here are the top takeaways and highest-graded players from the Green Bay Packers’ 27-20 win over the San Diego Chargers:
San Diego Chargers
– Only a hip injury stood in the way of WR Keenan Allen (+5.5) making history on Sunday. Instead, we’ll have to settle for three quarters of truly dominant play from the third year player from California. Allen caught all 14 of his targets at multiple levels of the defense for 157 yards to earn the highest receiving grade of any wide-out this season.
– One of the reasons Allen was featured so heavily was because of the offensive game plan. The Chargers took the dink-and-dunk philosophy to its extreme; much like the Bears did in Week 1 against the Packers with similar success. QB Philip Rivers (+5.2) was an unbelievable 30 of 33 for 265 yards and a touchdown on passes within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage.
– The Chargers front seven continues to be completely ineffective against both the run and pass. On the defensive line, not a single player had a pass rush grade of +1.0 or higher. One has to wonder how much more will they need to see from Donald Butler (-3.8) until they decide to go with someone else at inside linebacker. On Sunday, he was a complete non-factor, collecting just one stop in 56 snaps. He has graded negatively overall in every single game this year.
Top performers:
WR Keenan Allen (+5.5)
QB Philip Rivers (+5.2)
LT Chris Hairston (+4.3)
RT Joe Barksdale (+2.3)
RB Branden Oliver (+2.1)
Green Bay Packers
– This was definitely not QB Aaron Rodgers’ (+1.9) most impressive performance of the season, but he made enough plays down the stretch to come away with the win. He was uncharacteristically just 2 of 10 on passes targeted 10+ yards downfield. Luckily, backup running back James Starks (+1.7) stepped up in a big way with multiple long runs that helped take some pressure off of the passing game.
– Mike Daniels (+4.4) and Mike Pennel (+4.8) were absolute terrors against the Chargers offensive line all day. We’ve come to expect this by now from Daniels, but Pennel’s performance was a career high. The second-year player only saw the field for 24 snaps, but managed two hits, a hurry and a stop.
– After a strong start to the season, CB Sam Shields (-1.4) came crashing back to earth on Sunday. Shields is known for his long speed, but not for his lateral agility, and the underneath routes from the Chargers receivers exposed that. He allowed 117 yards and nine catches on 14 targets. Secondary mates, Micah Hyde (-2.3) and Quinten Rollins (-1.7) also struggled.
Top performers:
DE Mike Pennel (+4.8)
RG T.J. Lang (+4.6)
DE Mike Daniels (+4.4)
LT David Bakhtiari (+1.9)
QB Aaron Rodgers (+1.9)
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