Packers’ Stock on the Rise: Fast Start, Strong Finish vs. Dolphins

Thanksgiving’s tradition of having the NFL occupy most of the day made its way to Green Bay for an evening showdown between the Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins.

The Packers, starting the day at 8-3 needed a win to keep pace with the 11-1 Detroit Lions, who had already secured a win on the day.

The game started with a bang, with Keisean Nixon returning the opening kickoff to the Packers’ 46 yardline.

From there, the Packers were a dominant force, building a 24-3 lead in the first half behind a dominant defensive performance, and timely playmaking from Jayden Reed.

The Packers will now head to Detroit next week, needing to beat the Lions to have any chance of winning the NFC North.

For today, however, the Packers were dominant in their window for Thanksgiving Day, and move to 9-3 before heading to Detroit next week.

The stocks, as you can imagine, are rising significantly.

Rising

Robert Rochell

The first big play of the game came from Green Bay’s special teams unit.

After a dreadful start on offense which led to a three-and-out, the Packers lined up to punt.

Special teams has certainly been up-and-down for Green Bay this year, but this was about as good of a start on that side of the ball as they could have hoped for.

Lukas Van Ness

Perhaps the second-year defensive end is gaining some confidence. Van Ness now has a sack in each of the last two games after he tallied one in the second quarter, along with a tackle for loss in the first quarter.

This comes after a strip sack that all but ended the game last week against the San Francisco 49ers.

“I’ve been waiting for a big play like that and I’ve kept my head down,” said Lukas Van Ness on Tuesday. “Even going back to that game, I think a lot of it is you gotta take your shot and be willing to go out there and make a difference.”

Van Ness has made a difference in consecutive weeks, and helped make a big one with the Dolphins threatening to make a game out of Thursday night’s perceived blowout.

The Dolphins facing fourth-and-goal from the Packers’ 1, elected to have Tagovailoa drop back to pass.

That play make have ensured that the game did not become a nail biter.

Jayden Reed

Reed was part of helping the Packers start fast. After Jordan Love missed him on a deep ball on the team’s opening possession, it did not take long for Love to find Reed again.

Malik Washington’s muffed punt set the Packers up deep in Miami territory, and Reed provided the first third down conversion of the game.

It was a frozen rope from Jordan Love that Reed caught for the game’s first touchdown.

Two great blocks from Christian Watson and Dontayvion Wicks allowed Reed to find his way into the end zone to give the Packers a 21-3 lead.