“Dropping that first one obviously hurt, especially at that time in the game,” Lazard said. “It was an unacceptable drop, but thankfully, my coaches, my teammates really trusted me. Aaron threw a good ball for me to go make a play.”
Added Head Coach Matt LaFleur: “Big-time play in a big moment.”
The touchdown capped an impressive effort by the Packers and their top-ranked scoring offense against the Rams and their top-ranked scoring defense.
The Packers scored the first five times they touched the ball (three TDs, two FGs), then stalled twice before the clinching TD put Green Bay almost right on its regular-season scoring average of 31.8, far ahead of the Rams’ average of 18.5 points allowed.
Asked who can stop Green Bay if the league’s best defense can’t, receiver Davante Adams simply said, “Nobody.”
Adams got the Packers’ first TD of the night, beating corner Jalen Ramsey on a double-motion from the 1-yard line, on his way to nine catches for 66 yards.
Green Bay’s offensive line controlled the trenches, paving the way to 191 rushing yards before kneel-downs and no sacks of Rodgers (23-of-36, 296 yards, two TDs, 108.1 rating). Rams stalwart Aaron Donald and his ailing ribs were rendered a non-factor by guard Elgton Jenkins and others, while the unit as a whole has once again adjusted without All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari.
“Stellar is a good word,” Rodgers said when asked to describe the line’s play. “Because it’s rooted in star, and they were the stars of the game tonight. That was a fantastic performance by them. They dominated the line of scrimmage.”
Jones finished with 99 rushing yards and a TD on 14 carries, Jamaal Williams added 65 yards on 12 attempts, and rookie AJ Dillon contributed 27 yards on six rushes, his last being a fumble that Rodgers fortunately recovered.
