2022 NFL season, Week 15: What We Learned from Packers' win over Rams on Monday night

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• READ: Rams officially eliminated from postseason contention
• READ: Rodgers: 'Things are looking up' on a GB playoff run
• READ: Lions hold No. 4 pick after Rams' latest loss
• READ: Packers hold at No. 10 seed in NFC after victory

1. Packers come out of the bye with their foot on the gas pedal. Things still aren't perfect for Green Bay's offense -- one look at Aaron Rodgers' interception Monday night tells that story -- but they're slowly getting better. This time around, it was good enough, thanks in part to a productive night from the Packers' one-two backfield punch of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. The two backs combined for 126 yards on 28 carries, and Dillon's bulldozing running style produced two touchdowns. Rodgers spread the ball around plenty, too, connecting with eight different targets for 229 yards. He completed three-plus passes to five different teammates, and the distribution balanced Green Bay's attack well enough to overcome pressure applied by Leonard Floyd and put 24 points on the board on a frigid night at Lambeau Field. If the Packers are going to run the table, they're going to need this type of performance every week. Against Miami next week, they'll likely need even more.
2. Green Bay's defense capitalizes. The Packers have not lived up to expectations on this side of the ball this season, entering Week 15 as the NFL's 18th-ranked defense (including 30th against the run). Those numbers didn't hold true against the Rams, though, thanks in large part to the Packers' ability to get after Baker Mayfield, sacking him five times and forcing an interception via pressure and a deflection. Los Angeles averaged just 3.6 yards per play and converted 4 of 11 third-down attempts, finishing with less than 23 minutes of possession. That's not good enough, and much of the credit is due to the Packers' defense for taking advantage of a banged-up Rams offense and getting the job done. We'll see if it holds up against better competition in the weeks ahead.
3. Baker Mayfield falls back to earth. It's tough to blame Mayfield for any struggles, considering he's been with the Rams for less than two weeks, and Monday night exposed what we've long known about Los Angeles in 2022: Its offensive line is in shambles. Mayfield was under constant duress, facing pressure on 38.5% of his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats. He tried his best to make the most of it, but he's also playing with a receiving corps headlined by Van Jefferson, Ben Skowronek and Tutu Atwell. Jefferson did his job, catching his only two targets for key conversions, but we can't say the same about Atwell, who dropped a pass that looked like it could have ended with him in the end zone. That's no fault of Mayfield's, who led the Rams to an unbelievable win 48 hours after joining the team in his first game, but couldn’t singlehandedly overcome the Packers this time around.
4. Cam Akers is finally starting to find his groove. It's obviously too late to matter much, but after spending much of this season wondering what happened to the Rams' running game (a problem that first surfaced in the 2021 postseason), Los Angeles is finally finding some decent footing with Akers. He isn't getting a ton of carries because the Rams haven't been in a good enough position to consistently run the ball in these games, but a quick scan of his recent performances -- 4.3 or more yards per carry in three of his last five games, including Monday night -- tells us he's finding some success despite the Rams' terrible situation up front. This has happened after Akers stepped away from the team ahead of the trade deadline in a situation that appeared headed for a divorce. If Rams fans are looking for reasons for optimism entering 2023, Akers can be one, provided their discussions mended fences well enough to last beyond 2022.
5. Packers drive the final nail in the Rams' coffin. It was probably at least a little sweet for Matt LaFleur to tell his offense to take a knee just feet from the end zone in the game's final minute. It was likely especially satisfying when considering the Rams sprinted to a Super Bowl last year by beating the team Green Bay couldn't defeat a week earlier in the 2021 postseason. But life often comes at one fast, and Monday night stood as a fine example of this lesson, a tale of two teams headed in opposite directions as we near 2023. Los Angeles' hopes of a title defense faded away weeks ago, and Green Bay's win officially eliminated the Rams from postseason contention. It wasn't easy, and for a moment, things got weird when Jalen Ramsey wrested possession away from the Packers just moments after Rasul Douglas intercepted Mayfield, but overall, the Packers' win was emphatic enough to give some folks reason to believe they might be able to sneak into the playoffs. Green Bay realistically can't afford to lose another game if it wants to sprint into the postseason, and it certainly didn't flirt with falling Monday night. This needs to be a building block for the Packers, not a bright spot in a season that ends up drifting toward disappointment.

Next Gen stat of the game: Preston Smith finished with four QB pressures and two sacks on 18 pass rushes, good for a 22.2 pressure percentage.

NFL Research: With Monday night's loss, the Rams were officially eliminated from postseason contention, matching the 1999 Denver Broncos for the most remaining weeks when eliminated as a defending Super Bowl champion. Their 10 losses also tie the '99 Broncos for the most in a season following a Super Bowl triumph.