Chalk up a W for Aaron Rodgers, wanna-be GM.
For the first three weeks of the season, it seemed like Rodgers' insistence that the Green Bay Packers acquire Randall Cobb was a superfluous waste of money. However, Week 4 told a different story in the Packers' 27-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
With the Steelers' stout defense intent on taking away Davante Adams (six catches, 64 yards), Cobb stepped to the plate, leading the Packers with 69 yards and two TDs on five catches. Cobb made himself available on big third-down plays all game.
"There's a knack to playing in the slot," Rodgers said, per the team's official website. "To have another guy in there who can get open like that and have the feel that he does just gives us a lot of flexibility in the offense, for sure."
Cobb led the Packers with four targets, four catches, 68 yards and one TD on third downs in this game (all other Packers combined: five targets, one reception, 11 yards).
In the first three weeks, Cobb averaged just 14 snaps a game and compiled four catches for 58 yards. With Marquez Valdes-Scantling out on Sunday due to injury, snaps were aplenty for the 31-year-old receiver.
The old connection with Rodgers was off to a fast start. In the second quarter, Cobb caught his first TD from Rodgers since Week 14, 2018. Cobb generated his first game with 50-plus receiving yards and at least one receiving TD for the Packers since Week 1, 2018, when he caught a 75-yard game-winning TD in a comeback win versus Chicago.
Cobb said his connection with Rodgers remains strong even after three years apart.
"It's kind of like riding a bike," Cobb said. "You've been around each other for so long and you understand. He understands how I move, so whenever I'm getting ready to break on my route, he knows. It's muscle memory."
Sunday marked Cobb's first game with multiple receiving TDs since Week 3, 2015 versus Kansas City (3 rec TD). That game was 2,197 days before Sunday.
With MVS going on IR over the weekend -- meaning he'll miss at least two more games -- Cobb's role in the offense should remain expanded.
"It's about all of us producing, because that's what's going to make us take that next step," Cobb said. "I play a piece in that, part of the puzzle. I think we've got a very resilient team. I think we have a very confident team. Us being humbled Week 1 really opened our eyes to this isn't a cakewalk. After that first loss, we kind of reset our mind. We didn't lose confidence in who we were."
It took a few weeks, but the trade for Cobb is finally paying off for the Packers. Hey, maybe the front office should reconsider Rodgers' idea to bring back Clay Matthews, too.
