Packers finally end losing streak as Aaron Rodgers ruins Mike McCarthy's return to Lambeau

GREEN BAY, Wis. − Maybe Mike McCarthy was the solution Aaron Rodgers needed to end the Green Bay Packers' longest losing streak in 14 years.

The former Packers head coach returned Sunday to Lambeau Field for the first time since he was fired Dec. 2, 2018. McCarthy left Green Bay with another game he’d rather forget.

The Packers, trailing by a pair of touchdowns entering the fourth quarter, rallied to beat the Dallas Cowboys 31-28 in overtime. It was a stunning home upset, and not just because the Packers appeared left for dead after three quarters. The win prevented their first six-game losing streak since 1988.

McCarthy and Rodgers must’ve missed each other. Their teams needed more than 60 minutes to decide Sunday’s game. After holding the Cowboys on the overtime’s opening possession, Rodgers hit Allen Lazard for a 36-yard reception on third-and-2, setting up Mason Crosby’s game-winning 28-yard field goal.

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Here are some quick observations:

Christian Watson hits a pair of home runs

More than perhaps at any other point this season, the Packers were able to use their run game to open deep shots for Rodgers. He hit a pair of deep touchdowns to rookie receiver Christian Watson, one in each half. It’s a play the Packers have been trying to connect on all season, starting with their first snap of the year, a Watson drop on what would have been a 75-yard touchdown in Minnesota. There’s no question the run game played a big part in stretching the field Sunday. The Packers rode Aaron Jones throughout, with him finishing with 24 carries for 138 yards and one touchdown. AJ Dillon added 13 carries for 65 yards. This was as run-oriented as the Packers have been all season, but they finally got something in the passing game for a complement. Watson’s four catches for 107 yards, including three touchdowns, was the playmaking this offense has desperately needed on the perimeter. It’s no coincidence Rodgers finished with his best stat line of the season, completing 14-of-20 passes for 224 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a season-high 146.7 rating.

Rudy Ford offers another safety option

Things have been bleak, so there clearly is a defined low bar, but the Packers might’ve found something in their secondary. At the very least, something other than continuing to trot out Darnell Savage to play deep safety. A week after defensive coordinator Joe Barry indicated he didn’t have another option to replace Savage, he pulled backup Rudy Ford off the sideline. Barry finally moved Savage to nickel corner in the slot, a position he looked more comfortable playing, but that wasn’t the highlight. Ford’s most significant playing time of the season yielded a pair of first-half interceptions, showing the Packers indeed have other options at safety. It’s at least a lineup change worth keeping to see if, given time to gel, the secondary plays better over the final two months – and Savage, who has a fifth-year option for next season, can find a home on the field.

The Amari Rodgers experience

After a couple of weeks without wrecking a game, the Amari Rodgers experience returned in full Sunday. Rodgers had two adventures as a punt returner, the first a precursor for the second. In the first half, Rodgers had open field around him after a Cowboys gunner overran him, but he bobbled the football and got only 2 yards after recovering possession. That was nothing compared to his fumbled return in the third quarter. Rodgers got 11 yards but lost control of the football when Cowboys corner C.J. Goodson tackled him. Tight end Sean McKeon recovered for the Cowboys, who scored a touchdown four plays later to break a tied game. The Packers would have had possession at their 44-yard line without the fumble. Rodgers has now fumbled a pair of punt returns during their losing streak, including a muffed punt at Washington. The Packers have continued trotting him out there for punt returns at their own peril. That might have finally ended in Sunday’s fourth quarter when Keisean Nixon replaced Rodgers to field a punt.

No gas, all brake

Last year, the Packers were notorious for going for it on fourth down. In a clear indication of how much this team has changed, the “all gas, no brake” mantra that has defined the Matt LaFleur era screeched to a halt Sunday. LaFleur twice declined to go for fourth-and-shorts across midfield, taking a delay-of-game penalty to pin the Cowboys inside their 20-yard line instead. It’s the right call to play the field-position game with an offense that has mostly been no gas, all brake this season, giving the defense a long field to work with. This offense has to pick its spots, as it did Sunday. It’s just entirely a break from the norm of what this team became known for the past few seasons.

This article originally appeared on Packers News: Packers end losing streak; Aaron Rodgers ruins Mike McCarthy's return