Moments after his team suffered one of the most complete defeats of his tenure, Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy had no interest in putting any spin on a decisive decision to the Denver Broncos.
“That’s a humbling loss,” McCarthy said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. “I haven’t had my ass kicked like that in a long time.”
In just the fourth-ever meeting of teams 6-0 or better, the Broncos were a dominant force. Denver held Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense to 50 net passing yards and 140 total, while quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 340 yards in leading the Broncos to 500 yards of total offense. It marked just the fourth time in franchise history that the Packers allowed more than 500 yards and gained fewer than 150 in a single game.
The Broncos jumped on Green Bay early and never let up.
Manning led touchdown drives of 83 and 85 yards during the first 16 minutes of play. The Broncos defense hit Rodgers seven times. The beatdown was effectively put to rest when DeMarcus Ware caused a Rodgers’ fumble that eventually ended up as a Packers safety.
Down 19 points in the fourth quarter, McCarthy punted on fourth down and put in backup quarterback Scott Tolzien for the final series.
“Gary Kubiak had his team playing a lot faster than I had my team playing tonight,” McCarthy said. “I thought that was evident early and often. I don’t feel good about the way we performed.”
Most surprising was the ineffectiveness of Rodgers, who completed 14 passes for just 77 yards and no touchdowns. He took three sacks and averaged 3.5 yards per attempt and 5.5 per completion, with a long of just 17 yards. Randall Cobb led the Packers in receiving with six catches for 27 yards.
Green Bay was able to grind out scoring drives to end the first half and start the second, closing Denver’s lead to 17-10 in the third quarter. Manning then led his team 80 yards in eight plays to score a touchdown, and the Packers never threatened again.
By the end of the 60 minutes, the Broncos had completed one of the more comprehensive wins of the 2015 season. The NFL’s top defense bested Aaron Rodgers, while a 39-year-old Peyton Manning looked revived against a Packers defense that came into the game ranked first overall in points allowed per game.
It was an ass-kicking of the highest order. Credit McCarthy for taking the heat and calling a spade a spade.