Taking it away: The Packers' defense and special teams produced three key takeaways that helped put up 16 points and swing the balance of Sunday's game.
The first came on the Rams' second offensive possession when Rashan Gary bulldozed left tackle Andrew Whitworth to earn a strip sack of quarterback Matthew Stafford, which fellow linebacker Preston Smith recovered at LA's 6-yard line.
In the third quarter, rookie cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles forced a fumble of Rams punt returner J.J. Koski, which Krys Barnes recovered at LA's 27.
On the Rams' next possession, in-season acquisition Rasul Douglas picked off Stafford on a pass intended for receiver Cooper Kupp and returned it for a 33-yard touchdown to put the Packers up 36-17.
Douglas said afterward it was a route combination secondary coach/passing game coordinator Jerry Gray had talked about with his defensive backs this past week.
"Coach showed it to us a couple times," said Douglas, whose most recent pick-six came in 2016 off former Packers quarterback Taysom Hill, then at BYU. "When I'd seen it, I put all my marbles in a bag and just said I'm going to get it. He threw it. That was really all that."
Stepping up, up front: The Packers once again overcame injuries on the offensive line to hold one of the NFL's most formidable defensive fronts to just a single sack of Rodgers.
"The offensive line was fantastic," Rodgers said. "One phantom sack, the gift I gave my workout buddy Greg Gaines with the zero-yard sack on the scramble. I thought they did a nice job. I thought we mixed it up with the quick game, getting the ball out of my hand."
While the interior mostly handled former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald, the Packers turned to former undrafted free agent Yosh Nijman at left tackle after losing Elgton Jenkins to a knee injury for the season.
Nijman and right tackle Billy Turner helped keep Leonard Floyd and Von Miller in check, limiting the two edge rushers to just a pair of quarterback hits.
"I gave him a big hug after the game and told him, 'I almost forgot about that side of the line,' and that's a huge compliment because I didn't have any worries about my backside," said Rodgers of Nijman. "You're going against two likely Hall of Famers (Miller and Donald) and a stud in Floyd, who's been doing it at a high level now for half a decade. That's a tough, tough, tough job. And to step in and play as well as he did, really proud of him."
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Game notes: Veteran Randall Cobb again comes through in the clutch - Packers.com
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