Note: the offense composite grade does not seem reasonable given all the points scored, but I stand by my grades—none of the units deserves higher.
Quarterback: A-
Aaron Rodgers had a better day under center in most ways than our last guy ever did in the playoffs. He had more touchdowns through the air (four; funny how No. 4 was able to match that once he's playing for the enemy yesterday) plus one on the ground, more yards, and led the offense to more points than his predecessor ever did in Green and Gold.
His passer rating was also better than all but two of the veteran's postseason performances, and would have been better were it not for a few dropped passes. He finished 28 of 42 for 422 yards, with 4 touchdowns and just one pick. He also had three rushes for 13 yards with a score and a fumble lost.
His pick was a costly one on his first pass (understandable, but it has to count against him), and the fumble on the last play that sealed the loss—even though if either of the personal fouls that happened on the last two plays had been called, that turnover does not happen. He also missed two open receivers on deep balls, or those calls do not matter—true you are not going to hit every deep pass and he did hit on some, it all adds up to an A-.
Running backs: B-
The backfield combined for just 77 yards on 17 carries (4.5 average), led by Ryan Grant's 11 carries for 65 yards (5.9). But two of the other six runs were productive—a one-yard touchdown by John Kuhn and a one-yard fourth-down conversion by Ahman Green—and there were no fumbles.
Unfortunately, they were almost a liability in the passing game, missing a couple key blitz pickups and catching just four passes for 14 yards (although Grant had two for 18). This gives them just 91 yards on 21 touches, a pedestrian 4.3 per touch average.
Receivers: A
While there were a couple dropped balls (keeping this from an A+), this unit tore apart the Cardinals secondary. Jermichael Finley hopefully proved once and for all that he should be the starter, leading the way with six catches for 159 yards (26.5 average), and Greg Jennings was right behind him with 130 yards on eight catches (16.3 average) with a touchdown.
The rest of the unit was productive as well, with James Jones getting 50 yards and a score among his three receptions, Donald Driver getting four catches for 43 yards, and Jordy Nelson had a 10-yard reception. Third-string tight end Spencer Havner even got into the action with two catches for 16 yards and a touchdown.
Offensive Line: B-
The offensive line gave up five sacks, but were up against a pretty good pass rush and had to play into overtime. Moreover, those sacks yielded a total of 19 yards lost. Meanwhile, they carved the way for 20 rushes for 90 yards, a solid 4.5 yard average.
I will post defense and special teams grades by the end of the day Tuesday.
