Clinging to a five-point lead and facing one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers defence knew what most folks were expecting.
“You get Tom Brady with a couple minutes left in the game, not many people are going to put their money on us,” veteran cornerback Tramon Williams said.
But the Packers’ steadily-improving defence delivered in Sunday’s 26-21 victory over Brady and the New England Patriots.
They got a third-down sack from Mike Neal and Mike Daniels with less than 3 minutes to play after the Patriots had driven to the Green Bay 20. The defence goes into the final quarter of the season complementing the team’s potent offence.
“We’ve been playing very well this past four weeks,” linebacker Clay Matthews said. “We finally seem to be carrying our own weight in light of how well the offence has been playing.”
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is stating a strong case for the MVP award while leading a team that has scored more touchdowns (46) than any team in the NFL.
The defence ranks 15th in the NFL in points allowed (22.3 per game) and 25th in yards allowed (366.8 per game).
In the four games since giving up 495 yards and 44 points in a pre-bye week loss at New Orleans on October 26, the Packers’ defence has allowed an average of 17.3 points and 342 yards per game – all victories.
On Sunday, the Packers held the NFL’s highest-scoring team to just 21 points – New England were averaging 39.6 points during the seven-game winning streak that ended at Lambeau Field – and 320 total yards.
“I’m hoping we can get as much better between now and the end of the season as you’ve seen us since the bye week (to) this point of time,” sixth-year defensive coordinator Dom Capers said Monday.
“Your goal is always to be playing your best in the month of November and December, for obvious reasons.
“I think over the last five, six years, I think you’ve seen us play much better the second half of the season than we did the first half of the season – for a number of reasons. I think that guys start to get a little bit better feel of what you’re doing, and you start to get a little bit better feel of what the capabilities are of your guys. That’s why you see us try to use a lot of different personnel groups trying to take advantage of various players personnel sets.”
Among those different personnel groupings Sunday was a mix that left veteran inside linebacker AJ Hawk on the sideline any time the Packers weren’t in their base defence.
Hawk ended up playing only 26 of the Packers’ 56 defensive snaps, his lowest percentage since a September 30, 2012, game against the Saints.
Hawk played alongside Matthews at inside linebacker in the base defence, then was replaced by Sam Barrington in the nickel group.
When the Packers went to their dime alignment, Matthews was the lone inside linebacker, a role that Hawk had handled most of the season.
Asked if Hawk, who came into the game having played the most snaps of any defensive player, would continue to have his playing time limited, Capers said that the decision Sunday was based in part on the Packers’ plan to match up with Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. But Capers also didn’t say that Hawk would go back to his previous role.
“I would say it would vary from week to week,” Capers said. “Again, based off what our opponent is doing, you’ll see different personnel groups and different people involved in those. It could change from one week to the next based on your injury situation, who’s available. The purpose is to try to get your best 11 people against who they put out there and the matchups.”
Several weeks ago, coach Mike McCarthy cautioned that the defence needed to find a way to be successful without relying solely on takeaways.
The Packers lead the NFL in turnover differential at plus-15 – having forced 23 turnovers while only committing a league-low eight – and against the Patriots, the unit got the job done without an interception or fumble recovery.
The Patriots scored three touchdowns, but their other five full-fledged drives ended in four punts and a 47-yard missed field goal following the Neal-Daniels sack.
“I don’t think anything breeds confidence like success,” Capers said. “I think we’ve been able to make strides during the month of November. I like the progress that we’ve made. Now the challenge for us is, we know we want to be playing our best football in December. We’ve got to continue to press on and find a way to improve.”
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More on animal trafficking
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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More coverage from the Future Forum
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
Poland Statement
All people fleeing from Ukraine before the armed conflict are allowed to enter Poland. Our country shelters every person whose life is in danger - regardless of their nationality.
The dominant group of refugees in Poland are citizens of Ukraine, but among the people checked by the Border Guard are also citizens of the USA, Nigeria, India, Georgia and other countries.
All persons admitted to Poland are verified by the Border Guard. In relation to those who are in doubt, e.g. do not have documents, Border Guard officers apply appropriate checking procedures.
No person who has received refuge in Poland will be sent back to a country torn by war.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs: 2018 Audi RS5
Price, base: Dh359,200
Engine: 2.9L twin-turbo V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 450hp at 5,700rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 1,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support
Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR
Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue
Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)
MATCH INFO
Borussia Dortmund 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Kimmich 43')
Man of the match: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
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