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Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff WriterDec 16, 2024, 10:46 AM ET
- Rob Demovsky is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Green Bay Packers. He has covered the Packers since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2013. Demovsky is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the NSSA. You can follow him on Twitter at @RobDemovsky.
SEATTLE — It wasn’t like the Green Bay Packers‘ offense couldn’t function after receiver Romeo Doubs left their Week 12 game against the San Francisco 49ers because of a concussion. The 30-plus points they put up in that game and each of the next two were no joke.
And it wasn’t as if the Packers’ defense was completely lost after linebacker Edgerrin Cooper injured a hamstring in practice the week leading up to the 49ers game. Only six teams allowed fewer points per game during the three-week stretch without Cooper.
But give quarterback Jordan Love one of his most reliable receivers and give defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley one of his most talented linebackers, and what happened in Sunday’s 30-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks might just make a difference for the Packers (10-4) down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Playing in a game with a Guardian Cap on his helmet for extra protection for the first time in his career, Doubs caught a pair of touchdowns — one that gave the Packers an early 14-0 lead and another that sealed the game with 4:59 remaining — as part of his three-catch, 40-yard night.
It was part of a fourth straight game with at least 30 points, tied for the second-longest streak in Packers history.
Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (56) celebrates his interception of Geno Smith during Sunday’s 30-13 win over the Seahawks. Steph Chambers/Getty Images
Meanwhile, Cooper, playing a little more than half the defensive snaps, had five tackles, a drive-killing sack on a third down in the first quarter and a fourth-quarter interception of backup quarterback Sam Howell that set up Doubs’ second touchdown. He also registered the hit on Geno Smith that took out the Seahawks’ starting quarterback with a knee injury — a hit that Cooper insisted was clean, by the way.
It’s not a stretch to say that Doubs and Cooper each had one of his best games of the season.
“It’s good to see them out there and picking up where they left off — or even better than that,” Packers linebacker Eric Wilson said. “One thing is it’s impressive, but it’s honestly a great help to the team, so we love that. We know those guys are ballers, and it’s great to see. They both made incredible plays.”
It’s tough to decide which of Doubs’ touchdowns was more impressive. On the 13-yarder in the first quarter, Doubs caught the ball short of the goal line and dragged two Seahawks defenders — cornerback Riq Woolen and safety Julian Love — with him into the end zone.
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0:19
Romeo Doubs takes defender with him on TD catch
Romeo Doubs carries Julian Love with him into the end zone to double the Packers’ lead.
“You know, that was something that I really haven’t seen out of Rome, just running guys over and carrying them, putting the team on his back,” said Love, who threw 229 yards and the two touchdowns. “But I think it just shows how much he loves it and is willing to fight for those extra yards and just fight to get that touchdown. So that was a great play by him.
“You always want to have your best guys out there healthy, and it was tough not having Rome out there, but to get him back, and obviously him having those two touchdowns was huge tonight. You know, he’s one of our best playmakers on offense, so it’s always good having him back out there.”
If Doubs’ first score showed brute strength, the second was a display of grace. Going low to make a sliding catch in the back of the end zone, Doubs not only landed both feet in bounds but also a shoulder, all while keeping the ball secured in his left hand.
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Romeo Doubs makes shoestring catch to seal Packers win
Jordan Love ropes one to Romeo Doubs, who somehow hangs onto the ball for a Packers touchdown.
“I called him Spiderman earlier in the week because I feel like when the ball is anywhere in his vicinity he’s snagging it, catching it,” said Packers running back Josh Jacobs, whose 94 rushing yards and 42 receiving yards added up to his eighth game with 100 scrimmage yards this season.
“That play at the end, I wasn’t surprised that he made it. I was just like, ‘Man …’ Two feet and a shoulder. That’s Rome.”
Cooper had the first of what turned into a seven-sack performance by the Packers defense — with six different players registering sacks (Kingsley Enagbare had two). Cooper now has 3.5 sacks in 11 games.
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Early in the fourth quarter, Cooper dropped a potential interception on a play from the Seahawks’ 4-yard line that could’ve been a pick-six. He didn’t drop the one that Howell underthrew to tight end Noah Fant with just over 5 minutes left. It was the first career interception for the second-round pick.
“You can see he can do everything, make tackles, make interceptions, get the sacks,” Enagbare said of Cooper. “There’s literally nothing he’s physically not able to do. The sky’s the limit for him. He’s going to be a hell of a player one day — or continue to be a hell of a player.”
The Packers might need more of that from Cooper after Quay Walker dropped out of the game in the first half because of an ankle injury. The linebacker walked with a significant limp on his way out of the locker room after the game.
“Coop’s a hell of an athlete, man,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “He’s a really good football player. I think he’s just scratching the surface of what he could become in this league.”
