NFL
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Jordan Love celebrated the Green Bay Packers' victory on Thanksgiving by taking a bite out of a turkey leg and lifting it into the air.
His celebration was a protracted time coming.
Love led the Packers to a Thanksgiving Day triumph in Detroit last yr, but didn't get a turkey leg afterwards, as is common in those televised postgame interviews. His teammates vowed to ensure Love got a turkey leg this time, and he earned it by throwing two touchdown passes to Jayden Reed in a 30-17 win over the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.
“To come in here, get the win and then get the turkey leg, that was very delicious,” said Love, who went 21 of 28 for 274 yards. “Just a little something to celebrate.”
Josh Jacobs brought a plate of turkey into the locker room as Green Bay celebrated its third straight win. The Packers, who’ve won seven of their last eight games, built a 27-3 lead and made a goal-line stand to thwart a comeback attempt.
Miami (5-7) continued its recent history of cold weather woes. The kickoff temperature at Lambeau Field was 27 degrees (-2.7 degrees Celsius) with winds of 10 mph, light thunderstorms and a wind chill of 18 degrees.
“I would say from my perspective and from our team's perspective, we're not going to use any of this as an excuse as to why we didn't get off to the start that we wanted,” said Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was 37 for 46 for 364 yards with two touchdowns despite being sacked five times.
The Dolphins have lost their last 12 regular-season or postseason games wherein the temperature was below 40 degrees (4.4 Celsius) at kickoff. The Dolphins' most up-to-date win in a game with a kickoff temperature of 40 or less was a 34-31 extra time victory at Buffalo on December 24, 2016.
Green Bay plays three games in 12 days. The Packers defeated the San Francisco 49ers 38-10 on Sunday and can visit the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions next Thursday night.
“I thought we played well despite the short week,” Packers safety Xavier McKinney said. “I thought we came out of there and had the right attitude. And we started quickly and that was the key to victory today.”
Love and Reed connected on touchdown completions of three and 12 yards, Jacobs scored from 1 yard and Brandon McManus hit two field goals to provide Green Bay a 27-3 lead midway through the third quarter.
Miami tried to rally.
Tagovailoa's 14-yard pass to De'Von Achane – and a 2-point conversion pass to Jaylen Waddle – cut Green Bay's result in 27-11 with 2:43 left within the third. After Miami stopped Jacobs for a 2-yard loss on third-and-1 to force a punt, the Dolphins drove again and scored a second-and-goal on 1 early within the fourth quarter.
“We fought hard,” Dolphins defensive lineman Calais Campbell said. “We have no end within us. I really believed we would give ourselves a chance to win in the end.”
Green Bay's goal-line defense dashed those hopes. After Rashan stopped Gary Achane on second down and Tagovailoa didn’t make contact with Jonnu Smith on third down, Quay Walker made a sack on fourth down with 9:33 left.
A 49-yard completion from Love to Jacobs then arrange McManus' 33-yard field goal with 5:02 left. Miami accomplished the scoring with a deflected 14-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill with 3:04 left.
Miami's slow start allowed the Packers to take command.
After forcing a three-pointer on the primary possession, the Dolphins gave Green Bay a first-and-goal likelihood when Malik Washington thwarted a punt and Robert Rochell recovered on the 9.
The turnover arrange Love's 3-yard touchdown pass to Reed on third-and-goal.
Green Bay reached the top zone again on its next series, as Jacobs' touchdown capped an almost seven-minute, 12-play, 76-yard drive.
The Dolphins had a first-and-goal on the 9 within the second quarter, but settled for Jason Sanders' 33-yard field goal.
Green Bay then scored 10 points in the ultimate 96 seconds of the half to make it 24-3.
On third-and-2, Reed caught a pass across the line of scrimmage and took advantage of a downfield block from Dontayvion Wicks to achieve the top zone. After Tagovailoa beat Achane on fourth-and-5 from the Green Bay 38 with 22 seconds left, a pair of completions from Love to Tucker Kraft helped the Packers get in position for McManus' 46-yard field goal as time expired bring to.
From that time on, it was essentially only a matter of constructing sure the love didn't go hungry.
“The most important thing for me was making sure Jordan got his leg,” Kraft said.
Packers CB Corey Ballentine injured his knee within the opener. Packers DL Arron Mosby was evaluated for a concussion.
Dolphins DB cadre Kohou injured his back when he collided with Packers WR Christian Watson on an incomplete pass. Dolphins CB Cam Smith injured his shoulder.
Dolphins: Host the New York Jets on December eighth.
Packers: Next Thursday night at Detroit.
image credit : www.boston.com