Cobb: 'Win or go home' for Packers
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin’s Brett Christopherson caught up with Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb, who shared his thoughts on Sunday’s 35-18 NFC wild-card victory over the Washington Redskins:
A camera caught you shouting, “You like that?!” – the familiar battle cry of Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins – as you headed back to the locker room following the win. Was that simply a fun and spontaneous reaction, or was there perhaps some meaning to it considering many observers haven’t given the Packers much of a chance to make a deep playoff run?
RC: Yeah, I addressed that with the (Twitter) post that I had recently. It was more of a mimic, more of an admiration to Kirk Cousins and what they went through earlier this season. And we’ve had a lot of naysayers and people doubting us. For us to get a big win like that was huge for us.
The offense started off slowly against Washington but then started clicking and went on to produce five consecutive scoring drives and finished with 346 total yards – 205 through the air and 141 on the ground. Do you think there was a specific play or sequence that got the offense going? And how do you transfer that momentum into your divisional playoff matchup against Arizona?
RC: I think it all started with that big catch that J.J. (James Jones) had on our first scoring drive. I think that was the play that started it off for us – got that big play. And then we were able to get the touchdown on that drive and just got things moving. I think the biggest thing was that we had everybody contributing. Everybody was making plays across the board. And we were executing the game plan.
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You finished with three catches and a touchdown. T.J. Lang credited you with getting the run game going as you went on to rush five times for 24 yards. You lined up in different spots, broke tackles and blocked downfield. Would you call Sunday’s performance your best of the season considering your overall impact?
RC: I don’t know. That’s not for me to decide. I don’t really care about my performance. All I care about are the wins, and we found a way to get it done. Like I said, we all contributed. I was able to make some plays in the backfield. Eddie (Lacy) came in and made some plays in the backfield. (James) Starks got the huge touchdown for us. (Jared) Abbrederis made some big catches, J.J. made big catches, Davante (Adams) – we all contributed. Aaron (Rodgers) moved around in the pocket. Our offensive line held up well for him and created some holes in the running game. We played really good team ball. I don’t think one performance can be pointed out.
You mentioned Davante Adams. How disappointing will it be for you if his injured knee prevents him from playing against Arizona? He was having a solid game before he went down and seemed to be coming on as of late.
RC: Obviously, you would love to have him out there. We don’t know the specifics for sure, yet. But he was definitely making plays in that game for us, and I think his presence is impactful for us as an offense. But like we’ve always said – next guy up. The next guy’s going to have to step up and make some plays. Like I said, Abbrederis came in and made some plays this past week, which is huge for our offense. And we’re going to need that moving forward - him making some more plays and possibly getting Jeff Janis in and having him do some things, too.
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Mike McCarthy said earlier this week that “playoff wins definitely bring a lot of confidence.” Is the confidence level among the team as high as you’ve seen it this season? Do you feel like you’re a dangerous team right now?
RC: Yeah. I don’t think our confidence ever wavered, but whenever you put a performance together like that, I think it definitely brings some sustainable confidence as we move forward and know we’re facing a tough opponent and what’s at stake. It’s win or go home, and we did everything we needed to do to find a way to win this past week. Hopefully, we can put that together again this week.
Brett Christopherson: 920-993-7117, or brett.christopherson@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter @PCBrettC