Packers notes: Kyler Fackrell ties record, but 'left some plays out there'

SEATTLE – With a takedown of Russell Wilson at the 13:14 mark of the fourth quarter Thursday night in Seattle, third-year linebacker Kyler Fackrell tied a Green Bay Packers franchise record with his second three-sack game of the season.

Reggie White recorded three sacks against Tampa Bay and San Francisco in 1998 and Clay Matthews had three against Philadelphia and Buffalo in 2010. In all, five Packers have done it since 1982.

Fackrell recorded three sacks against Buffalo on Sept. 30.

He leads the team with eight quarterback takedowns, which has him tied for ninth in the NFL heading into the weekend. He also has five sacks since the bye week.

Fackrell also recorded four tackles for loss and hit Wilson four times.

“I think sometimes plays come your way. I was able to make a good deal of them,” he said. “The win is really all that matters, you know? I’m happy with how I played but I think I left some plays out there. So it’s definitely not like I played a perfect game anyways. It’s a tough loss.”

Tonyan's big play

First-year tight end Robert Tonyan has spent the bulk of his 2018 campaign playing on special teams, but his first career catch – and touchdown – came in a big moment Thursday night.

Playing alongside Jimmy Graham on the left side of the Packers’ offensive line late in the first quarter, Tonyan continued his route deep over the middle of the field as Aaron Rodgers broke the pocket and rolled to the right.

“He just was in my vision, to be honest with you,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “He just kept going. Bobby’s made plays since he got here. I was really proud of him that he made the team, first of all, because I thought he was very deserving. It was just making sure he got in my vision. I rolled out to the right and had a quick flash back to last week when I was thinking about pulling the trigger on Jimmy (Graham) and kind of in between. I told myself before the game if I got a situation like that to take a shot. I saw him in my vision and just tried to throw it as far as I could.”

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The 6-foot, 5-inch, 237-pound tight end got position on Seahawks safety Bradley McDougald and came down with a 54-yard score to put the Packers up 14-3 in the first quarter.

Through nine games, Tonyan had played just 10 offensive snaps.

“I’ve just been visualizing the moment and those type of plays,” Tonyan said. “You just have to keep thinking about making big plays. If you’re sitting at the locker room or sitting at home, you just have to think about making those big plays and when they come to you, just make them. When it happened, I was just happy. That’s football. You just have to make plays when they come to you. It is special, but you just have to keep your composure. When plays come to me, I’m just going to make them.”

Turf tough on Breeland

At the beginning of the week – which, of course, was only three days earlier – Packers cornerback Bashaud Breeland didn’t know whether he’d be able to play Thursday night in Seattle.

He injured his groin Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, and the quick turnaround didn’t help his chances. Breeland said he had constant treatment between games, trying to loosen the muscle enough to play.

Ultimately, Breeland was able to start in the slot against the Seahawks, but on CenturyLink Field’s turf his groin couldn’t hold up to halftime.

“It was just the pound,” Breeland said. “It was just the pound over time. especially on the turf. The turf was really what made it worse.”

Attrition is finally starting to catch up to the Packers, whose clean bill of health was never going to last forever. One of the healthiest teams in the league this year, the Packers left Seattle dealing with a number of injuries.

Along with Breeland, Graham (thumb), defensive lineman Mike Daniels (foot) and safety Raven Greene (ankle) left Thursday’s game and did not return. The Packers were already without receiver Randall Cobb (hamstring), cornerback Kevin King (hamstring), outside linebacker Nick Perry (knee) and safety Kentrell Brice (ankle).

Laying in wait

Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer had a pretty good idea what it was going to get from Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine on third and 9 at the Packers 15-yard line.

Schottenheimer and Pettine had coached together with the New York Jets almost a decade ago and they know each other’s tendencies. With the Seahawks down 24-20 with 5:11 left, things fell into place for Schottenheimer.

Pettine showed an overload blitz off the right side and Wilson threw with no hesitation to tight end Ed Dickson, who ran straight for the end zone and was wide open for the game-winning touchdown.

“It was one of the looks we were working on,” coach Pete Carroll said. “They faked the blitz on that one, but Russ’s timing and Ed’s timing was just perfect. Ed had to peek over his shoulder on that like he was coming out hot because he didn’t know whether it was a blitz or not.

“Russ saw it and he saw, and they hit it.”

Cornerback Jaire Alexander said the defense was not aligned properly and that Dickson should have been covered.

“It wasn’t a good scheme,” he said. “We were misaligned and we gave them good space to hit that throw.”

Missed again

For the second time this season, kicker Mason Crosby had to lament a missed field goal that could have made a difference in the game.

Crosby missed a 47-yard field goal wide left on the Packers’ second possession that would have sent them out to a 10-0 lead. Had he hit the field goal, the game would have been tied when McCarthy punted late in the fourth quarter and the Seahawks would have had to do more than get a first down or two to win.

Crosby said the wind was blowing left to right and he expected it to carry it in that direction.

"I left it too far to the right,” he said. “I was hoping it would come back. I played a little to that side and it stayed there.”

Crosby missed four field goals in a loss to the Detroit early in the season.