Top Plays of 2020: Adams fills up the Honorable Mentions category

Although he made only one appearance in the top ten, several of the plays that narrowly missed the cut on our countdown feature All-Pro receiver Davante Adams.

Acme Packing Company’s writers have watched the film on the Green Bay Packers’ 2020 season and compiled our lists of the best plays from last year. Each writer voted on their favorite plays, combining qualities that include a play’s impact on a game or the season, outstanding individual or team effort, and amusement or hilarity factor.

Ten APC contributors submitted votes for the 15 best plays of the season, which we have combined and whittled down to the top ten plays of 2020. Please enjoy our countdown over the next two weeks!

There were no shortage of memorable plays for the Green Bay Packers during the 2020 season. A year that saw Aaron Rodgers win his third MVP award and Davante Adams set team receiving records should and did result in plenty of offensive highlights. Adams’ 18 touchdowns in particular made for a number of memorable plays, though several of them just missed out on the top ten based on the voting of the APC contributors.

In this writer’s opinion, Aaron Rodgers’ best throw of the season didn’t even make the honorable mentions. That play, the opening touchdown of the Thursday night game in San Francisco, finished well outside the top ten. Instead, here are the the four plays that narrowly missed the list.

Honorable Mention #1: Davante Adams takes a back-shoulder throw to the house

At Ford Field with the Packers facing an early 7-0 deficit to the Lions, the NFL’s best wide receiver decided to take matters into his own hands. Working up the right sideline against soft coverage, Adams got inside position on a Detroit defensive back as Aaron Rodgers put the football perfectly on his inside shoulder. Adams then cuts back towards midfield and away from the defender, shakes the deep safety, and is off to the races for a quick-strike tying touchdown.

Honorable Mention #2: Adams’ spinning TD opens the scoring against the Bears

It’s Sunday Night Football in week 12. The Green Bay Packers are hosting the Chicago Bears, looking to rebound from a tough overtime loss in Indianapolis the week before. Green Bay goes on a length opening drive, picking up five first downs before facing third-and-10 at the Bears’ 12-yard line.

Out of 11 personnel, Aaron Rodgers drops back to pass and the Packers’ stellar offensive line sets up a remarkable pocket for him. After retreating in the pocket, Rodgers spots Adams in the back-left portion of the end zone, having shaken free of his coverage. Rodgers lofts a ball and Adams makes a leaping, spinning catch as Danny Trevathan drives him into the turf. Adams holds on for the first points of the game and the first of three straight touchdown drives for the Packers, who would open up a 27-3 lead after our 8th-ranked play of the season.

Watch the play here.

This touchdown set the tone as the Packers would win 41-25 that evening and would win each of their final six games en route to the NFC’s top seed.

Honorable Mention #3: AJ Dillon runs over and through the Titans

It’s Sunday Night Football in week 16. The Packers are facing a hot Titans team in a game that matters little for the playoff race thanks to conference record tiebreakers. But the Packers aren’t letting off the gas, even with starting running back Aaron Jones out early and normal backup Jamaal Williams inactive with an injury of his own.

Enter rookie second-round pick AJ Dillon, who had missed several games earlier in the season in the COVID-19 protocol. Dillon would tear the Titans’ defense to shreds, doing his best Derrick Henry impersonation in the game and on this run that extended the Packers’ lead to three possessions.

Running out of the shotgun, Dillon shows his quick feet with a little jump-cut behind the line of scrimmage. And with that, it’s all over. He easily breaks an arm tackle at the 30 then another ten yards downfield, powering into the end zone to effectively seal a statement victory for the Packers.

Honorable Mention #4: Adams provides acrobatic go-ahead score to beat Jaguars

Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s long touchdown early in the Jaguars game cracked the top ten, but it was Adams’ late-game score that took the lead back for Green Bay and provided the final margin of victory. On the series after Jacksonville kicked a field goal to go up 20-17 early in the fourth quarter, the Packers got big receptions from Robert Tonyan and MVS and a 20-yard run from Aaron Jones to set them up with a first-and-goal from the six.

That’s when the Rodgers-to-Adams connection struck. Despite being hobbled a bit due to an ankle injury suffered earlier in the game, Adams provided some of his trademark explosive leaping ability, soaring high in the air to haul in a lofty ball from Rodgers for the winning touchdown.

Tomorrow at 12 Noon Eastern, we’ll reveal our pick for the #1 play of the 2020 season.