Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams was an experienced and talented artist creating a masterpiece on Sunday in Houston.
His route chart – provided above by Next Gen Stats – shows a pass-catcher operating at the height of his powers.
Adams caught 13 passes for a career-high 196 yards and two touchdowns during the Packers’ 35-20 win over the Texans. He tortured the Houston secondary, converting seven third downs with catches and creating a 157.3 passer rating when targeted by quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Adams did it all. He won downfield, catching three passes thrown 20 yards or more in the air. He created separation on in-breaking and out-breaking routes. He turned short, quick throws into chunk plays with after-the-catch creativity.
Rodgers and Adams have increasingly impressive chemistry. On 3rd-and-9 in the first half, Rodgers trusted Adams to make a contested catch on a deep ball down the left sideline. He showed late hands and made the play for 28 yards. Later, the pair made the back-shoulder throw along the sideline look easy for 17 yards.
The Packers featured him within a variety of concepts. Some allowed Adams to go win against one-on-one coverage. Others provided help, particularly on a few mesh route concepts in the middle of the field. He had at least one catch when lined up outside to the left and right and in the slot to the left and right.
Adams probably should have finished with 14 catches – which would have tied a career-high – but Rodgers missed him on a throw to the middle of the field. A play later, Adams won from the slot with a wicked release and scored a 45-yard touchdown when the Texans didn’t provide safety help over the top.
Adams’ 196 receiving yards are the most by a receiver in the NFL this season and the eighth-most by a Packers player in a game in team history.
