f return was only the final big blow to the Green Bay Packers' hopes of knocking off the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams.Montgomery's mistake was far from the only error Sunday that left Green Bay's half of the rowdy Coliseum crowd going home unhappy despite an occasionally inspired effort by their team."That play didn't lose the game Ethan Westbrooks Jersey , but it definitely took away an opportunity for us to go down and win it," Aaron Rodgers said of Montgomery's fumble.Other plays loomed just as large to Rodgers and coach Mike McCarthy after the Rams salted away their 29-27 victory without letting Rodgers touch the ball in the final 5:20.The Packers were on the brink of a statement victory after rallying from a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter. Green Bay had a one-point lead and the ball with 6:49 to play, but the Packers only ended up making a statement about their own inconsistency."You got to play a fully complete game, and we didn't do that," said receiver Davante Adams, who had five catches for 133 yards.A sequence in the second quarter fundamentally switched the momentum away from the Packers (3-3-1), who had built a 10-0 lead — the largest anybody has taken on the Rams all season long — shortly before halftime thanks to outstanding work on both sides of the ball."We came out with that energy," Packers nose tackle Kenny Clark said. "We started really fast. Like I said earlier, I think we did a lot of good things. It's just disappointing for us to lose the game."Sam Shields started the momentum swing against his former team when he tiptoed along the goal line to down a punt by Johnny Hekker, trapping the Packers at their 1. Green Bay's next play was a run up the middle by Aaron Jones, and the Rams' fearsome defensive front stuffed it for a safety.Los Angeles awoke after that stop, both in the stands and on the field. Jared Goff's offense immediately drove for its first touchdown in the final minute of the first half.The Packers lamented losing that hard-earned momentum after a largely stellar defensive first half. Green Bay sacked Jared Goff five times, including twice by Clark, and had eight tackles for loss against LA's powerhouse offense."They've had the success they've had with a lot smoke and mirrors, good play-calling, speed and misdirection," Packers linebacker Clay Matthews said. "We came out and made it kind of dirty and grimy John Sullivan Jersey , really got after them, hit the quarterback. Obviously they found their footing in the second half, maybe late in the first half. But then we put it back on them at the end of the game. We did just enough for our offense to get down there. It really is a shame the way in which we dropped that game. You'd like to think, if we see these guys again ... but at 3-3-1, we need to start winning these games."Rodgers still had the ball with the chance to lead a clock-draining drive with 6:49 left. Instead, the Rams lost 6 yards on three plays before a 25-yard punt by JK Scott. The Rams got a go-ahead field goal on the short field, and Montgomery fumbled moments later.The Packers realize they're gaining a reputation as a team that plays to the level of its opposition. As they reach the midpoint of their season, they know they're running out of time to put together full games — particularly since their next game is at mighty New England."I don't understand that, honestly," Clark said. "In my mind, I swear, if we play games like that, we're going to win a lot of games. I don't really know how else to explain it. We've got to come out there like that every game. I really feel like we can get teams on their heels, and with the offense that we have, we can put up points and get up on guys easy." Jon Gruden didn't mince words.As excited as he was to coach Khalil Mack in his second stint with Oakland, Gruden believes the right move ultimately was to trade Mack to give the Raiders the draft picks and salary cap room needed to rebuild a depleted roster."It wasn't my goal to trade Khalil when we got here," Gruden said Sunday. "One of the reasons I'm here is because of him. Unfortunately Cory Littleton Jersey , we had a standoff with a contract, and we could not come to terms. The Bears made us an offer of two first-round draft choices and here we are today."The Raiders made the blockbuster trade on Saturday, dealing one of the game's most dominant defensive players to Chicago for first-round draft picks in 2019 and 2020, a sixth-rounder next year and a third-rounder in 2020. Oakland also included its second-round selection in 2020 and a conditional fifth-rounder that year in the trade.Mack then immediately signed a six-year, $141 million extension with the Bears that guarantees $90 million. That's the richest deal ever for a defensive player and nowhere near where the Raiders were willing to go after already committing $25 million a year to quarterback Derek Carr."It's tough when you have two players that are the highest paid at their positions, so the economic part of it certainly weighs in," Gruden said. "We've got free agents on our team that are going to be (up) next year; we've got to find a way to bring them back. So you've got to field a 53-man roster and there are some implications of having two players making that much money. That's no mystery to anybody."The Bears were willing to commit that money in part because they have quarterback Mitchell Trubisky on a rookie deal. The Los Angeles Rams gave $87 million guaranteed to Aaron Donald this past week in what was the richest defensive contract for one day until Mack surpassed it, but they also have quarterback Jared Goff on a rookie contract.The Raiders don't have that luxury and have several holes to fill on a team that went 6-10 last year and has gotten little production from recent draft classes. Oakland has already cut ties with its second-round picks from 2015, '16 and '17 in Mario Edwards Jr., Jihad Ward and Obi Melifonwu and has only 11 of the 50 draft choices that general manager Reggie McKenzie made from 2012-17 on the 53-man roster.That has contributed to the Raiders having the oldest roster in the league and the desire for more draft picks."We're trying to hit on the draft," Gruden said. "We're trying to draft and develop. Obviously the last three draft classes we haven't got a lot of production out of yet. I don't think there's anybody left from the '13 draft. The '15, '16, '17 (classes), not much production at all. With that being said, you have to fill holes."Gruden didn't want to second-guess the approach the Raiders took with Mack after exercising the fifth-year option on his rookie deal worth $13.8 million.The two sides traded offers before the start of the league year in March that were far apart and the Raiders made no more offers after that as Mack held out. Despite the wide gap, the Raiders did not look to trade Mack before the draft when they could have gotten help for this season.When Donald got his big deal Friday, Oakland saw where the bar was set and made the deal rather than wait to see if Mack would eventually report."We would like to have the player stay here; he was under contract Nickell Robey-Coleman Jersey ," Gruden said. "We did not expect this to last as long as it did. But we're going to be second-guessed until the cows come home on this. I understand that. But, bottom line is, we did do our due diligence, there was a standoff, and he got a great contract from the Bears — a great contract."Now the Raiders must move on with the season opener coming Sept. 10 against the Rams. There is a big hole on defense as the Raiders try to replace a player who is a two-time All-Pro and the 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Since entering the league, Mack leads all players with 18 quarterback pressures and ranks second with 68 tackles for loss, according to SportRadar.Oakland still has Bruce Irvin as a pass rusher on one side and rookie Arden Key showed promise this summer on the other side. The inside rush should be improved with rookies P.J. Hall and Maurice Hurst, but none of those players are at Mack's level.Mack also was a leader in the locker room and one of the most popular players, making his loss even bigger. But Gruden felt it was still time to move on, no matter how much he will be missed by his teammates."He's a great player and a good teammate and a lot of these guys were very good friends with him," he said. "It was tough but he's been gone for some time. Like I said, we wish him the best. We have to build this football team. We have a lot of needs and we'll address him as we see fit. But it's never easy to say goodbye to anybody, especially a great player."
