Our weekly "Chips Report" will always include two blue chips (outstanding, exceptional play), two red chips (good, although maybe not great) and two cow chips (dud performances). From the Green Bay Packers' 43-37 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football...

Blue Chips

• Quarterback Aaron Rodgers—Making his 100th career start, Rodgers set several league records through 100 starts and extended a few more by avoiding an interception for yet another game at Lambeau Field. Having to settle for more checkdown passes due to the Falcons Cover 2 zone defense, Rodgers still averaged an impressive 9.1 yards per pass attempt. On the night he completed 24 of 36 passes and three touchdown passes, good for a passer rating of 123.3. Rodgers also added five rushes for 28 yards, including a couple for first downs, one of them on the final drive of the football game as the Packers ran out the clock. His abiity to extend plays with his legs remains impressive.
• Packers offensive line—The Packers offense was nearly unstoppable, finishing with over 500 total yards of offense (502 to be exact) and 28 first downs, due large part to the men blocking up front. On the ground, the offensive line opened up holes for 6.0 yards per rush while allowing only a single sack in pass protection. The unit is playing terrific as a whole and each of them deserves recognition, but outside of one holding penalty, T.J. Lang dominated the competition.

Red Chips

• Running back James Starks—Not to take anything away from Eddie Lacy, who also had a very good night, but Starks had his best performance in weeks and ended up leading the team in rushing, finshing with 75 yards and 7.5 yards per carry. Starks spelled Lacy on several occasions and scored the first touchdown of the game to give the Packers a 7-0 on the opening drive. He also carried the football the final four plays of the game before the Packers could go into victory formation, including a 41-yard dash up the left sideline and also alertly stayed in bounds as the Packers attempted to milk the clock.
• Linebacker Clay Matthews—Matthews still has a few moments at inside linebacker where it's obvious he's still learning the position, but his playmaking ability cannot be denied. At the time, his blocked kick on a 53-yard field goal attempt as the clock expired at halftime seemed insignificant as the Packers held a 31-7 lead, but it ended up being more important than anyone could have imagined. Matthews also came up with the Packers' only sack of the evening and was the only Packers player credited with two quarterback hits in the box score. He finished with five tackles.

Cow Chips

• Defensive back Micah Hyde—On two separate occasions, Hyde went for the batted pass and missed, leading to big gains by the Falcons. The first time, Julio Jones took a completion for a first down. The second time, Hyde didn't get to his zone responsibility quick enough to prevent Eric Weems from catching a third quarter pass for a touchdown. A 15-yard face mask penalty in the third quarter also set up a Falcons field goal. At this point, Casey Hayward took over the primary nickel cornerback position.
• Cornerback Sam Shields—It didn't help that Shields missed most of the week of practice after suffering a concussion against the New England Patriots, but he was a big reason Jones was able to rack up more than 250 receiving yards on the Packers. His most costly mistake led to a touchdown, getting beat by Jones for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to help the Falcons pull to within 10 points. The Packers coaching staff eventually pulled Shields in favor of Davon House to match-up on the bigger Jones. The rest of the Packers secondary was only mariginally better.

Brian Carriveau is the author of the book "It's Just a Game: Big League Drama in Small Town America," and editor at Cheesehead TV and its "Pro Football Draft Preview." To contact Brian, email [email protected].