After defeating a resurgent Chicago Bears on Sunday night, the Green Bay Packers have punched their ticket to the playoffs and a showdown with their former coach, Mike McCarthy, in Dallas. Call me Cassandra.
Much like that daughter of Hecuba and Priam, I knew from the start that these Green Bay Packers — an American football team based in Green Bay, Wis., and owned by the Communitarian Tailgate Party of Greater Wisconsin — were exceptional. After the Packers’ 38–20 victory over the Chicago Bears in the first week of the season, I wrote that the “Packers are going to the Super Bowl.” Scoffers and malcontents, which is to say, Minnesota Vikings fans, filled the comment section with lutefisk-smelling choler.
Unfortunately, like Jonah and his Tarshish detour, the Packers ran from their destiny in the weeks that followed — seeing fit to lose five of their next six games. Morale was low. In a fit of lamentation, I penned “The Media Lied, the Packers Aren’t Going to the Super Bowl,” even going so far as to say:
Well, we’ve come to find out that the Bears may be the worst team in the NFL, so the Packers beating them in Chicago was the equivalent of winning an arm-wrestling match against your formula-fed baby cousin. . . .
A turnstile O-line, bumbling wideout corps, and hobbling backfield are the anti-Trinity insofar as quarterback success goes, and Jordan Love is understandably struggling to make anything happen (32nd in completion rate, 22nd in yards, and 23rd in QBR).
What changed from then to now is that the offense found a rhythm and purpose while limiting turnovers. The tight ends allowed for pitch-and-catch success in the middle of the field, while the rookie wide receivers made spectacular plays in the end zone seemingly every game. Jordan Love, the successor to Aaron Rodgers, managed to harness some of the same efficiency his predecessor was famous for, throwing for nine touchdowns with no interceptions in the last four games of the season. Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com reports that, in Week 18,
Love completed 27 of 32 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns against Chicago, while establishing new career highs in both passer rating (128.6) and completion percentage (84.4%).
Love is the first Green Bay QB to throw for 300-plus yards and multiple TDs with no INTs while posting 25-plus completions and a completion percentage of 84-plus. [Emphasis added.]
So what caused their fortunes to turn? Football, like other sports with enforced parity (e.g., curling and cheese-rolling), is a game that venerates the strategy of today’s winner. It’s a crystal-ball business in which “just win, baby” is really what it comes down to. Did the Packers do anything special? Not really. They beat three bad teams to finish the season after losing to two bad teams after beating two quality sides (Kansas City and Detroit). Ultimately, they won when they needed victories. We’re all better for it. There’s nothing more fun than Wildcard Weekend with a team unburdened by expectations — the youngest team in the NFL hasn’t been around long enough to realize just how special their opportunity is.
Leafing through Packers’ history, it was in the newly opened Arlington, Texas, facility that the young Aaron Rodgers won the Lombardi over a tremendous Pittsburgh Steelers defense. Today’s Cowboys are the second-stingiest defense in the NFC, something to watch for a Packers offense that depends upon fast starts.
It’s likely Dallas is the last stop. By the money, it should be. The Packers are in the playoffs despite carrying a Jacob Marley–esque vault that is the Aaron Rodgers dead money ($57.1 million) — almost 18 percent of their total salary cap. They’re youthful, ascendant, and cheap — like a Gus Macker trio starting on an NBA roster. But any given Sunday makes it a game to watch — and with Charlie’s Jaguars and Jim and Phil’s Jets out, the NR-affiliated teams are dwindling. Consider cheering against the Cowboys if you can’t cheer for the Packers.