If Sunday, implausible as it seems, was actually the catalyst for a glorious Green Bay Packers revival, there was a snippet from Aaron Rodgers’ postgame media conference that will age especially well.
“You’re g–damn right,” Rodgers said, when asked whether he believes the Packers are capable of turning it around following a 3-4 start, three straight losses and widespread offensive dysfunction.
Taken in isolation, that’s the kind of positivity you’re looking for, right? That sort of rallying, cheerleading, prognosticating response to doubt and disappointment. A throwback, maybe, to 2016, when Rodgers promised to “run the table” when the squad dropped to 4-6, and Green Bay promptly did, before losing in the NFC Championship Game.
The problem, this time, is that the tiny sliver of positive affirmation was lost in a sea of negativity.
No one is suggesting that Rodgers should have sugarcoated his team’s current issues, or that professional football players should be immune to criticism from their team’s leaders.
But the concept of Rodgers throwing too much blame in the direction of his colleagues has long been a “thing” and this, coming after a 23-21 setback against the Washington Commanders, was possibly the peak of it.
Commanders defeat Packers on WILD final play
Aaron Rodgers found himself face down on the turf after the Washington Commanders defeated his Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
To the point, frankly, where it has to be considered whether such an approach — albeit clearly intended to help — is actually having the opposite effect.
The Packers, without question, have problems. The trio of losses has come against the New York Giants, New York Jets and the previously 2-4 Commanders, on an afternoon in which there were at least six key dropped catches from the receiving group, but also several notable missed throws from Rodgers. The Minnesota Vikings are comfortably clear at the top of the NFC North.
Without the Las Vegas-bound Davante Adams, it is obvious there are only two receivers in whom Rodgers has much trust, Allen Lazard and Sammy Watkins, and health issues restrict Watkins to a limited number of snaps per game.
Washington didn’t blitz, betting that Rodgers couldn’t make the big throws to hurt them and that even if he did, the receivers would be outdueled in man coverage. He couldn’t turn things around late, couldn’t win against Commanders backup Taylor Heinicke, couldn’t conceal his frustration when Romeo Doubs dropped one in the third quarter and couldn’t suppress his deflated feelings when lying face down on the FedEx Field turf at the end.
[Rodgers, Packers running out of excuses after loss to Commanders]
Soon after, ahead of next week’s visit to the Buffalo Bills (where the Packers open as a 10.5-point underdog, per FOX Bet), he laid it all out there.
Speaking postgame, he wasn’t shy in pointing out where things had gone wrong, saying he wasn’t looking forward to watching the film.
“We didn’t run the ball particularly well, we didn’t catch it particularly well,” Rodgers told reporters. “Some bad tape all around. Probably peek at it tonight, just as a heads-up on what to expect tomorrow.”
He said Green Bay had been “just not good enough” to overcome some of their current issues. That there are too many “mental mistakes.” That there might not be enough intestinal fortitude in the group, that there has to be “something inside, an accountability for performance.”
That the errors being racked up are “simple things” spoiled by “silly execution.” That if anyone doesn’t agree that a revival is imminent, it would be because “they don’t think they are the right person for the job.” He, Rodgers pointed out, feels he is the right person for the job.
Maybe the tough talk is just what is required. Maybe hearing it straight will suddenly be enough to free the Packers receiving corps from their hesitation and trepidation.
Or maybe one of the issues is that there is an inherent nervousness in their play because they know any missed steps could lead to a public calling-out from their quarterback.
Now, it doesn’t typically pay to question Rodgers and his ways of going about things. After all, in the 13 pro seasons where he has played most of the games, he has only missed the postseason twice.
But there is something of a unique feel to this campaign. That sense of inevitability that Rodgers can make something happen when needed is no longer there. Certainly, a large part of that comes from his surrounding personnel, but some has to be attributed to the four-time MVP playing below his typical level, too.
There are flashes of brilliance and inspiration, Sunday’s fourth-quarter drive to keep Green Bay in it being a notable example. Mostly, however, opposing teams have just been able to stop the Packers, too easily, too often, in too many key spots (there were zero third-down conversations last weekend).
Perhaps the Packers are a lost cause this season. Perhaps, for a combination of reasons, things just aren’t right, or even right enough to be fixed.
Or perhaps there is a way out and it’s just around the corner, we just don’t see it. Perhaps the tough talk will have the desired effect. Perhaps the ghost of “run the table” can be reincarnated.
In which case it will be the few upbeat words from Sunday — “damn right”, indeed — and not the rest of Rodgers’ gloomy analysis, that we eventually remember.
