Packers, Aaron Rodgers look for title after tumultuous offseason
Two straight 13-3 finishes have helped put the Green Bay Packers in the NFC title game. Are they finally ready to get back to the Super Bowl?
Best-case scenario
This past season, Matt LaFleur’s squad led the NFL in scoring with 509 points. The Packers’ offensive unit reached the end zone 64 times. Green Bay also put 32 and 26 points on the board vs. the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively, in the playoffs. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was named NFL MVP for the third time thanks to 48 touchdown passes while serving up only five interceptions.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Pack were guilty of an NFL-low 11 turnovers in 2020. Obviously the best case scenario would be for this offense to perform just as efficiently or even better – a tall task indeed.
Worst-case scenario
During the franchise’s last Super Bowl appearance in 2010, the Packers’ defense gave up its share of yards. But this was an opportunistic group, especially during the team’s four-game postseason run. Green Bay forced a combined 11 turnovers vs. the Eagles, Falcons, Bears and Steelers. That included returning three interceptions for scores.
The Pack’s biggest issue in recent years when it comes to this side of the football is an inconsistent run defense that a year ago was improved from 2019. But the club allowed 112.8 yards per game on the ground and were gashed for at least 120 rushing yards seven times in 16 contests. If that doesn’t improve, Aaron Rodgers and company won’t be spending a lot of time on the field.
X-factor
As previously mentioned, the team has a new defensive coordinator in Joe Barry, who hopes to turn around a team that has been somewhat mediocre on this side of the ball for far too long. But one thing that could help Green Bay’s issues, especially when it comes to stopping the run, is their own version of power football as well.
Second-year running back A.J. Dillon might be able to not only take some snaps from versatile Aaron Jones late in games but the 6’0”, 247-pound performer could also wear down some opposing defenses late in games. He ran 42 times for 242 yards and two scores in 11 regular-season outings but totaled only nine carries in the playoff split with the Rams and Buccaneers.
Biggest game – Week 3 at San Francisco
It’s will be a short week for Matt LaFleur’s club as the team comes off a Monday night home tilt with the Lions. But it figures to be a solid test for the defending NFC North champions, especially when it comes to a Niners’ pass rush that should be bolstered by the return of Nick Bosa.
It is also the middle of a stretch in which the Packers open the season with four road games in six weeks. The year kicks off at New Orleans and after a home game vs. Pittsburgh, Green Bay heads to Cincinnati and to Chicago in Week 5 and 6, respectively.
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Bold prediction
The last time quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw at least 10 interceptions in a season was back in 2010. That season, he totaled 28 scores through the air but was picked off 11 times in 15 regular-season outings. But in four postseason games that year, including Super Bowl XLV, he threw nine TD passes and only a pair of picks – both of those coming in the NFC title game win at Chicago.
Rodgers enters his 17th NFL campaign with 412 touchdown passes and just 89 interceptions in 197 regular-season contests. It says here he throws for a least 35 scores and will be picked off exactly 10 times. And the majority of those will come in the first half of the season.