Can Packers run the table like in 2016? It seems much less plausible this time. | Opinion
LANDOVER, Maryland – In November 2016, the Green Bay Packers left FedEx Field with a four-game losing streak, stuck at 4-6 and seemingly headed nowhere.
The following Wednesday, Aaron Rodgers made his famous "run the table" prediction, then went out and carried the Packers to eight straight wins and an appearance in the NFC championship game.
If that run seemed unlikely at the time, it at least was plausible with Rodgers at age 32 and with Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams on the roster, and talented tight end Jared Cook about to return from an injury.
But is it plausible that this team, with Rodgers now 38 and the Packers offense a slow-moving disaster, can likewise turn things around after losing for a third straight game Sunday, to a backup quarterback (Taylor Heinicke), even if it has more time to do it?
If you’re taking odds, they’re a lot longer than they were in ’16. Even if Rodgers defiantly said otherwise after the game.
"I’m not worried about this squad," Rodgers said. "In fact, this might be the best thing for us. This week, nobody’s going to give us a chance, going to Buffalo on ‘Sunday Night Football,’ with a chance to get exposed."
As 2016 showed, it’s a risky bet to write off Rodgers in the regular season. He’s failed to make the playoffs only twice in the 13 seasons he’s started at least nine games, and one of those two was his first season as the Packers quarterback.
Packers offense, Aaron Rodgers getting worse as the 2022 season progresses
But this feels different. This offense has shown next to nothing in the first third of the season, and it’s been getting worse recently. It went scoreless in the second half against the Giants two weeks ago, put up only 10 points against the Jets last week, and scored but 14 points Sunday (De’Vondre Campbell’s interception return was the Packers’ other touchdown).
Rodgers isn’t playing anything like the back-to-back MVP – with a 99.0 rating this week, this was his fourth straight game under 100 – and the players around him other than Aaron Jones (76 yards and two touchdowns on 17 touches) surely didn’t do anything to help him in this one.
Washington shut down the Packers (232 yards total offense) and very well might not have blitzed all day. That says they didn’t fear Rodgers enough to heat him up, and they didn’t think any of his receivers could get open against seven-man coverages.
"I don’t know what that tells us," coach Matt LaFleur said of the no-blitz Washington game plan. "No, they didn’t (blitz). They played soft and were going to try to let us dink and dunk down the field. There was a lot of two-shell, playing soft, and we still couldn’t move the football. Whatever we’re doing offensively, it’s not good enough."
Said Rodgers of the no blitz: "I think you know what it tells you. They didn't need to. That's what they thought. They thought their rush could get home and they could cover it up on the back end.”
Rodgers missed multiple throws Sunday and his receivers didn't help him out, either
If you’re looking for a catalogue of Packers’ mistakes, Rodgers on Sunday missed at least three key throws: An off-target swing pass that forced Jones to make an acrobatic catch and cost him a good shot at converting a third down in the first quarter; a short throw at Romeo Doubs’ toes that would have converted a third down in the third quarter; and a deep shot to Sammy Watkins that was so badly overthrown officials picked up a flag for pass interference because they deemed the throw uncatchable.
But Rodgers’ targets had a horrible day with at least six drops – two by Doubs, one each by Jones, AJ Dillon, Allen Lazard and Amari Rodgers on what should have been a big play in the fourth quarter.
What’s clear either way is the Packers’ offense has almost nothing going for it. In the past, the team always could rely on Rodgers’ playmaking outside the pocket to carry things. He was as good as the NFL has ever seen at escaping and making tough, pinpoint throws on the run.
This season he’s still had a few moments doing that, like in the hurry-up drive in the fourth quarter Sunday. But the question is, is he still mobile enough at 38 to carry the team playing that way? Can he still escape rushers well enough to make his living out there? From what we’ve seen this season, that's asking a lot from his 38-year-old legs, but it might be the last resort.
"I might need to do that a little bit more," Rodgers said. "I kind of had a mindset to maybe look to do that a little bit more. Didn’t do it enough today. But it was a lot of two-shell, we didn’t run the ball particularly well, didn’t catch it particularly well and I didn’t really move a whole lot to extend plays until that last drive."
Packers schedule gets tougher beginning with a game against the Bills
If you thought the Packers were in real trouble last week after their home loss to the Jets, well, their season is on life support after this one. Next up is a tough game at one of this year’s Super Bowl favorites, Buffalo. A loss there and they’ll be 3-5.
Among other things, if general manager Brian Gutekunst thinks this season is salvageable, it’s hard to see how he doesn’t go get a receiver or tight end by the Nov. 1 trade deadline. The Packers just don’t have enough juice on that side of the ball, and it’s not like Randall Cobb’s return from an ankle injury in a month or so is going to turn things around.
So Gutekunst will have to find a way to bring in someone who’s made his share of plays in the league and maybe give Rodgers a boost similar to what Cook provided in ’16.
But there’s also the chance that one receiver, even a pretty good one, won’t be enough to turn around this team.