It could be time to Pack it in
Team needs miracle finish to have shot at making playoffs
MINNEAPOLIS — This is an obituary of the 2018 Green Bay Packers.
They’re not officially out of the NFL playoff race, of course. They could win their last five games, get a lot of help and sneak into the playoffs at 9-6-1.
But realistically, the Packers’ playoff hopes are pretty much dead after the Vikings won 24-17 at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday night in what felt like a must-win game for the visitors.
The Packers simply have too many teams in front of them to think 9-6-1 has much chance of getting them in. But more importantly, there’s the little matter of actually winning five straight. Even with a favorable schedule, does anyone think the Packers’ punchless offense can put up enough points to beat one of the NFL’s best defensive teams, the Bears, on the road in three weeks?
You got the feeling that even Aaron Rodgers started realizing how improbable it sounded as he started ticking through the Packers’ remaining games.
“We’re 0-6 on the road,” he said. “So we just gotta go back home, get some rest, beat Arizona, and then come back and beat Atlanta. Then go to Chicago, a place we’ve won a number of times, beat them. Go to New York [Jets] around Christmas, beat them. And then come home against Detroit, beat them.”
But this was the one they needed to start the run, and you can be sure they knew it going in. You could tell that by the way injured players kept going back in the game. You can’t say they gave up.
But no matter. It now looks like the Packers are going to miss out on the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since Mike McCarthy became coach in 2006. The Packers just don’t have the offense to do it, which is a stunning realization when they have a two-time MVP at quarterback. Their 254 yards in total offense Sunday is a pittance in today’s NFL. They should be putting that up in a good half.
The disconnect between Rodgers and McCarthy is too great, and short of a miracle finish, it’s hard to see how McCarthy survives this. Rodgers (94.0 rating) isn’t playing well, even now that he’s healthy, and that’s at the root of what has ailed this team all year.
“Between these guys being professional athletes and someone as elite as Aaron, I mean, it’s all correctable,” McCarthy said, defending his quarterback. “But it starts, [pass] protection, all of ... it could be all those things.”
For the two NFC wild-card spots, the Packers are looking up at five teams: the Vikings, Panthers (6-5), Seahawks (6-5), either the Cowboys or Redskins and the Eagles (5-6).
Could four of them get to seven losses, which would mean 9-6-1 would get the Packers in? It’s conceivable.
But what are the odds of that happening, plus the Packers winning their last five? Remote at best.
“I’ve got a lot more gray in the beard than I did a few years ago,” Rodgers said. “So I know that football mortality catches up to everybody, and you never want to lose a season. Especially when you felt great starting the season about our prospects. But we’re going to battle the next five weeks and put ourselves in a position to be in the conversation.”
That must have been McCarthy’s message to his team after the game, because players were on point in saying the goal now is to win five straight.
The math says this team still has a chance. But your eyes tell you it doesn’t.