Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
Good, bad and ugly from Packers’ 2021 season
The Green Bay Packers finished 13-4, won the NFC North title and were the No. 1 seed entering the NFC playoffs, but Matt LaFleur’s team won’t be playing in Super Bowl LVI after a stunning 13-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round left them well short of the ultimate goal.
A highly entertaining and dramatic season filled with ups and downs and controversy and Super Bowl aspirations came crashing down in one disappointing performance.
Aaron Rodgers produced another MVP-caliber season, but the year still finished in familiar fashion, leaving all parties to wonder if the Packers will ever have another chance as good as the one squandered this season.
Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from the Packers’ 2021 season:
THE GOOD
De’Vondre Campbell and Rasul Douglas: The Packers signed Campbell to a $2 million deal in June and plucked Douglas off the Cardinals’ practice squad in October. The two eventually played huge roles in the Packers’ 13-win season. Campbell was a first-team All-Pro at linebacker, the team’s first selection at the position (inside linebacker) since 1966. He made big play after big play, especially early in the season, and was rock solid throughout the year as the athletic, do-it-all linebacker the Packers have lacked for years. Douglas led the team with five interceptions and made gamechanging plays in at least four different wins, including a win-sealing pick of Kyler Murray in Arizona, two pick-sixes and a two-interception performance against Baker Mayfield.
Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams: The connection might have fizzled late in the divisional-round loss, but there’s no doubt Rodgers and Adams were once again incredible in 2021. Adams caught 123 passes for 1,553 yards, both team records. Rodgers tossed 11 touchdown passes to Adams and had a passer rating of 123.9 when targeting his first-team AllPro
receiver. The special moments were numerous. Given 37 seconds in San Francisco, the pair connected twice for 42 yards to set up the game-winning field goal. Rodgers, who threw 37 touchdown passes and just four interceptions, is the likely NFL MVP again.
Rashan Gary’s ascendence: In his third season, Gary took a giant step in his development and emerged as a legitimate game-changer. He produced 86 total pressures, 31 quarterback hits and 111⁄2 sacks in 17 games, including the playoffs. An efficient and disruptive part-time player behind Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith last season, Gary took over a
full-time role after Za’Darius Smith’s injury and became one of the NFL’s most disruptive players on a per-snap basis. Still only 24 years old, Gary could be one of the game’s best defensive players for a long time.
Running back duo: Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon proved to be one of the NFL’s best tandems in the backfield. Together, the pair created 2,306 total yards and 17 total touchdowns. Dillon led the way in rushing (803), while Jones scored 10 total touchdowns and went over 1,000 total yards for the third straight season. Dillon’s physical style and underrated receiving ability meshed perfectly with
Jones, the home-run hitter with toughness and do-it-all talent. Both backs gained over 1,000 total yards.
Eric Stokes: The rookie first-round pick was fantastic. He forced his way onto the field early in the year and eventually took over No. 1 cornerback duties when Jaire Alexander went down. He only intercepted one pass, but opposing quarterbacks had a lot of problems finding completions against his coverage. By almost any measure, he was one of the NFL’s best defensive rookies this year. Stokes and Alexander could be a top cornerback duo for years to come.
Turnovers: The Packers turned the ball over only 13 times, tied for first in the NFL. The 37 turnovers over the last three seasons are tied for the fewest during a three-year stretch in league history. Rodgers threw only four picks, and the Packers fumbled the ball away only six times (tied for the fewest in team history). During the regular season, the Packers were 11-0 when getting at least one takeaway.
THE BAD
Another playoff exit: The Packers won an NFL-high 39 regular-season games and three NFC North titles and earned a first-round bye in the playoffs during each of the last three seasons, but this team failed to get back to the Super Bowl despite several great chances. This team did so much right for so long but has nothing to show for it except two failed trips to the NFC title game and another divisional round flame out as the No. 1 seed. After two years of building up the roster and culture and battling through all kinds of adversity, the Packers finally looked ready to get over the hump and march through the NFC to the Super Bowl in 2021. But football is the ultimate team game, and a single-elimination playoff structure means one poor performance or one missed opportunity can end even the most special seasons in the blink of an eye. The Packers are all too familiar. Now, in the aftermath of another failure, it’s fair to wonder if this collection of players, led by Aaron Rodgers,
will ever play in a Super Bowl. Two terrific opportunities – with homefield advantage as the top seed – were thrown away by uncharacteristic performances on the biggest stage. The Packers were wildly successful during the first three seasons under Matt LaFleur, but these missed chances may always haunt the franchise.
Injuries: David Bakhtiari’s recovery from knee surgery might have cost the Packers two Super Bowl runs. Jaire Alexander and Za’Darius Smith missed most of the season. Robert Tonyan and Elgton Jenkins both suffered significant season-ending knee injuries. Randall Cobb, Whitney Mercilus, Josh Myers and Marquez Valdes-Scantling all spent time on injured reserve. Time and time again, the Packers had to overcome injury adversity. Incredibly, their season ended with the team nearing full strength and several key players back in action.
THE UGLY
The special teams: Nothing else comes close. The Packers special teams, in the group’s first year under
coordinator Maurice Drayton, produced a litany of mistakes, dropped to last place in Rick Gosselin’s special teams rankings and then created a season-ending calamity in the divisional round. Before having a field goal and punt blocked against the 49ers, the Packers missed nine field goals (two blocked), gave up a punt return for a touchdown and had two giveaways. The Packers were among the worst in the NFL at both returning punts and kicks and covering punts and kicks. Drayton’s group directly contributed to a loss in Kansas City, nearly created a home loss to the Bears and then ended the season with a meltdown performance. With even average special teams, the Packers might still be playing. The Packers need a new vision and a new commitment to the third phase. Special teams have been the turd in this organization’s punch bowl for too long.
Week 1: It’s still hard to fathom how the Packers went down to Jacksonville in Week 1 and lost 38-3 to the Saints. To the team’s credit, the performance proved to be nothing more than a blip on the radar. The Packers lost four other games in 2021 (including the playoffs) by a combined 19 points.