The Green Bay Packers are halfway through running the table after yesterday’s 38-10 destruction of the Seattle Seahawks. The Packers are all of a sudden a team nobody wants in the playoffs. Getting there will be tough and the Packers do not control their fate, but they are taking care of what they can and that is winning games.
The Packers dominated from the third play when Aaron Rodgers hit Davante Adams for a 66-yard touchdown pass, but the Packers’ defense was the real star of the show, forcing six Seattle turnovers. I have to say I could never have imagined the Packers’ defense playing like this after it struggled so badly during the Packers four game losing streak. It’s remarkable and it also has to continue.
While things may look all rosy at the moment, there is a dark cloud hanging over the team. The declining health of Rodgers has to be of utmost concern. Rodgers added a right calf injury to his left hamstring injury early in the game and was unable to finish. Maybe if it was a close game he could have stayed in but he was clearly hurting when he came out. The Packers better get Brett Hundley up to speed in a hurry.
The Packers face the Bears next week in Chicago and the Bears have been playing inspired football the last few weeks and would love to knock the Packers out of the playoffs. I think the Packers could win the game with Hundley at quarterback but don’t have anything to base that on other than his preseason play and head coach Mike McCarthy’s ability to adjust his offense this season to deal with the loss of his running game and the health of his quarterback. Hope we don’t have to find out.
The return of Damarious Randall appears to have settled down the secondary and has helped all of the members play better. Somehow the Packers have had this resurgence despite battling a rash of injuries at linebacker. Clay Matthews hasn’t been right in weeks, Jake Ryan is still banged up, Blake Martinez is out, so it’s amazing what Dom Capers has been able to do with that unit. Makes you wonder why he can’t do it all the time when everybody is healthy.
This could be another bad weather game as the early predictions are for snow in the Chicago Saturday, then a high of 3 on Sunday, either way not good for the ailing Rodgers. Hopefully a week of treatment on both injuries will be enough to get him through. He’s playing his best football in two years and the Packers are trying to make in improbable run to the playoffs. It will be storybook stuff if they get it done.