Packers last Super Bowl looks like a fluke

The release of Josh Sitton looks like another “play for the future” move, a common complaint about Ted Thompson, and perhaps a reason the Packers have just one Super Bowl appearance under him.

In the days following Super Bowl XLV, many looked at the Green Bay Packers’ surprising run to the title and wondered if this was the start of something special.

They won three straight road playoff games that year, had the 2nd-ranked defense, a young roster, and a Super Bowl MVP QB going into his prime.

With hindsight being 20/20, one starts to wonder if that magical run during the 2010 postseason was nothing more than a fluke where everything simply aligned for the Packers.

It’s not to say Green Bay hasn’t been one of the more consistently successful organizations, but outside of that jaunt to Super Bowl XLV, postseason failures have been more common than rare with Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers.

Minus the 2010 season, the Packers from 2008-2015 are left with…

3-6 playoff record
Three one-and-done appearances
2-2 at Lambeau Field
One NFC Championship game

You obviously can’t take away what they did in 2010; however, the Packers haven’t won more than one playoff game in any other season. That might indicate a bit of luck in collecting their last Lombardi Trophy.

The string of disappointments – which continued last season – began the year following Green Bay’s 13th NFL Championship.

That season (2011) appeared to be exactly what fans and experts believed it would be. With Rodgers on the way to his first of two MVP awards, the Packers were cruising through the schedule. As they whipped the Oakland Raiders 46-16 to move to 13-0, the hype was building.

Not only were the Packers three wins from a perfect regular season, but many were talking about this group being the next great dynasty. What wasn’t to like about the Packers?

Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

They seemingly overachieved the year before, and now had their core under control for a few more years with a QB who would set the single season passer rating record in 2011. His 122.5 rating remains the best of all time.

Green Bay finished the year 15-1 and everyone had them pegged for a return trip to the Super Bowl. That train ended quickly.

Much like with they did with Rodgers’ predecessor, the New York Giants put a huge wet blanket on the party. Four Packers’ turnovers, 330 passing yards from Eli Manning, and an underwhelming performance from Rodgers (78.5 rating) led to a stunning 37-20 home loss.

The next pair of seasons would end with one road loss and one home defeat at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers. Then in the 2014 postseason, after beating the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay coughed up a sure win in the NFC title game, falling to the Seattle Seahawks in overtime.

Bookending this stretch include road losses to the Arizona Cardinals, both on game-ending overtime touchdowns. As spoiled as Packers fans have been, they’ve also had their hearts ripped out on multiple occasions.

With four of their last six postseason defeats happening on the final play, you could argue they’ve had a good chance to win each time or that they don’t know how to close out these contests.

Either way, the results are the same.

“…as we distance ourselves more and more from that season, it looks increasingly like a true “fart in the wind…”

So why was 2010 so different, despite a 6-seed and 10-6 record? As is often the case, it came down to Green Bay getting the perfect mix of matchups and timing.

Actually, the Packers were rather fortunate to even reach the postseason that year. Imagine that? They needed to win the final two games of the regular season just to skate by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Giants to win on tiebreakers.

Their run almost never happened. It did, though, and it was set up perfectly.

The Wild Card game sent Green Bay to Philadelphia to take on the NFC East champs, the 10-6 Eagles. Not exactly daunting as Philly lost its final two games of the year – both at home – en route to a 4-4 record on their own turf.

It was a solid matchup for the Packers as the Eagles ranked 21st in points allowed and 29th in TD passes given up. You think that favored Rodgers and his 101.5 rating just a bit? Admittedly, Green Bay’s offense didn’t go off, but they did enough.

The Packers’ defense was up to the challenge, and when push came to shove, they got the turnover everyone was waiting for. Philly ranked 20th in turnover percentage and Michael Vick threw a poor pass in the end zone that was picked off to seal the deal.

This was actually the worst matchup for the Packers, and they survived.

Travelling to face the 13-3 Atlanta Falcons, you’d think a 6-seed would be a heavy underdog against the NFC’s top seed. That wasn’t the case as Las Vegas knew better, installing the Falcons as only a 1.5-point favorite.

First of all, Atlanta was 22nd in passing yards allowed and gave up 341 to the Packers in week 12. Rodgers and McCarthy knew how to torch the Falcons’ secondary.

More from Green Bay Packers

The second big edge Green Bay had was in the turnover department. Atlanta had the 3rd-worst turnover percentage and was up against the Packers’ defense, ranked 6th in that category. Sure enough, that would be a major key to the win.

Tramon Williams’ 70-yard interception for a touchdown gave Green Bay a 28-14 lead going into halftime, one of four Falcons’ turnovers on the day.

Meanwhile, Rodgers carved them up for 366 yards and three TDs on 31 of 36 passing.

Once again, the matchup was a plus for the Packers and they took full advantage. That moved them into the NFC Championship game where once again things were looking good.

The Packers were squaring off against the rival Chicago Bears, who only had to defeat the 7-9 Seahawks to get there. Seattle had knocked off what would’ve been the toughest matchup for Green Bay, the defending World Champion New Orleans Saints.

As for the Bears, their offense was dreadful: 30th in yards, 21st in points and 21st in total turnovers behind the wildly inconsistent Jay Cutler (who is now 2-11 versus the Packers).

Defensively, though 4th in points, Chicago struggled to slow down the passing game. The Bears were just 20th in passing yards allowed and gave up over 300 yards in the air at home against the Packers in their earlier tilt.

The Packers shut down the Bears in the first half, then had the pleasure of facing backup QB Caleb Hanie for nearly the entire 2nd half when Cutler left with an injury. Talk about a trip to the Super Bowl landing in your lap.

Green Bay picked off three passes with B.J. Raji taking one to the house to give the Packers a 21-7 lead with just six minutes left. Hanie would drive to the Packers’ 29 with under a minute to play, but predictably threw another interception to seal the ball game.

Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

If we’re being fair, everything broke the right way for the Packers during that playoff run. Give them credit for taking full advantage of the opportunity – including finishing the deal in the Super Bowl.

However, as we distance ourselves more and more from that season, it looks increasingly like a true “fart in the wind” as former GM Ron Wolf puts it.

Of course, his ’90s Packers played in three straight NFC title games and back-to-back Super Bowls.

This group? Well, the window might be closing on what’s been a great ride, but one lacking the elite feel of past champions.

Home/Green Bay Packers