Green Bay Packers: Top Teams since 1992: No. 5 -2014 Green Bay Packers

I continue to rank the best Green Bay Packers’ teams since 1992. Here is the fifth-best team-the 2014 Packers.

Win all your home games. Split the road games. It was a mantra that Mike McCarthy instilled in all of his teams. The 2014 Green Bay Packers were the team that embodied that the best. The Packers went 8-0 at home and were absolutely dominant against their competition. They scored 50 points twice. 40 points two other times. The least amount of points they scored at home were 26 against the eventual world champion New England Patriots. They won an iconic playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys, before ultimately unraveling in Seattle the following week in arguably the most painful loss in the history of the franchise.

Key players

Aaron Rodgers: The second of Rodgers’ two MVP seasons. He finished the year with 38 touchdowns and five interceptions. He had a passer rating of 112.5. He was brilliant at the beginning of the game, and the end of the game. He led comeback drives. He answered his critics. It was easily his best season since 2011. It seemed like every home game had a signature highlight of the shot play. Rodgers was brilliant both in and out of the pocket. He was able to adapt his game once he injured his calf, limiting his mobility.

Jordy Nelson/Randall Cobb: The dynamic duo both went over 1,000 yards receiving. It was the best season of both of their careers. They gave the Packers a perfect blend of someone that could take the top off the defense (Nelson) and someone that shredded defenses underneath (Cobb). Nelson finished the year with 1500 yards and 13 touchdowns. Cobb had just under 1300 yards and 12 touchdowns. It was the best season by a receiving tandem perhaps in the history of the team.

Clay Matthews: Matthews finished the year with 11 sacks, which was a good year for him. He makes this list, however, because of how he transformed the defense in the middle of the season. After the Packers’ bye week, Matthews moved inside where the Packers had little to no depth. They had good enough players to withstand his absence on the outside. His speed and playmaking ability in the middle of the defense was a game changer. The run defense improved with him in the middle. Perhaps more importantly, Matthews was able to stay healthy as well. He helped shift the defense toward as close to championship caliber as they had been since 2010 when they brought home the Lombardi Trophy.

Eddie Lacy: Lacy gave the Packers a balance they hadn’t had since Ryan Grant was running behind Brett Favre in 2007. Lacy was as talented as any back the Packers had. He gave a team with a reputation of being “soft” a bruiser in the backfield. He ran for more than 1100 yards and nine touchdowns. Lacy looked to be a cornerstone of the offense for years to come. Ultimately, it did not pan out that way, but his contribution to the 2014 offense cannot be understated.

Julius Peppers: One of the best players in the history of the NFL. That’s not an exaggeration. Peppers was one of the few marquee free agent signings Ted Thompson made while he was the General Manager. Peppers did not disappoint in his first season. He finished the year with seven sacks and two interceptions. He returned both interceptions for touchdowns. He also doubled as a tight end for one play in New Orleans, but we don’t need to talk too much about that. He brought veteran leadership, and the locker room loved him. Peppers was also dominant in the team’s biggest games. He forced a fumble that turned the tide against Dallas. He also was a terror to Russell Wilson in the NFC Championship Game one week later. It remains a huge disappointment that the Packers were unable to get this man a Super Bowl ring.

Highlights: Any time the Packers played at home, it was a highlight. A 21-3 comeback in the first game of the season sparked the team to a dominant 8-0 home slate. The biggest highlight of that home slate, however, was beating the New England Patriots in a classic game. Rodgers, Matthews, Belichick, Brady, Revis, Nelson, Cobb, Gronkowski. There were so many great players on the field that day. There should have been a rematch in February, but the Packers were unable to hold up their end of the bargain. A highlight on the road came when the Packers traveled to Miami. Trailing 24-20 late in the game, Rodgers got the ball back with a chance to win. He completed a big 4th and 10 pass to Jordy Nelson to keep the drive alive. Later, Rodgers would fake a spike to Davante Adams before throwing a bullet to Andrew Quarless in the end zone to win the game. Rodgers copied Marino in Marino’s house.

The last game of the regular season was a highlight as well. The Packers needed to win to secure a first-round bye. Rodgers left the game after throwing a touchdown pass to give the team a 14-0 lead. Without Rodgers, the Packers imploded, and the Lions tied the game. Rodgers emerged from the tunnel early in the third quarter. Fans went wild as the Packers were lining up to punt. The sideline figured out that Rodgers was coming back. The Packers would go on to win and earn that bye.

Two weeks later, they faced the Dallas Cowboys. A game that will forever be defined by three words. What those three words are depend on which fan base you ask.

While the majority of the attention goes to the catch/no catch the game was truly a classic. The Packers trailed 21-13 late before Rodgers went to work. He hit Davante Adams on 3rd and 15 to get the score to 21-20. Adams made a nifty move in the open field that has become the norm now, but was not at the time.

The next possession, Rodgers hobbled to his left twice and threw a laser to Richard Rodgers in the back of the end zone.

The Packers would pick up two first downs after Dez Bryant’s reception was ruled incomplete, including a diving catch by Randall Cobb. Cobb would get up and fire the ball through the back of the end zone. When everything was all said and done, the Packers had won 26-21, giving them a date in Seattle.

Lowlights: Getting beat in Detroit to drop the team to 1-2 early in the year caused some panic around the city of Green Bay. Of course, Rodgers said R-E-L-A-X on his radio show two days later and we all know what happened from there. They were blown out in the Superdome in a game that continues to not make sense. The Saints were not good that year. They weren’t an unstoppable force inside the Superdome that they typically have been either. The two biggest lowlights are connected. A loss against Buffalo, a team they easily should have beaten led to the NFC Championship Game being held in Seattle. Had the Packers won that game, they would have finished 13-3, and gotten the Seahawks at Lambeau. It was a stadium they were unbeatable in that season. Instead, they went to Seattle, and we all know what happened there.

Why didn’t they win a championship?: I think everybody knows. We don’t have to re-live it here.