Packers need balanced attack if they want to get over the hump

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a million times, “The Green Bay Packers only have two Super Bowl victories in three plus decades of Hall of Fame quarterback play by Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.” This sentiment has sparked a plethora of arguments between fan bases and is seemingly always ongoing.

The fact Green Bay “only” has two Super Bowl wins in the modern era isn’t lost on Packers’ fans, but it demonstrates the difficulties of winning it all in the NFL.

Specifically during the Rodgers’ era, the Packers have suffered from a lack of elite teams. Yes, they’ve had elite quarterback play with Rodgers being the gold standard at his position for over a decade. However, he can’t do it alone in this team sport.

If the Green Bay Packers want to finally get over the NFC Championship hump, they must get positive contributions from all three units.

Take the last two NFC Championship losses for example. Green Bay’s defense couldn’t stop any part of the San Francisco 49ers’ rushing attack in 2020, as they racked up 285 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on their way to a 37-20 victory that wasn’t as nearly as close as the score made it seem. Everybody watching the game knew the 49ers were going to continue rushing the ball, yet Green Bay couldn’t stop them.

The defense was scorched in last year’s Championship game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well. They gave up 21 first-half points that allowed the Bucs to control the game on their way to a 31-26 victory.

Those two games are indicative of how Green Bay has fared throughout Rodgers’ tenure. The defense has failed to live up to their end of the bargain and has placed a far-too heavy burden on their MVP quarterback.

That can’t be the case this year if the Packers want to avoid repeating history.

The defense has shown some flashes of being good enough to win it all. They had a stretch in the middle of the season where they held the Chicago Bears to 14 points, the Washington Football team to 10, the Kansas City Chiefs to 13 and shut out the Seattle Seahawks.

Unfortunately, they have reverted back to their typical selves over the final seven games of the season when they gave up 28 or more points in five of those games. They hope the return of guys like Za’Darius Smith and Jaire Alexander will help get them back to their mid-season form, but there are plenty of reasons for pessimism.

Rodgers can’t do it all and god knows the special teams unit isn’t going to get any better at this point in the season. The only hope is that the defense carries their weight and doesn’t get lit up like a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving.