Missed throws by Aaron Rodgers doom the Packers late

Very rarely in football is there ever one reason that solely determines the outcome of a game. And that holds true for the Green Bay Packers following their loss to Tennessee.

The run game couldn’t get going, and the secondary was picked apart by Ryan Tannehill and Treylon Burks, among other issues. However, if there was any hope of pulling off another fourth-quarter comeback, those hopes were quickly vanquished by the arm of Aaron Rodgers.

Hindsight being 20/20 as it always is, there were a lot of things that were going to need to go right for this Packers offense in an effort to remain a Super Bowl contender. One of those things was Aaron Rodgers playing close to an MVP level again in order to elevate the rest of this unit. But that hasn’t happened–or at least not with any regularity.

The closest thing to that this season happened just a few days ago against Dallas, where Rodgers was surgical off play-action and took advantage of clean pockets provided by the offensive line when he completed 14 of 20 passes but at an impressive 11.2 yards per attempt with three touchdowns.

Thursday night’s game against Tennessee started off with some very nice tight window throws from Rodgers and a vintage free-play touchdown pass to Christian Watson. However, in the fourth quarter, when the defense was finally able to generate a few stops, the Packers’ offense was unable to take advantage of those opportunities, which included an interception from Rasul Douglas and a punt return from Keisean Nixon that gave Green Bay terrific field position.

With just under 10 minutes left in the game and the Packers facing third and 12, Rodgers missed Sammy Watkins wide open over the middle of the field.

"“I just missed the throw,” said Rodgers after the game."

Then on the next possession, Green Bay faced another third down, this time with only three yards to gain, and Rodgers missed Allen Lazard on a high pass. Perhaps it’s a play that Lazard should have made, but without a doubt, Rodgers should have thrown a better ball.

"“I couldn’t see exactly where the ball was, had some people in my face, but felt like I probably should have hit that one,” said Rodgers in reference to his pass attempt to Lazard. “Gotta throw a better ball.”"

In addition to the inaccurate passes, Rodgers took a critical sack with 3:24 left in the game on second and seven that resulted in a 12-yard loss. Following the game, Rodgers said he was looking for Cobb down the field, but Cobb was “blindsided” as he was about to throw the ball. Then buying time, Rodgers said he never saw the Titans’ defender.

This fourth-quarter performance is coming just two weeks after Rodgers couldn’t come through against the Detroit Lions, throwing three interceptions, two of which occurred in the red zone with the third just outside, in what was his worst performance of the season.

Ultimately, Green Bay needed their passing game to get them back into this game, but they couldn’t come through. On their final four drives, Rodgers was just 8-of-16 for 60 yards.

Despite going up against a very good Tennessee pass rush, the Green Bay offensive line held their own and gave Rodgers time for the most part–so it’s not as if we can blame pressure for these inaccurate throws. Rodgers would also mention that his thumb is the same as it has been for the last month. Truthfully, Rodgers wasn’t sure what went wrong.

"“I couldn’t tell you or point to one thing,” said Rodgers postgame. “I’m not going to make excuses about my thumb; it’s been the same since New York. I have to go back and look at it. I feel like, fundamentally, I was in a good spot, but I just didn’t have the same type of consistent grip and the ball coming out the same way. I through a lot of wobblers tonight. Just missed a few throws I should have had. Definitely the one to Sammy and the one to Allen for sure.”"

Who knows, maybe in an alternate universe where Rodgers completes both of those passes, the Packers still lose. In fact, that is still probably the most likely outcome. But for a team with so little margin for error, of all players, the Packers need their back-to-back MVP to take advantage of breakdowns in the defense.

At 4-7, while not mathematically eliminated, the Green Bay Packers’ playoff hopes were dashed on Thursday nights in that fourth quarter as well. If they win out, 10-7 wouldn’t guarantee a playoff spot but would give them a fighting chance, although there is nothing that we’ve seen from this team to suggest that they can do that.

In all three phases of the game, the Packers have battled inconsistently this season. This includes quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whose performance in the final 15 minutes doomed any potential comeback.