Packers face daunting task in stacked NFC

The Green Bay Packers looked like one of the strongest teams in football through the early portion of October. Over the first six games of the year, Green Bay was 5-1 and leading the NFC North.

Then, in Week 7, All-Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers rolled out to his right and took a wicked shot at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Minnesota Vikings, courtesy of outside linebacker Anthony Barr. Rodgers can crashing down on his throwing shoulder and an in instant, everything was changed. Rodgers broke his collarbone for the second time in his career and was placed on Injured Reserve.

Since then, the Packers are 1-5 and fading out of contention. At 5-6, Green Bay has to win all of its remaining games to have any hope of making the postseason. Otherwise, the Packers will be watching the playoffs with the rest of us. Wondering what could have been if their future Hall of Famer stayed healthy.

Outside linebacker Clay Matthews Jr. isn’t happy with the decision made by the club to put Rodgers on IR. He believes he might not have had to sit out the mandatory eight weeks otherwise. Per NFL.com:

“This past week, being a part of that rehab group, to watch Aaron, what he’s been doing in there, I think we probably should have kept him off IR,” Matthews told Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “The way he’s coming along, some of the balls he’s throwing, accuracy-wise, everything a quarterback has to do, is pretty remarkable.

“So, it would be really neat to see him out there, but unfortunately, he’ll have to wait two weeks prior to coming back.”

Rodgers is eligible to come back and play the final three games of the season. So, he could face the Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions and Vikings. With Rodgers under center, all three could be wins. Especially with Detroit and Minnesota having to travel to Lambeau Field for the game.

Postseason

If backup quarterback Brett Hundley can find a way to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cleveland Browns over the next two weeks, Green Bay will at least have a puncher’s chance. Should there be another stumble in either game, the Packers will be all but mathematically eliminated from contention in the loaded NFC.

All that said, a word of caution for the rest of the league. If Green Bay can find a way to get into the postseason, it would be one of the more dangerous wild card teams in NFL history with a rested MVP quarterback and a team loaded for bear.