In what was supposed to be a rebuilding season, the Green Bay Packers, led by first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love, have clinched a wild card spot and the seventh seed in the NFC Playoffs.
Coming into the season, it seemed fairly unlikely that this iteration of the Green Bay Packers would be able to come anywhere close to sniffing a playoff spot. With a core of a first-year starting quarterback, a wide receiver room where no player had more than one year experience and a defense that had a lot to prove, Green Bay was able to win when it mattered, including wins against the Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears.
How was that possible though? While a lot of credit has to go to the development and improvement of Love as a passer, there was also the emergence of players like Jayden Reed, Bo Melton, Devonte Wyatt and Isaiah McDuffie. There were no Pro Bowl selections for the Packers this year, meaning that there was not one player who was dominant. It was a team effort and the belief from the players, coaches and front office that the playoffs were an actual possibility.
“You guys see it every week. He has stepped up when his number has been called, and that is really all you can do in that position,” said Love, on the improved play from Melton. “I think he has been making some huge plays for us over the last couple of weeks and just stepped up into a role that we needed him to step into.”
That comment about Melton from Love can probably translate to a variety of players. That idea of just being ready when their number is called has done wonders for this team, and Melton’s success has sort of become a microcosm for where this Packers team is at.
With how young the team was, the beginning of the season, and even into the middle of the season, was tumultuous.
There was a few game stretch where the Packers lost games on last play interceptions. There were games where the team couldn’t complete a pass to the middle of the field. There were games where the defense looked like it didn’t belong in the NFL.
But through all of that, no one faltered, and no one gave up on the season, leading to an improbable run to the playoffs.
“I think (the season) is rewarding in the fact that everyone counted us out,” said Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. “We were struggling and we held it all together, and to get here was special. Our last regular season game at home, to have that kind of environment – a lot of times during the national anthem, you just kind of look around and say, ‘Wow, this is really special.’”
With that being said, there is still a lot of football yet to be played for the Green Bay Packers. That comes this weekend when the team has to travel to Dallas to face a familiar face in Mike McCarthy.
The Cowboys have shown that they are one of the better teams in the NFL all season, but there is no reason why Green Bay can’t win this game. Like the Kansas City Chiefs game, or the Detroit Lions game, Green Bay is going to be the underdog, but to beat Dallas, it has to keep that mentality of playing as a team and having everyone buy into what LaFleur and his staff are selling.
The playoffs are almost like a reset on the season. No matter how good or bad a team played throughout the season, it sits atop the 14 best teams in the NFL. The Packers are just that – a top-14 team in the NFL.
While it may be on the bottom end of that top 14, it is not a guarantee that the lowest seed in the NFL doesn’t win a Super Bowl. Look at Green Bay’s most recent Super Bowl victory. It came in as a six-seed and won three games on the road en route to beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl.
Now, obviously, this team is much different than that 2011 team, but just as everyone counted that year’s team out, everyone was counting this team out.
“It was tough – a 2-5 start – but the main thing that we did was stick together,” said Love. “Everybody came into the building finding ways to try and get better, improve themselves and make the team better, so it has obviously been a process for us. It hasn’t been easy. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but we stuck together, were able to get on a win streak and put ourselves into this position, so credit to everyone in the locker room.”
Once again, that all starts this weekend with the Dallas Cowboys.
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