Relaxed Aaron Rodgers, Packers Look Again Like Legitimate Contenders in the NFC

Down seven points and facing a critical fourth down, Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy chose to take the points and kick a short field goal—banking on his injury-riddled defense to provide his relaxed quarterback one final shot to beat the Miami Dolphins under the searing Florida sun. 

The serene decision couldn't have worked out any better, as Mason Crosby made his kick, the Packers defense provided a stop and Aaron Rodgers—who just three short weeks ago preached a needed sense of calm—marched the timeout-lacking offense 60 yards in just over two minutes to stun the Dolphins, 27-24. 

The Packers, now 4-2 and winners of three straight, find themselves right back in the mix among the muddied group of NFC contenders. 

Both McCarthy's late decision and Green Bay's final drive stuck to the script Rodgers delivered on his weekly 540 ESPN radio show after the Packers' 1-2 start: R-E-L-A-X.

"The last two series really signifies what we're all about, and that's grit," McCarthy said after the game. "Defensively, making the stop. And Aaron Rodgers and our offense, in the two-minute drive, were excellent."

Sensing his own ailing, struggling defense, McCarthy could have easily panicked and went for it all on fourth down with just over four minutes to play. Instead, he stayed the course, taking the three points and trusting defensive coordinator Dom Capers' hurting unit to get the football back to the offense. 

Despite allowing two first downs, the Packers defense—which, by late in the game, was missing a number of starters—eventually put the ball back in No. 12's hands with 2:04 remaining. 

Rodgers had ample opportunities to panic on the final drive. He continued to face the same kind of unrelenting pressure he had all afternoon. But under that suffocating duress, Rodgers was still able to find receiver Jordy Nelson for 18 yards on 4th-and-10, rookie Davante Adams for 12 yards after faking a spike and tight end Andrew Quarless for a four-yard touchdown with just three seconds left on the fourth-quarter clock. 

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Rodgers magisterially orchestrated all three plays.

On fourth down, Rodgers hung in the pocket and took a shot to the breastplate from Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon, yet still delivered a perfect throw to an out-breaking Nelson. The completion will rightfully go down as one of Rodgers' finest throws ever.

Four plays later, everyone in Sun Life Stadium expected Rodgers to spike the football, but he instead faked the spike and threw quick to Adams, who spun around a tackle attempt and snuck out of bounds at the 4-yard line. 

On the final play, Rodgers identified the mismatch—Quarless on a linebacker to the far right of the formation—and called the quick audible. He then took the snap, wheeled to his right and, without hesitation, delivered an indefensible strike to the tight end's back/shoulder to complete the comeback. 

"I need to work on my vocabulary," McCarthy told reporters, when asked to describe his quarterback's performance. "The guy is remarkable. Remarkable football player."

The Packers certainly didn't play well for all 60 minutes Sunday. The offensive line was out-played by the likes of Vernon and Cameron Wake along the Dolphins front, and the defense—after turning over quarterback Ryan Tannehill twice in the first half—started to wilt in the scorching sun late. Still, these are the kind of victories that can galvanize a football team early in the season.

Not only did the Packers once again survive an onslaught of injuries—defensive end Datone Jones didn't play, and starters Jamari Lattimore, Sam Shields and Tramon Williams all exited the game with various ailments—but the club rallied from a late deficit and won a road game in the most unfamiliar of conditions. 

Rodgers, once chided for his inability to bring the Packers back, completed his seventh career fourth-quarter comeback and 11th game-winning drive. 

The Packers are now tied with the Detroit Lions atop the NFC North. After a 1-2 start, which included losses to the Seattle Seahawks and Lions, the Packers have beaten the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins over the last three weeks. 

The rebound can be traced back to the revival of Rodgers' dominance. 

He was far from awful during the first three weeks, completing 62.5 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and just one interception—good for a passer rating of 95.1. Ninety percent of NFL quarterbacks would happily take those numbers over a three-game stretch. 

Something clicked after the 1-2 start. In the last three games, Rodgers has thrown for 722 yards, 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions, which equates out to a passing rating of 129.6. The Packers, after averaging 18.0 points per game through three weeks, have scored 107 over the last three, or 35.7 a contest. 

	Points	Yards	Rodgers' Passing Rating
at SEA	16	255	81.5
vs. NYJ	31	390	109.8
at DET	7	223	88.8
at CHI	38	358	151.2
vs. MIN	42	320	138.7
at MIA	27	369	99.7

When Rodgers is on and the Packers defense is creating turnovers, few in the NFL are more difficult to beat. 

Speaking of the defense, Green Bay now has eight interceptions and 12 total takeaways, which both rank in the top five in the NFL. Both turnovers were instrumental in giving the Packers a 10-3 lead at the half. 

However, it was the late stop that gave Rodgers and the Packers a chance to leave Miami winners. 

Dolphins offensive coordinator Bill Lazor provided an assist. After receiver Jarvis Landry sliced his way for 11 yards and Packers linebacker Brad Jones was flagged for a hands-to-the-face penalty, Lazor called a pass on second down and a run on 3rd-and-long, which got the Packers off the field with a reasonable amount of time left. Had the Dolphins called three straight runs, it's possible Rodgers wouldn't have had enough ticks left on the clock.

The 124 ticks Miami did leave Rodgers were just enough.  

And it was McCarthy's unflinching decision to kick the field goal that made Rodgers' 42nd toss of the afternoon a game-winner instead of an overtime-forcer. It's possible the Packers will eventually look back on this season and point to Sunday's dramatics as the the moment this team—the 94th in franchise history—finally believed it was capable of beating anyone, anywhere. 

Under the direction of two men who refuse to blink in the face of adversity, the Packers have officially rebounded in 2014. A 1-2 disaster is now a 4-2 club riding the momentum wave of three straight wins.

Tranquility at both coach and quarterback have helped reassert the Green Bay Packers among the contenders in the NFC.

Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2