Biggest Takeaways from Green Bay Packers' Week 16 Loss

The Green Bay Packers suffered their most crushing loss of the season against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, to the tune of 38-8. 

Though the defense and special teams chimed in with an interception on Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer and a fake punt that brought about a first down in Cardinals territory, the Packers offense was largely unable to generate any production on the ground or through the air. 

Though the Packers ran 64 total plays, they gained just 178 yards of total offense. 

Now the 10-5 Packers, who clinched a playoff berth in Week 15, will square off against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17 for what will become a showdown for the NFC North title.

Ahead of that matchup, we'll break down the five biggest takeaways from the Week 16 action. 

The Offensive Line Cannot Survive Injuries

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

The offensive line was already coming into the matchup against the Cardinals missing left tackle David Bakhtiari, who was out with an ankle injury. 

With veteran backup Don Barclay starting in Bakhtiari's spot, the line was ill-prepared to handle additional injuries to starters. 

But it happened anyway. 

Right tackle Bryan Bulaga and right guard T.J. Lang both left the game with injuries, as did center Corey Linsley before he later returned. Needless to say, all the comings and goings resulted in one of the worst performances of the year by the line, which allowed eight sacks on Aaron Rodgers. 

Lang himself had some choice words for the line's performance on Sunday. 

If the Packers are still missing Bakhtiari or Bulaga for the Week 17 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, the offense will be crippled. While the line can't be blamed for every problem on offense this year, it's at the root of many of them. 

James Starks Offers More Liability Than Ability at This Point

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

As the stakes rise higher for the Packers entering the final game of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs, mistakes need to be banished. 

And second-string running back James Starks simply can't be trusted.

Starks fumbled the ball on the first play of the second half against the Cardinals and remained on the bench for the rest of the matchup. It was his fifth fumble of the season, which more than doubles his previous season high, and it was his fourth in as many weeks. 

The Packers' game plan needs to change. Head coach Mike McCarthy and the coaching staff have continued to make mistakes week after week this season, but this one is an easy fix.

Green Bay needs to feature Eddie Lacy and use John Crockett on screens for the next two weeks, keeping Starks and his suspect hands off the field when the score is close. 

Aaron Rodgers Frustrated with Game Plan, Play-Calling

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

There has been scattered evidence of discord between quarterback and head coach this season, but Rodgers definitely seemed frustrated with McCarthy's play-calling and game plan against Arizona in his postgame press conference on Sunday. 

"We didn’t have a ton of guys open. We have to find a way to get guys open schematically with motion and formations," Rodgers said in his presser, via Packers.com. The quarterback ended his day 15-of-28 for 151 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a passer rating of 66.2.

Sure, receivers struggled to beat man coverage and hang onto the ball, and Rodgers could have called them out for that. But his comments spoke to a bigger picture, that being the lack of man-beater routes in Green Bay's game plan.

The simplicity of the play-calling under both associate head coach Tom Clements and now McCarthy has been a thorn in Rodgers' side all season. While the former MVP hasn't been perfect, throwing seven interceptions on the season so far and holding the ball too long at times, he hasn't had much to work with. 

The Packers need to move away from their reliance on their isolation-route-based spread offense, or risk being picked apart by the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17. 

"Every guy dislikes something about his boss, but have to handle it professionally and do your job," Rodgers said in the week before the game against Arizona, per Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin. 

Where Is Jared Abbrederis?

Mike Roemer/Associated Press

One week after offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett spoke glowingly about wide receiver Jared Abbrederis and Rodgers indicated that he wanted to see his pass-catcher on the field more, the second-year receiver had two targets against Arizona. 

Abbrederis caught one of those passes for five yards total. 

So much for earning opportunities.

The Packers got some production out of James Jones and Davante Adams against Arizona, both of whom ended their days with nearly 50 yards each, but were desperate for a big No. 3 to step up, given that Randall Cobb struggled to get open.

It wasn't Abbrederis, though he could have done so much on the outside to open up the passing game. 

The Packers need to throw everything they have in their arsenal against Minnesota in Week 17 in a crucial division matchup, and they especially need to create mismatches in the passing game. The game plan would do well to include more opportunities for Abbrederis.

Packers' Struggles on 3rd Down Continue

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Sunday was another forgettable day for the Packers in terms of third-down conversions against the Arizona Cardinals, which is to say that it was one the team wishes it could forget. 

Green Bay went 5-17 on third downs against Arizona, converting just 29 percent.

While they were already one of the worst teams in the league in this category heading into Sunday's matchup, converting just 35.8 percent of their third-down attempts on the year, per TeamRankings.com, this was quite literally a new low. 

That number was 24th in the league heading into Week 16, but the Packers will surely drop even lower than that after this week's performance. 

The failures on third down have brought the Packers' scores-to-punts ratio on drives into dangerous territory; at this point, Green Bay is kicking the ball away more often than it takes it into the end zone. As they continue to lack any ability to stretch the field, the Packers' ability to work effectively down the field is crucial. 

Their failure to do it could be their undoing against Minnesota in Week 17, as it has been many times before this season.