Green Bay Packers Lose Ryan Grant: Still a Playoff Lock?

Green Bay Packers running back Ryan Grant will miss a good portion of the season, if not all of it. Grant tore a ligament in his ankle Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

He was coming off back-to-back seasons in which he ran for over 1,200 yards.

Coming into the season the Packers were being touted as having one of the best offenses in the league. That offense was supposed to carry them to the Super Bowl.

While it still can, losing Grant is a significant loss to the ground game, and now even more of the pressure will fall on the shoulders of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

The larger question is who will fill Grant's shoes.

Brandon Jackson

The fourth-year running back out of Nebraska is going to have to shoulder the load from here on out. During the game against the Eagles Jackson made some nice runs but only finished with 63 yards on 18 carries.

The most carries he has had in his career was 75 back in 2007, when he was a rookie. It's likely that Green Bay will use him in the screen game a lot more than Grant was ever used, which could lead to the Packers focusing even more on the passing game than they already do.

Jackson was a second round pick that Green Bay was high on, but Grant swept in and took the job away the past few years. With Grant sidelined, this will be Jackson's chance to prove that he can be more than just a third down back in the league.

Aaron Rodgers

MVP expectations have been laid on the right arm of Rodgers, and now he's going to have to do it without his best weapon in the backfield. The Packers' win and the loss of Grant coupled with Michael Vick's performance has overshadowed Rodgers' somewhat poor performance against the Eagles.

Rodgers finished with only 188 yards passing on 31 attempts and threw two interceptions. Philadelphia continuously brought pressure, and it seemed to bother him at points. Until Jackson proves that he can be an effective runner, teams are going to come after Rodgers again and again.

Luckily for Green Bay they won't have to deal with the vaunted front four of the Minnesota Vikings until Week 7. They'll still have to deal with Jared Allen and company, but at least they'll have adjusted to having Jackson in the backfield by then.

Playoffs???

With or without Grant, the Packers are still a top team in this league. They still have a terrific receiving corps in Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones, and one of the game's best tight ends in Jermichael Finley.

There's no question Green Bay will miss Grant's hard-nosed running between the tackles on Sundays, but this isn't a season-breaking injury. If head coach Mike McCarthy utilizes Jackson's ability as a pass-catching running back by calling more screens, it will help supplement the loss of Grant.

The Vikings appear to be the only team capable of taking down the Packers within the division, and they are battling injuries of their own.

Grant's expected to be on crutches for 10 to 12 weeks after surgery, and if everything goes OK he may be able to return down the stretch and possibly for a postseason run.

Simply put, the Packers are just too talented and explosive not to make it to the playoffs.