Aaron Rodgers Concussion: Why the Green Bay Packers Playoff Hopes Are in Trouble
The Green Bay Packers and their playoff hopes took a few big hits Sunday, losing both the game and their starting quarterback against the Detroit Lions.
We all knew the Lions were better then their 2-10 record, but did anyone really expect this?
Either way, it will be tough for the Packers to reassert themselves back into the playoff picture with just three games to go and an 8-5 record.
Green Bay isn't completely out of it, but here are the five biggest things that will keep the Packers on the outside looking in to the NFC playoffs.
No Running Game
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Before we get into the running woes, let me make one thing very clear: the Packers' running game would not be better with Marshawn Lynch. Or any potential running back the Packers could have traded for earlier in the season. Even our savior, James Starks, was held to eight yards on six carries.
With that said, Sunday was just another painful example of the Packers' lack of a viable NFL rushing attack.
But where does that problem begin and end? Look no further then the offensive line. Put simply, the Packers' front five are one of the worst run blocking units in the NFL.
That's not just an over-reaction either. The Packers have more than proven that with their performance over the season's first 14 games, and Sunday was maybe the best example of it.
The Detroit Lions completely and thoroughly dismantled the Packers up front, and they controlled the line scrimmage the entire game. Again, even Adrian Peterson or Chris Johnson aren't effective running backs if there isn't good run-blocking in front of them.
Aaron Rodgers was again the Packers' leading rusher on Sunday with a whopping 25 yards, and he didn't even play the second half. The Packers' running backs had a grand total of 33 yards on 12 carries, and, in all, Green Bay only rushed for 66 yards.
If you want one of the biggest scapegoats to the Packers' season, don't look at Brandon Jackson. Or James Starks. Or Dmitri Nance.
Take a look at the five guys up front for the Packers' offense, and how ineffective they've been in run blocking all season.
Can't Win the Close Games
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The Packers have lost five games this season by a combined total of 16 points, and while some may see that as a positive, I see it as a huge deficiency for Green Bay.
Of course, every team would love to blow out teams 45-7 and 31-3 like the Packers have this season. Those are obviously good things for the Packers.
But it's the close games that the Packers have just lost that are the most disturbing.
Like in Week 3 in Chicago when a turnover in the last two minutes pretty much gave the Bears the win.
Or in back-to-back overtime losses when the Packers had the chance to go win the game and couldn't do it.
Or in Atlanta when the special teams set the Falcons up nicely on their game-winning drive after overtime looked like a certainty.
Or like Sunday, when the Packers and their backup quarterback Matt Flynn had two shots at bringing the team back in the fourth quarter and came up short.
These are the kinds of losses that keeps teams out of the playoffs. And looking forward, do you expect any of the Packers' next three games to be blowouts in favor of Green Bay?
My guess is all three of those games are going to be close, and it might just be that the Packers' deficiencies in close games will seal the deal on their 2010 season.
Injuries
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I try not to buy into injuries as an excuse in the NFL, but it's impossible to ignore them in the case of the Green Bay Packers.
To be fair, there isn't a position on the Packers' roster that hasn't been hit with a major injury issue this season. Those losses have left the Packers as a shell of their former selves, and while the backups have filled in admirably, there's a reason that those guys were backups leading into the season.
You think Jermichael Finley holds on to the ball in the first quarter that Andrew Quarless fumbles? Does Aaron Rodgers figure it out in the second half and beat the Lions if he's in there? Would Cullen Jenkins have cut the Lions' rushing total down from the 190 yards they racked up?
I'd answer all those questions with a "yes," but that doesn't matter in the NFL. It was Quarless, Matt Flynn and C.J. Wilson in those spots on Sunday, and they didn't get it done against the Lions.
Have the injuries finally caught up to the Packers? If it hasn't already, it was certainly bound to happen eventually.
There's no question that injuries have hurt the Packers this season, and they will factor into the next three games as well. The most important injury we'll get to later, but all the other impact players that will be watching from the sidelines in the Packers' final three games could keep Green Bay out of the playoffs.
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Schedule
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After the Packers beat the 49ers two weeks ago, I predicted that Green Bay would need to go 3-1 the rest of the way to make the playoffs.
While I never expected the Lions to take up the one loss, I still feel that going 3-1 in the final quarter of the season would get the Packers in the playoffs.
That prediction means that Green Bay will need to run the gauntlet of New England, New York Giants and Chicago unscathed. If you look at the tiebreakers with Chicago, going 3-0 is about the only way the Packers slip into the playoffs.
That adventure will begin next Sunday night in New England, and you really couldn't ask for a tougher task. The Patriots have scored 196 points during their five-game winning streak, and there isn't a hotter quarterback in the universe right now than Tom Brady.
But let's say the Patriots throw up a Cleveland-like clunker (the Browns beat them, 34-14, six weeks ago) next Sunday and the Packers somehow knock them off. Green Bay would still have home games against the 8-4 Giants (who could be 9-4 after Monday's game) and the 9-4 Bears left on the schedule.
That's a tall order to ask of any team, much less a squad coming off one of their worst losses in recent memory. That also isn't considering that we don't even know how Rodgers will deal with his second concussion of the season. Speaking of which...
Aaron Rodgers' Health
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Rodgers looked shaky at best Sunday against the Lions, but I still firmly believe that any game he starts for the Packers gives Green Bay a chance to win.
And yes, that means in New England next week too.
However, his availability will be in serious question for next week, and for good reason.
His second concussion in less than two months is a very worrisome sign for the Packers' franchise quarterback, and if I had to guess, I'd say that he won't be playing on Sunday.
The human brain is nothing to play games with, and I am in 100 percent agreement with the NFL's new concussion testing. He passed his first round of concussion tests after the Redskins game, but something tells me that this week won't go as easily for Rodgers.
If he fails the tests, I'll be glad he isn't playing. The guy is only 27 years old, and the Packers have a lot of money and faith invested him. Next Sunday is important to the 2010 season, but it doesn't trump Rodgers' or the Packers' long-term well-being.
We don't want him turning into the next Troy Aikman or Steve Young. And no, I don't mean in the context of winning Super Bowl titles.
I mean having to quit the NFL because all their repetitive concussions left their long-term health in serious question. Those are things you have to consider when Rodgers has suffered two head injuries in the span of two months.
His health moving forward is the Packers' obstacle to reaching the playoffs this year, and in any year moving forward.
Conclusion
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Overall, the Packers have a lot of factors working against their dying playoff hopes. When you tie them all together, you could paint a pretty bleak picture of the Packers' final three games:
How are the Packers going to run the ball against three good defenses? How can they turn around their woes in close games?
How can they continue to overcome their mounting injury list? How can they possibly go 3-0 against that trio of teams left?
And most importantly, how will Aaron Rodgers bounce back from his second concussion of the season?
It's tough to find answers to those questions.
However, one thing is for sure: The Packers need to find definitive answers to all five questions if they want to be participating in the NFL playoffs.
They have seven days to do it. Just a week from today, the Packers have to begin resurrecting their 2010 in New England. Good luck.
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