Why Playoff Teams Should Be Frightened of a Refocused Aaron Rodgers

The Green Bay Packers today looked very much like a team that was starting to buy into their own press and believe just a little too much in their own greatness. An air of complacency seemed to hover over their offense, as blockers missed blocks, receivers dropped passes and even Aaron Rodgers looked a little off, especially early on.

So the Packers respective runs toward the all time winning streak record and a 19-0 season have come to an abrupt end against one of the most unlikely opponents. What this all means to the Packers future this season remains to be seen, but it seems highly likely that they will approach the rest of the season with a renewed sense of urgency. In essence, this was a wake up call that teams around the league which are headed to the playoffs may eventually curse the Chiefs for giving them.

We have seen what Aaron Rodgers and the Packers can do when they are appropriately dialed in and focused. With division rivals Chicago and Detroit coming up in the next two weeks, this was a pretty obvious trap game for the Packers, and they were caught by it. But the Packers are simply too good to make the same mistakes this season.

Part of what made the Packers such a force in the playoffs last season was that they were tested greatly by adversity during the regular season. Suffering injury after injury, the Packers had to fight and claw just to make it into the postseason. This year, however, outside of a couple of close calls, it had been pretty smooth sailing for the Pack. 

This loss, a sloppy one at that, will serve as excellent motivation for Mike McCarthy and his staff.

Make no mistake; this was not a loss that can be explained away. It was a bad loss against a bad team fresh off of firing its head coach. It’s the kind of loss that the Packers will look back on with ultimate regret if it ends up being their only loss of the season. But perhaps it was also a loss that will reignite the reigning champions and make it all the more difficult for a team to sneak up on them in the future.